It's Almost-Friday, International Children’s Book Day and World Autism Awareness Day. RIP Ellis Marsalis. What fragrance are you wearing?
I'm in Dries Van Noten par Frédéric Malle.
Reminder: April is Poetry Month. On 4/3, tell us about a favorite poem (or link to the text) and wear a fragrance to match.
And for those of you who like to plan ahead, see Scent of the day ~ Friday community projects 2020, where I'll try to always have the next five or six weeks mapped out in advance.
Note: top image is 2008-04-19 Allentown Fish Hatchery, Museum of Indian Culture 025 [cropped] by Allie_Caulfield at flickr; some rights reserved.
Today I’m wearing Trefle Pur.
That’s a nice spring-y choice!
Twins!
SOTD SL Vetiver Oriental. Just got back from Wal-Mart because I had to pick up a couple prescriptions. I’m going to have to upgrade from a bullwhip to tranquilizer darts and a dart gun. I don’t understand how people STILL don’t get it?!
Poem of the day is by one of my all time favorites, Jim Harrison, whose prose and poetry I will forever love.
Marching
At dawn I heard among bird calls
the billions of marching feet in the churn
and squeak of gravel, even tiny feet
still wet from the mother’s amniotic fluid,
and very old halting feet, the feet
of the very light and very heavy, all marching
but not together, criss-crossing at every angle
with sincere attempts not to touch, not to bump
into each other, walking in the doors of houses
and out the back door forty years later, finally
knowing that time collapses on a single
plateau where they were all their lives,
knowing that time stops when the heart stops
as they walk off the earth into the night air.
Deva, excellent poetry choice
Beautiful.
Beautiful.
You smell just wonderful. We are adjacent in vetiver since I’m wearing Vetiverissimo.
Beautiful choice of poetry.
Wow, that’s a deep and beautiful poem.
I need some of those tranquillizer darts as well. For people at work, who really ought to know better ?
Deva, I totally get it, girl. I had to shop today as well and almost no one was practicing their distancing (the ones who did, I thanked, good vibes, y’know?) I came home cranky and sullen. I think folks are just getting tired of it (I knowwwww I am, but I still put in the effort).
yes beautiful.
Lovely poetry choice!
One of my (performer) friends was noting today that if everyone had more basic stage experience/education this 2m thing would be a breeze as “balancing the stage” is something we train so strongly – a sense of where you are in the room versus others and how to evaluate and adjust those distances for the outcome you want.
I went to get groceries yesterday and people were wigging me OUT!
So grateful for this being April and not Jan. The beauty unfolding each day in the park lifts my spirits and calms me.. the pinks, yellows, purples are all there and a delight for my eyes.
SOTD: Vanille Blackberry by Comptoir Sud Pacifique — sweet but also happy!
Great choice, really like that one
thank you 🙂
I agree – this would be much more difficult moving into the dark part of the year. I’m not sleeping well, so I’ve been able to go outside to watch the sunrise, which I would be far less likely to do in January!
SOTD Angélique Noire
9th Century, Japanese poet
Ariwara no Narihira
Is this not that moon?
And Spring: is as the Spring of old
Is it not?
Only this body of mine
Is as it ever was…
I love that poem!
You smell incredible, and what a lovely poem to match!
House twins again and lovely poem.
SOTD is Frederic Malle Portrait of a Lady, the poem of the day is My Last Duchess by Robert Browning. It is another long one, so, again, I will post the beginning and the link to the full text:
That’s my last Duchess painted on the wall,
Looking as if she were alive. I call
That piece a wonder, now: Frà Pandolf’s hands
Worked busily a day, and there she stands.
Will’t please you sit and look at her? I said
“Fra Pandolf” by design, for never read
Strangers like you that pictured countenance,
The depth and passion of its earnest glance,
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43768/my-last-duchess
The obvious connection, of course, is the portrait of a lady/painting of the duchess), but I also paired the poem and the scent because both the duchess and Isabel Archer (the lady of POAL) had creepy, controlling husbands.
This is wonderful, thanks!
I think we need those creepy, black bird masks that physicians wore during the Black Death. That would drive away the covidiots!
Reference:
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/reference/european-history/plague-doctors-beaked-masks-coronavirus/
I don’t know – waterproof clothes covering the whole body, eye coverings, air filters – those old doctors might have been onto something. Maybe someone should tell our modern day Lords of Misrule?
I’ve been realizing all sorts of head coverings and veils were far more practical than I ever dreamed!
Covidiots! Exactly!
I remember this poem well from dissecting it in high school English class.
Thank you Glannys, I always adore reading this poem, it is so dramatic and chilling.
Today I am wearing Siberian Musk II (attar version) by Areej le Doré
The lockdown here in The Netherlands is prolonged til the end of April.
Luckily we are still allowed to go outside for walks (of course, we need to keep distance to other people).
Weather forecast promises spring weather! ?☀️?
We are all in the same boat..(most of us)
At least we can dress up everyday. Yesterday I wore a purple Missoni dress with red tights..
Good for you!
That outfit sounds fab! ??
That outfit sounds wonderful!
I decided last night that I need to up my outfit game and get out of the rut I’m in. Your outfit sounds super fun!
Commando but craving Estee Lauder again. Have four minis that went bad, drat. Lol.
Looks like most things I have tried to order have a 2 week delay so I guess the shopping hasn’t died down like I read.
The price gouging and hoaring is frustrating.
I got a craving for fresh donuts that doesn’t seem to want to go away. Krispy Kreme..you are missed lol.
I noticed that Estee Lauder offerings do have the tendency to go bad fairly quickly. Mainly with their Clinique line.
I saw someone with a donut on TV last night and almost dove into my set.
If you’re not prepared to deep-fat-fry, and god knows I’m not, you could try these no-fry donuts, which I haven’t, but I trust the blogger. http://www.midcenturymenu.com/2015/10/no-fry-doughnuts-1976-a-vintage-halloween-recipe-re-run/
They’re on my list, right after I make my own crackers for all the soup and stew I’ve been making and freezing. I have never cooked and baked so much in my entire life as the last two weeks.
