Happy Friday and happy Juneteenth! Our community project for today is Fantasy Vacation...pick a destination and wear the scent that takes you there. (This is a repeat from 2015.)
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.
It is hard to imagine my bucket-list trip to Budapest at this point, but let's say it's happening? I tend to travel with little fragrance and mostly no-brainers. For Budapest in early summer, I'm going with the always dependable Guerlain Cologne du 68.
Reminder: on 6/26, wear a perfume by Une Nuit Nomade, Ulrich Lang, Vilhelm Parfumerie or Vero Profumo if you have one. Partial credit for any other small-ish brand that starts with the letters U or V.
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: I'm featuring paintings by Giovanna Garzoni this week; I became interested in her art after Kevin sent me the article The Baroque Artist Who Captured the World in Her Still Lifes. Shown above is detail from Plate of Asparagus with Carnations and a Grasshopper by Giovanna Garzoni, via The Protofeminist Insects of Giovanna Garzoni and Maria Sibylla Merian at Art Herstory, (presumably) public domain. Perhaps I will do a week of Maria Sibylla Merian at some point, or if you know of another interesting, lesser-known artist whose work is mostly in the public domain (in other words, not copyrighted), do comment!
Gorgeous painting!
Not participating in the CP. I am wrapped in a cloud of Chanel No. 19 (body soap & EdT). Love it!
On my 2nd cup of coffee and a toast with ginger jam. Glad is finally Friday!
Have a good day, everyone!
Hmm.. you can be at the Ritz in Coco Chanel