Oh those look heavenly lol:)
Thanks for the link. The website cheered me – I may be making the Frankfurter meatloaf in the near future. My kids need cheering up!
The website really is joyous. She shares my obsession with midcentury advertising and recipes, but she actually makes the recipes, and has so much fun doing it. And her poor husband!
By now probably everybody has seen the Fauci doughnuts:
https://www.inquirer.com/health/coronavirus/coronavirus-covid-19-anthony-fauci-donut-jb-bakery-new-jersey-20200329.html
LOVE those!!!!!
Oh boy, smh. I am interested in the butterscotch cream, however.
The highest honor, lol. I hope I make it to a donut someday…
I make a decent donut from a can of refrigerated buttermilk biscuits. Just cut a hole in the center of each biscuit (I use a soda cap) and fry in 350 degree oil. Drain on paper towels and shake in a bag of cinnamon sugar or powdered sugar, or whatever you want.
Mmm yummy:)
I make a donut muffin that’s pretty yummy and requires no frying. Not quite as good as Krispy Creme but super easy when you are in a pinch.
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/214651/donut-muffins/?internalSource=hub%20recipe&referringContentType=Search
I use butter instead of marg.
I’m in a bit of Chanel Orient body oil today so far…
Spring Poem For the Sake of Breathing, Written After a Walk to Foster Island
By James Masao Mitsui
The sky wants the water to turn grey,
but if I notice how waves
play with the clumps of yellow flags,
or the way turtles share logs,
or even try to understand a friend’s decision
to walk onto a glacier
and end her life—I will be ready
for any poems that have been waiting.
The horizon opens as I walk,
escorted by swans and Canada geese.
I need to stop backpedaling into the present.
In my old life people would straighten
the truth, but the river
flows in curves.
The names of my father and my mother
rest next to each other in Greenwood Cemetery.
The distance between me and the mountains
measures an uneven thought: I feel like an orphan.
An early moon is just a piece of change
in the softening sky.
Light is such an actress. Time to seek
Hopper’s wish to simply paint sunlight
on the wooden wall of a house. I am growing
older. Maru in Japanese means
the ship
will make it back home.
Beautiful poem! ?
I don’t know why I am not in the habit of reading poetry, but I am loving perfumista selections, especially this one.
Thank you, She-ra!
lovely! 😀
Beautiful poem! Thank you for sharing it!
Interesting poem, though kind of upsetting actually, I find. Maybe it’s just me. I was struck because “Maru” is the name of a very famous Internet sensation cat, “Maru the box cat.” I had no idea that’s what the name meant.
“Maru” can also mean “round”. And having seen Maru the Box Cat, it sure fits!
That was a lovely poem.
Wearing En Passant today. Seeing a bottle of Lui for sale at Saks Fifth Avenue and I thought it was discontinued. Now it’s either Coromandel or Liu. I think I have to spend time with Liu again to see if it’s bottle worthy
Sale..Lui..saks? What?
It isn’t on sale just for sale.
you had my excited about a sale! bummer
$50 off a $200 purchase at Neiman Marcus, code Selfcare.
OH BOY!!! Self care is definitely on order here!
En passant is the most of spring time scents!
Agreed! En Passant is the best! So gorgeous
Terracotta today. I’m looking forward to coming back after work and reading all the poems you all have posted.
beautiful choice! you smell happy 😀
Eau des Merveilles again.
I got an email from the salon where I got my haircut and they are closed until May now. I got a cut the beginning of March before all this started so I should be fine. My husband was asking me at dinner if I could cut his hair. I said absolutely not I have no experience cutting hair. My college daughter volunteered and my teenager immediately chimed in with “yeah, she’s got experience because she used to cut our Barbies’ hair.”? Lol, I’ve seen those Barbies, I’d take a pass on that if I were him.
Thanks for giving me a laugh! I can picture the hair of the Barbies. 🙂 Depending on how your daughter does, maybe your husband could pass it off as a “high and tight” military haircut. Good luck to him with the barbering!
yay for Merveilles! 😀 you smell wonderful.
I’ve cut my own bangs and even men’s hair a few times, it isn’t hard, but it does take good scissors!
My husband and I are going to have to cut each others hair eventually. We are not in a rush, LOL…
Hilarious! My daughter, would cut the barbies hair, and then try and re thread it with yarn because she saw a video on how to do that. We of course could not figure it out, so ended up with deformed barbie heads. I always thought, please no one go through my garbage, when I threw them out?
The single most irritating thing to me as a result of my broken arm is being unable to put my long hair up. I have managed every other challenge of one-handed life, but not this.
Yes, I have one clip I can manage to fasten at the nape of my neck with one hand, but it ends up uncentered and loose, and I can’t lie on it.
I’d even have resorted to a beauty salon for the first time since high school, which was a disaster, were it not for the pandemic…
My husband cuts his own hair with an electric clipper. I will wait out the epidemic….
Same here
On both counts.
Hey twin! You smell lovely.
I have thin, fine hair and am waiting for it to get to the ugly stage. It won’t be long as I usually cut my hair and dye it every four weeks. EEK!
Thin, fine hair twins. I got my hair cut at the beginning of March and can let it go for a couple of months.
You smell fabulous!
I’m laughing, because I went from super low maintenance chin length hair to a really cute pixie cut. Of course I won’t be able to get a hair cut until at least May. Can’t wait to see my shaggy pixie mullet.
Got mine cut five weeks ago, so I’m good for a bit. I have offered to trim my husband’s hair. No one cares about men’s hair… so far, he isn’t accepting my offer.
?
I got mine cut last July, so I’m good for a few more months, lol. My hubs is starting to look like a weird unicorn. I wish we still had our clippers- you really can’t mess up all that much with one.
? hahaha
lololololol
Madtowngirl, thanks for the laugh! Mr. Jalapeno is starting to complain about “getting shaggy”. And we do have a pair of clippers in the house…
A minute spritz of SL La Fille de Berlin, because there’s never a bad time for a dark rose as far as I’m concerned, but it’s day two of neverending gloom and rain and I am *definitely* in that dark-rose mood.
No poem to go with it, although naturally I am forced to think of Blake’s “The Sick Rose”, which is not about roses at all but…. well, nobody can seem to agree, but I’ve always thought it was (relatively) straightforwardly about an unwanted pregnancy.
Agreed, dark roses are for always and Fille de Berlin is so so good. I remember talking about that poem in a class – there was a lot of arguement!
I was happy to see Fumerie in Portland had a special on travel size Lubin, pick your scent. It has already arrived! I chose Grisette. Lovely floral. I have to be careful of big white florals, this is much gentler. A nice blind purchase.
PSA: free shipping Lush USA on orders over $40, until 4/30
Thanks for the PSA..
I good friend of mine has a birthday this weekend and I am trying to think of gift ideas!?
Anything from Lush would be so bright and happy in these tough times!
Oh no …… Sitting on my hands ??
My thoughts exactly:)
Eeeeeeep! Hiding my credit card now!
Hmm. I should be good…As others have said, I like their solid perfumes. They’re not very expensive. And soap is a very useful thing now. Anyway, you may see things from Lush in my next confession.
Once it smiled a silent dell
Where the people did not dwell;
They had gone unto the wars,
Trusting to the mild-eyed stars,
Nightly, from their azure towers,
To keep watch above the flowers,
In the midst of which all day
The red sunlight lazily lay.
Now each visitor shall confess
The sad valley’s restlessness.
Nothing there is motionless-
Nothing save the airs that brood
Over the magic solitude.
Ah, by no wind are stirred those trees
That palpitate like the chill seas
Around the misty Hebrides!
Ah, by no wind those clouds are driven
That rustle through the unquiet Heaven
Uneasily, from morn till even,
Over the violets there that lie
In myriad types of the human eye-
Over the lilies there that wave
And weep above a nameless grave!
They wave:- from out their fragrant tops
Eternal dews come down in drops.
They weep:- from off their delicate stems
Perennial tears descend in gems.
The Valley of Unrest- Poe
Commando for now perfume-wise. I’ll try to think of non-depressing poetry and a perfume to go with it. 🙂
I have gone to my poetry shelf twice this week and given up … my collection is not happy enough.
Try Billy Collins, especially if you can find an audio of him reading live, very funny some of it and he presents it well, not too pompous.
Right?
Sorry if this bit posts twice: Scent of the afternoon was Guerlain Chant d’Aromes. I didn’t make a connection with any particular poem while wearing it.
I thought of Walt Whitman, and how some of his poetry is cheerful in its way. My main motivation for wanting to get calamus the plant was because I read his poems and wondered what it was like. I have a sample of the Comme des Garcons fragrance Leaves: Calamus. Let’s go with that as the connection, because I was curious about how the CdG fragrance would compare to the real thing. My take: It’s nice, but not realistic. And that’s okay. 🙂
Late evening scent: Profumum Roma Olibanum. I really like this incense fragrance. Also, the lower story of the house smells like hyacinths, because I brought a couple of blooming stalks in.
Good night, folks!
I slept badly and consequently am in Tam Dao for comfort.
I was restless last night too. Tam Dao is an excellent choice for today. 😀
Those magnolias!
I’m sure they are now blooming in Italy… But I won’t be going there any time soon – Esxence has been cancelled some time ago.
Today I’m wearing Rose Rouge from VC&A.
What do you think of Rose Rouge?
I smelled Rose Rouge, it reminded me of Lancome Parfait de Rose, sweet and jammy.
Thanks!
I love that one, really!
Now that’s one conference that cannot take place online! I suppose they could send out press kits with samples and do online interviews. It’s so fun to sniff things on other people and get others’ reactions at a public event, though!
That would be quite impossible to do it online. And of course no brand participating is obliged to give samples to the people from the press.
It’s just a shame because I think that otherwise brands won’t remember about me and I will miss many of those new releases that will happen anyway, despite the virus…
If you have their cards or other contact information for those you talked with previously, why not reach out to them?
Let them know how much you will miss seeing them this year. Let them know that you are still writing, why you feel perfume is important now, and why you are looking forward to their launches in particular.
They are probably feeling down about this, too, and it could mean a lot to hear from someone who was interested enough to make time to write now.
I thunked a sample of Baruti Indigo, which was not really my style. Incense with a cucumber note plus resins. Topped it up with lots of MMM Untitled.
We make pizza today, so that’s something that I look forward to.
Yum! We’ve started using a big cast iron pan to make pizzas in the oven and it works incredibly well. How do you do it?
We have a special oven built in Germany which directly heats the steel trays, before we used a big pizza stone. Cast iron also works well for baking bread, we used a lodge pot for this. We still take the loge pot with us for holidays when we want to bake our bread.
Dzing! today and still no poem. So glad Donatella stopped by yesterday, I always enjoy our visits.
In other news, my sweet youngest son (two of our three sons live here and their house had water damage pre-COVID so they have been living with us during the rebuild) ordered about $500 of food from Costco as he was tired of not having enough food around. So now we have lots of food (I know that’s a blessing) but not much toilet paper and four people. The food is certainly a blessing but this could also be an interesting situation (!).
Dzing! so much fun. 😀 Thanks for the reminder about Donatella, I need to check in and read what everyone has been up to.
I didn’t know Costco delivered food?
Instacart I am guessing
Damn, available in every province in Canada… except mine, Quebec. 🙁
The continuing toilet paper shortage is perplexing. Someone on another blog observed that it probably has something to do with people not spending most of their waking hours at work.
In my area, where so many eat in restaurant, I suspect the food supply suffers from a similar imbalance between supermarkets and restaurant suppliers.
Glad you’ve alleviated at least one end of the problem! ?
Ha – yes!
I will definitely be looking into more fully featured toilets when it’s safe to have plumbers in again!
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/01/style/toilet-paper-shortage-bidet-coronavirus-wipes.html
I loved the Japanese toilets when we visited Japan last spring
On my neighbourhood walk yesterday I noticed a sign as I approached a store window. I couldn’t read the type at first but could see the image and thought it had something to do with toilet paper! I guess if you wanted you could download this sign, doctor it up with your own toilet paper ration amount message, and post it in your bathroom! What’s funnier still is when I looked closely at the URL I noticed the word -wiz- ?
https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C9BKJA_enCA697CA699&hl=en-US&ei=s5KGXrHHONO4tAaTw6TACA&q=24+hour+security+camera+sign&oq=24+hour+security+camera+sign&gs_lcp=ChNtb2JpbGUtZ3dzLXdpei1zZXJwEAxQAFgAYMcuaABwAHgAgAEAiAEAkgEAmAEA&sclient=mobile-gws-wiz-serp#imgrc=l8Zuvig8jENcBM:
I’m seeing TP back in stores in NYC. More generic brands, though.
Our Wegmans has TP from Canada. I’ve assessed ? that it is of acceptable quality. With the one-pack per trip limit, if I see enough stock, I will buy 1 per trip. I actually have more than enough but I think my neighbor may need some if this thing gets extended further out. She’s normally pretty independent but this has her worried at her age and as a cancer survivor.
SotD = Mon Precieux Nectar
MPN makes me smile today. I’m going to a zoom meeting for school in a few minutes, feeling productive, LOL. 😉
Happy Blursday, fragrant friends!
Oh my gosh, this is one of my all time favorite perfumes ever. I stumbled on it several years ago at the Guerlain shop in the Marais in Paris, and fell head over heels and splurged right then and there! You smell absolutely amazing (and have probably inspired my next perfume spritz, or splash, as the case may be, since I don’t like the little “poire” spritzer that came with the beautiful bee bottle).
You smell fabulous!
aw, thank you, cazaubon! 😀
Happy blursday tiffanie! I had a google hangout with my AP students this morning – it was soooo much fun. Although apparently they have become nocturnal creatures, because they all had to set alarms to wake up for our 10:30 meeting.
lol! sounds like your blursday was super! 😀
at the zoom meeting several teachers commented that they were very happy to see their students online. One admitted she was in tears, spent the time checking in with her 6th graders. Asked them how they are spending their days, how they feel about the state of the world, no time left for the lesson she had planned.
Today I’m in Jesus del Pozo “Noble Musk Nights”, which I’m enjoying a lot. On me it’s a kind of spicy citrus-blackcurrant, great for a day that can’t quite make up its mind which season it is. Once again I am grateful to be in work, both for the security it brings and for how busily I am kept away from other things.
Today’s poem is “Flowers”, by Wendy Cope, who is often very funny but here in more reflective mood.
Some men never think of it.
You did. You’d come along
And say you’d nearly brought me flowers
But something had gone wrong.
The shop was closed. Or you had doubts –
The sort that minds like ours
Dream up incessantly. You thought
I might not want your flowers.
It made me smile and hug you then.
Now I can only smile.
But, look, the flowers you nearly brought
Have lasted all this while.
I’ve read that Jesus del Pozo’s fragrances can be very good but have never had occasion to try them. Thinking of ordering some samples. Which would you recommend?
Cool poem, too!
Well, I like the 2 I have, Noble Nights Musk and Arabian Nights, which is a rose-oud combo. I can’t say it’s better than all other rose-oud combos, but this is the one I got to first. :^)
That’s a fantastic poem.
Great poem.
Love the poem. Although it makes me think – just do it, get her the flowers.
Yeah, I get the impression that by the end she knows he never will, and it’s his loss.
I’m wearing BF Vetiverissimo because I almost wore it yesterday and was still thinking about it this morning. This is one that’s grown on me. I think it would actually be office friendly because it wears very close to the skin after the initial blast.
I decided last night that I’m in a clothing rut, which is understandable since I’m at home all the time. But I’ve been wearing my most boring and comfy clothes. I love bold prints and have a lot of them and just a lot of clothes in general. So I’m going to start wearing fun shirts at least 2-3 days a week so I can have more fun and color in my life. Today is a springy floral 70s polyester shirt that gets me compliments almost every time I wear it.
Work is doing “bring your pet to work” day, so we’ll have virtual meetings throughout the day where people will have their pets on screen with them. I don’t have pets myself, but I’m looking forward to joining in at least one of the meetings.
Finally went looking for a poem to share today, even though I didn’t match a perfume with it. In school, we often studied Paul Laurence Dunbar particularly because he was from Dayton, Ohio, which is where I grew up. We went on a school visit to his former home since it was preserved as a historical site for tours. Re-reading his poems this morning was a real treat because some of them are still so familiar to me after many years.
Invitation to Love by Paul Laurence Dunbar
Come when the nights are bright with stars
Or come when the moon is mellow;
Come when the sun his golden bars
Drops on the hay-field yellow.
Come in the twilight soft and gray,
Come in the night or come in the day,
Come, O love, whene’er you may,
And you are welcome, welcome.
You are sweet, O Love, dear Love,
You are soft as the nesting dove.
Come to my heart and bring it to rest
As the bird flies home to its welcome nest.
Come when my heart is full of grief
Or when my heart is merry;
Come with the falling of the leaf
Or with the redd’ning cherry.
Come when the year’s first blossom blows,
Come when the summer gleams and glows,
Come with the winter’s drifting snows,
And you are welcome, welcome.
beautiful poem, thank you.
ha! pet day is a great idea. I have a staff meeting later today, the boss decided the theme will be pajama day. Could be interesting. 😉
I wore the same t-shirt/jeans combo for the first week I was home. Got very tired of it so I started wearing lots of color and prints too. Loud clothes + loud perfume! It’s an easy pick-me-up.
I have colorful dresses I love to wear in springtime, I’ll start wearing them next week even if I’m staying home. 😀
Hehe pajama day sounds fun too, admittedly not as fun as seeing people’s pets. I really enjoyed the meeting I joined earlier, and it was good to see coworkers’ faces, some for the first time in weeks, too.
I’ve read that poem before and always liked it. Thanks for the information about the author! Enjoy pet day.
Thanks, pet day was really cool. I joined the 12:00 meeting for 30 min and saw some cute cats and dogs and even some chickens!
Here’s some more interesting info about PLD:
Dunbar began showing literary promise while still in high school in Dayton, Ohio, where he lived with his widowed mother. The only African American in his class, he became class president and class poet. By 1889, two years before he graduated, he had already published poems in the Dayton Herald and worked as editor of the short-lived Dayton Tattler, a Black newspaper published by classmate Orville Wright, who later gained fame with brother Wilbur Wright as inventors of the airplane.
I think you smell great and reminding me I haven’t worn it much this past season.
Yes, I remember you like it quite a bit. I’ve actually reapplied twice already today. I’m trying to really make the most of using up some perfume while confined to home.
Thanks for posting that poem therabbitsflower! It sounds like something appropriate for a wedding toast…
I could see it being part of a wedding now that you mention it. I’m glad you like it!
Post time change evening is so startlingly different from pre time change evening! We just changed time this past Sunday, so it’s still surprising. Bright and sunny, still, and it’s 6:20 PM!
I’m perfumeless once again. In fact, I’ve spent the last 8 months enrolled in a wonderful and intensive professional training to become a “nez de parfums” (a nose), and it involves hours of daily sniffing of matières premières (raw materials), and perfume interferes with my ability to smell accurately/adequately. This means that all my perfume wearing happens at night, as I’m getting in bed to read and then sleep. Would make more sense to just wait to join chime in. Perhaps I’ll do that tomorrow! (and I suspect that tonight’s perfume will be Guerlain, Mon Précieux Nectar, merci tiffanie!
Il n’y a pas de quoi, mamabrico 😀
I hope you will enjoy MPN tonight,
it is a perfect perfume choice for bedtime.
Looking forward to reading more of your thoughts about fragrance,
your intensive training program sounds challenging and delightful.
That is so cool you are doing that training! How fascinating it must be! Please tell us some secrets or challenges you’ve run across!
Hi! Oh my gosh, this training is easily the most remarkable thing I’ve ever done. I know that sounds absurdly rhapsodic, but, well, it’s true! I cannot describe how much I love it!
So, a few interesting/unexpected challenges:
One of the most crucial aspects of the work we’re doing is to actually trust your nose. It sounds simple, but it’s actually not simple! One of the ways to anchor the different matières premières (raw materials) in the brain is to develop a vocabulary for each material (so, for example, Essence de Mimosa, for which I noted almondy sweet hay/grass, coumarin, honey, sweet dry grass, almond-y play-doh, beautiful powdery almondy sweet grass). I find it really challenging to actually trust that the way I’m smelling it is correct. But in fact, there’s no such thing as “correct”! It’s really just about building a personal database. So, trusting myself is one unexpected challenge.
Another unexpected challenge is to actually find descriptors which adequately invoke the material, if that makes sense. I kinda feel like our language isn’t rich enough! I find myself using a blend of English and French, which gives me the impression that I have a larger vocab field, so to speak.
And another challenge is finding descriptors for materials which I fundamentally don’t like! And this is really interesting, because they are NOT the materials which I would have thought I wouldn’t like (castoreum, civet, indole, etc — and, just for info, the animal products (castoreum, civet, etc) are no longer used in perfumery (well, there are probably some small niche houses that perhaps continue to use them, but it’s a major no no and is widely frowned upon and pretty carefully controlled). Anyway! The materials which I really really don’t like are what are called boisés ambrés, or woody ambers or amber-y woods — these are the synthetic molecules like ambroxan, iso e super, cashmeran, etc etc (there are a lot of them!), and I find them really unpleasant. As raw materials, they tend of have a weird, anaesthetizing effect, so it’s almost like your nose switches off after you smell them. Bleaugh! Funnily enough, my beak is now waaaaaaaaaay more sensitive to their presence in my (large-ish) collection of perfume, so I’ve kinda fallen out of love with some perfumes that I used to enjoy.
We’ve just finished the “Partie A” of the training program, which is all about learning (deeply, intimately) a large number (200ish) matières premières. We completed this part in mid-February (and had a big assessment! Was so scary and stressful but ended up being wonderfully fun and instructive. Ultimately I absolutely loved the assessment, though the weeks leading up to it were intensely stressful). We’ll start Partie B (blending) as soon as plague confinement is over. Hopefully in May. Whoop!
I hope I’m not going on and on too much about this. I could talk all day/night about it! But am also aware that, well, just because I could doesn’t mean I should!
So interesting! What is your program called? Are you having to do everything online now?
Hi Susannetta! The program is so amazing (I’ve described it in my response to Calypso above). It’s called a professional training by Les Olfactines (that’s the name of the laboratory in Bordeaux run by our amazing and wonderful teacher who spent many years training in Paris/Grasse and is now a qualified créateur de parfum/nez parfumeur as well as having the qualifications to train others.
We will wait until May (hopefully!) to actually be back in the laboratory, but in the meantime, we are all spending hours a day keeping our noses fresh and in tune, so to speak (we all have 3 boxes full of tiny flacons of raw materials — I probably have around 200 little bottles, more or less). In addition, our teacher is sending us regular assignments to keep our noses in shape as well as lots of important reading material.
Another sunny day and I am outside getting a dose of Vitamin D before heading in. You may wonder why I don’t just take a mid-day walk — it’s because I then have to take a shower immediately, which I have been doing if I happen to be out and about.
SOTD = Guerlain Elixir Charnel French Kiss ?
I enjoy the fragrance although it is not in my top tier of favorites.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-fFApIBitF/?igshid=ul0y8ff1inp4
(Remember to swipe for a fun picture ?)
PSA: 20% off Friends and Family Event at L’Occitane with code FRIEND. I think it’s free shipping with $49 purchase.
You smell great!
Thank you!
Love the French kiss artwork!
Thanks. That Hotel ZaZa – have to say in a breathless manner – is a gem!
fun photos for sure! 😀 😛
go go Guerlain, we’re house twins, and I’m doubling down by adding Cologne du Parfumeur later today.
I went grocery shopping yesterday. It was a little stressful (!) and I definitely felt the need for a shower when I got home. Going for a walk now myself, some sunshine sounds marvelous right now.
Stressful is what it felt like to me too … plus, I felt like it was a battle.
That artwork is awesome!
Thank you…it was in the Rock Star Suite.! The manager of the hotel let peek in a few rooms and the was ooh la la!
Grey skies and light flurries. Day ten of quarantine. Wearing Profumum Santalum. I’m assuming this is made with Australian sandalwood, it has a nice warm, woody scent. I smell like wood shop class in high school. 🙂
Oh it’s been so beautiful here that it’s hard to realise that some places still have snow! I spoke with my brother last night in northern Wisconsin and he said he’d just been out shovelling the last of the snow (he hopes) off the deck of their house so that it would melt on the ground. I hope you will begin to see crocuses, tulips, and maybe even magnolias soon!
Oh, it will be another month before magnolias I think. We may get some crocuses in a few weeks. They don’t call it the Great White North for nothing. 🙂 My husband did see a huge formation of Canadian geese honking their way north though, that’s a positive sign.
That’s a great sign! Lol No snow left in Toronto, but still going below zero at night, Spring is here!!
Almost there!
No poetry today, I had a restless night and now I am looking forward to going outdoors in the interlude between showers. Might take a nap later. I’m wearing Azemour.
You smell lovely!
I had a very awful day yesterday because I had the pet hospice come to help say goodbye to my beautiful sweet gentle boy kitty Dusty, who was almost 12, and had a gigantic tumor on his neck. He had begun to go downhill after doing remarkably well since his diagnosis so it was time, but still very very sad, and I was sick to my stomach all day. I decided to wear Calling All Angels because he was becoming a kitty angel. That reminds me of this beautiful plaque I love that I bought years ago in, of all things, an airport shop.
Here is a poem I’ve always loved. I should be able to think of a floral perfume to go with it but it needs to be something very delicate and simple and I can’t think of one. My mother always read us poetry when we were little kids and I still remember her reading this one. Kind of a strange thing to read to children but her mother had read poetry to her and she did the same. It’s funny because even if you can’t understand poetry as a child I think you can be captivated by the sounds and rhythms of the words. Who knows maybe this poem contributed to my becoming a philosopher, too?
Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron (1809–92)
FLOWER in the crannied wall,
I pluck you out of the crannies,
I hold you here, root and all, in my hand,
Little flower—but if I could understand
What you are, root and all, and all in all, 5
I should know what God and man is.
Sending love to you, Calypso ❤
So sorry about your kitty Calypso.
Here is the plaque: https://www.instagram.com/p/B-dxwcUpnzG/?igshid=1067iydlhpidw
A former neighbor used to make similar plaques and ornaments. They look like scrimshaw. Her name was Rachel Badeau (not sure of the spelling) . Your plaque is perfect for cat lovers.
Big hug to you. You loved him well.
I am so sorry, gentle journey to Dusty at the Rainbow Bridge and hugs to you.
Oh Calypso, I’m so sorry for your loss. Biggest virtual hugs to you.
I’m so sorry for your loss, Calypso. Dusty will be waiting for you at the bridge.
Love that name.
So sorry, Calypso. When I’m down, I watch Lisa Eldridge make up videos. In her latest video, she is very sad, as her cat that was 19 years old, passed away last week. She has such a nice, warm screen presence – maybe watching her video will comfort you.
So sorry you lost your friend ?
I’m so very sorry for your loss. And that’s a beautiful poem. May your memories comfort you.
I’m so sorry?
Rest in peace, Dusty. Hugs, calypso.
So sorry Calypso, hugs.
So sorry, Calypso. RIP Dusty. He was a beautiful kitty.
I’m so, so sorry you lost Dusty. I know you loved him well and he knew it.
Aw. Very sorry to hear that you had to say your final goodbye to your sweet Dusty kitty yesterday. My sympathies. Many hugs, too. ?
very sorry! happy trails to Dusty. He was surely well loved, and I’m sure he knew it.
I am so sorry.
RIP Dusty. Sending hugs
I am so sorry for your loss, Calypso.
What a gorgeous boy he was. I’m so sorry for your loss.
I’m so very sorry, Calypso. Sending you ((hugs)) at this incredibly difficult time.
So sorry for your loss, calypso. RIP Dusty!
Sorry for your loss. I know many people find their cats to be great companions.
I thought maybe clove pink or wallflower for the little flower.
So very sorry for your loss.
Oh my gosh, Calypso. I’m just seeing this. I’m so sorry. Sending you lots and lots of heart.
The Sun is finally here! I went out to Walgreens and scored toilet paper and bleach. Thursday is delivery day.
I was wearing Carven L’eau de toilette, but it has worn off. I find it similar to Caylx with the added note of ivory soap. I’m about to apply for unemployment for the first time ever, so I will be spritzing some No.19. Fingers crossed that I don’t screw it up, and that I’m approved!?
Good luck with your unemployment claim!
Yay for sun, TP and bleach! ?
Good luck, Lillyjo, you will smell so elegant.
Good luck lillyjo!
Good luck!
I’m sorry about the unemployment lillyjo. Wishing you well❤️
Fingers crossed for you!
You can do it lillyjo! Hugs.
Good luck with your claim! ?
Good luck lillyjo!
Thanks all! After much reading and filling out info, I will have to complete the application next Tuesday, which is my official furloughed date. I sprayed enough 19 to last that long ?
Smelling great lillyjo! I bet it feels like you won the lottery with tp AND bleach. Plus sun! Wow☀️?
lillyjo for the win!
Toilet paper, bleach and sun…a great day indeed! ☀️
Wishing you good luck on everything going smoothly!
I’m wearing vintage Oriental Lumpur from my list to Donatella. Spicy and dry and it really was lovely to have it around today.
Donatella approves, I am sure.
I’m wearing Safran Troublant today. My husband asked me if I could wear “that perfume that smells like an Indian dessert”, so I happily obliged. I’m all rosey saffron-y goodness.
I’m excited to make a turkey meatloaf this afternoon. I also just realized that we have the ingredients for Negronis in our liquor cabinet, so I’m going to make a real cocktail for happy hour.
We’ve been drinking Negroni’s – maybe our little nod of solidarity to Italy, but our Campari is running dangerously low and the liquor stores are closed. Non-essential, they say. 🙁
Wow, you must not be in the US. Here alcohol and pot are considered essential ?
We have Campari! Are you willing to share your recipe for a Negroni?
PA is supposedly reopening the online liquor store, but so far, impossible to get through, ha!
I just caved and bought Safran Troublant before the shutdown! I was afraid I wouldn’t like it as much in Spring (more of a Fall scent to me)) but It’s such a versatile one! I layered it with Tauer Vanilla Flash, it was delicious 🙂
Genius pairing!
Sotd- Grandiflora Queen of the Night
THE SUN IS OUT!!!
????????
YES! I hope it sticks around. You smell wonderful!
Thank you lj?
You smell amazing, and I celebrate the sun with you! I’m hoping it comes out fully here so I can take a walk and bask in it after work.
Thank you. I hope you have many sunny days ahead.
Woo hoo on both!
?
Very grey and dismal day here and, for the first time since this started, I’ve been feeling listless and dispirited. I’m not a sociable person, but I like walking and swimming and liveliness. Well, visiting this site and reading your poems have helped immensely. Will go spritz Tilda Swinton Like This for extra comfort. Take care, everybody!
In the same boat here, Amyitis. We’re in the middle of a 10-day gloomy streak, so “listless and dispirited “ are the words for my mood as well. Let’s spritz with abandon & get through this! ?
I will try and send some sunshine to you. It makes such a difference. ?
I’m skipping to Chapter 6 of Song of Solomon. And wearing a mix of Elie Saab L’Eau Couture and Kiss Me Intense because of almonds. One is sweet, the other bitter. Together they make me smile.
He:
You are beautiful as Tirzah, my love,
lovely as Jerusalem,
awesome as an army with banners.
Turn away your eyes from me, for they overwhelm me —
Your hair is like a flock of goats leaping down the slopes of Gilead.
Your teeth are like a flock of ewes that have come up from the washing;
all of them bear twins; not one among them has lost its young.
Your cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate behind your veil.
My dove, my perfect one, is the only one,
the only one of her mother, pure to her who bore her.
The young women saw her and called her blessed;
the queens and concubines also, and they praised her.
“Who is this who looks down like the dawn, beautiful as the moon,
bright as the sun, awesome as an army with banners?”
She:
I went down to the nut orchard
to look at the blossoms of the valley,
to see whether the vines had budded,
whether the pomegranates were in bloom.
Before I was aware,
my desire set me among the chariots of my kinsman, a prince.
Agnes was a bit disconcerted this morning as we took our older lady Hallie to the vet. Time for blood work, etc. she has kidney, thyroid issues and some mouth problems. They’re giving her some B12 and fluids and antibiotics. It was sweet that Agnes apparently meowed quite a bit after I left with Hallie. When I got home, she was laying atop my husband’s down vest and then snuggled next to me for comfort.
My husband was quite excited to hear that Dunkin’ was open. He trotted up there for coffee and a donut. I’m gonna have him fetch me a turkey club from the diner up the street later. I’ve got a craving….
Off to do laundry in the basement. Bringing gloves and Lysol for the table.
Agnes is such a sweetie! ?
Hallie got home feeling better and has spent the rest of the day hissing at Agnes, who is a bit confused by it. She’s giving Hallie a wide berth.
Late but accounted for!
Wearing Gucci Mémoire d’une Odeur…I forget how great this one is. This one is nearly undetectable for about an hour, and THEN it appears and smells so good…..
You smell great !
I’ve been thinking about poems, and one that came to mind is Ted Hughes ‘The Horses’. loved it when I first read it at school some decades ago. However, I still haven’t decided what would go with it.
Meanwhile, I’m embracing the idea of formal Friday, and I’m going to wear a gold dress that I might have worn if my beloved and I had got around to going out for a meal to celebrate his birthday a few weeks ago. I’ve got quite a few Zoom meetings today, so my efforts will be seen by others 🙂
SOTM will be Lubin’s Idole.
Formal Friday. Great idea!
As of now I am still going to work (as an essential employee), which is good for me because when I am home I continually watch updates on the Coronavirus-19. Before all this misery came to fruition, I had bought myself a bottle of Chanel Riviera Cologne which after sampling it, I thought would be lovely for Spring, plus I hadn’t bought a new bottle of anything for quite a while. Even though I have still been wearing perfume every day, my heart hasn’t been into it as usual. I have two other Chanel Colognes from last year (Venise and Deauville) which I enjoy but they don’t last that well on me. However, I sprayed the Riviera on myself before leaving for work and I can still smell it after after 6 hours and I am enjoing it immensely. It’s very long lasting for a cologne.
I do love those Chanel colognes myself. Swoon lol
So many good posts to read today, I will revisit them later on today.
I am checking in quickly to say; I awoke with a need to wear Guerlain Encens Mythique and which was a perfect choice with cappuccino this morning. Now after severe post house cleaning am now in DSH Oeilliets Roughes. This feels so rich.
I feel like I am the only one who does not have a spotless house!
Oh, my place will never be spotless. Two cats means pawprints and noseprints all over the place. And I will take that over spotless and pristine any day.
Dad and I create clutter, so our areas aren’t spotless. I think I’ll be working on the living room some more, though, to get that all cleared up.
Robin, mine is not spotless, I assure you.
Thanks to all the fellow slobs for checking in 🙂
House Twins and coincidentally, I just received my DSH order which included bottle #2 of Oeillet Rouges!
I am wearing Demeter Mr. Bubble today and drinking Kona Pineapple tea. I am on my third cup.
Oooh I have always wanted to try Mr Bubble:) And do love Pineapple tea:)
My favourite poem is from Vittoria Aganoor
Unfortunately couldn’t find translations so , I will share it in Italian
Le cose belle che volevo dirti
Se l’è bevuto il mare
Bisognava di perle a popolare
Le sue squalide sirti;
Le parole più tenere e amorose
che ti volevo dire
Se l’è rubate il lido
Per fiorire le sue siepi di rose;
E quelle che il desio non datto,
quelle dell’anima, incorrotte,
O mia dolcezza, le ghermi
la notta per vestirsi di stelle.
Vittoria Aganoor
1855-1910
I am wearing vintage Balenciaga Le Dix
I’m doing a side-by-side (wrist by wrist) comparison – on the right Histoire de Parfume moulin rouge. On the left Cuir Ottoman. They share some similarities with the violet and the leather. Moulin Rouge is fruitier to my nose, cuir more powdery. Of course, I prefer the one I only have a sample of (Cuir).
Must get some work done! Tough to get going today.
All the magnolia pictures this week had me put on FM Eau de Magnolia today. I love this perfume.
Current candle burning: Brooklyn Candle Studio Palo Santo.
Thanks for all the great poems everyone has posted! I’ll try to get my act together for the CP tomorrow.
nice! I have a sample of EdM around here somewhere . . . (trots off to toss the sample stash) . . .
I hope you found it! Otherwise there’s always *THE* EdM.
Eau de Magnolia. It ‘s a sunny day scent. Lovely! I need to pull mine out.
Another busy day. Wearing TDC Santo Incienso Sillage Sacre.
Coming back later to read comments.
More sun and fewer clouds today, but egads is it ever windy! No kite could ever survive those gusts…
SOTD = MDCI Parfums Rose de Siwa EdP, from the sample stash and a lovely NSTer. It’s a pretty, pale pink rose-y hug of a perfume. Exactly what I need today. ??
Truly pretty!
Wind galore, here, too.
Very windy. And dusty! ? You smell lovely, though. Very Springy!
You smell very pretty!
It was windy except when I stepped out for 10 minutes! You smell lovely!
I was searching for a poem I couldn’t find, and came across this from The Poetry Foundation website (first stanza only):
spring again
BY JESÚS PAPOLETO MELÉNDEZ
spring came /
the same way winter left
& summer will come
& summer will leave; slowly
/ when no one’s expecting it
when people are tired of waiting
like waiting for welfare checks /
a long wait/ a slow wait
Wearing Canyon Dreams by Keiko Mecheri from a decant I bought ages ago. Still regret not buying it in the original, beautiful, black-and-gold bottle.
Like waiting for unemployment checks. Couldn’t be more timely.
L’Ame Perdue after a long day with a few too many covidiots.
But no work tomorrow, so I’m having a very early Friday.
Not so much into poetry anymore. I used to enjoy it as a teenager and a young adult but these days I can’t really be bothered. Sorry.
I hope you can relax and recover tomorrow.
I will, and thanks!
Don’t be sorry…it was my idea for a project and not sure I will participate tomorrow either.
I’m actually enjoying other people’s efforts but I’m too tired and distracted to join in. And I’m not even working in an ICU unit.
I was going to post a nonsense poem that I wrote about 6 years ago, alas, too shy. How about this:
Flowers in the air,
Flowers of the earth
She reaches
For the moment
Of perfect communion
Joy
And Knows.
(i just made that up)
Well done! You must do alot of writing to be able to make up something quick like that.
Thanks, Lilly, 😀 !
I am actually out of practice and haven’t written anything in a while; I usually need to feel inspired, reading everyone’s else’s poems I think did the trick!
Some L’air du Desert Marocain to go with a story about poets…from the Star Wars universe. Clearly I’m deep in the junk food realm of reading but, if you liked Rogue One, you’ll probably like this story. https://archiveofourown.org/works/9248573
Poetry isn’t something I pay much attention to; I’m seeing I should change that. So many lovely, moving, and thought-provoking posts.
I made the mistake of getting a few samples, one of which is Hiram Green Lustre. Rose is not my thing. Especially a “fresh, pink” rose. Well, it’s danged gorgeous. I should note that: 1) I adore everything I’ve tried from Hiram Green so there’s that. And, 2) based on Fragrantica reviews it looks like it’s the “fresh” rose for people who don’t like fresh rose perfumes. I don’t know that I would call it fresh. It’s definitely not dewy. It is quite close to smelling a fully opened hybrid tea in the garden though. The citrus makes it sparkle. The orris kicks in and gives a musky, waxy feel rather than powder. Then in the drydown, it deepens; I guess that is the olibanum. Not sure how but it gives me the effect of a summer afternoon fading into evening.
And I need to stop getting samples because I don’t need to love any more perfume than I already do.
Any Frasier fans needing a laugh? Just came across this on Vulture:
https://www.vulture.com/2020/04/frasier-coronavirus-episode.html
There are other shows listed as well but this one was my fave!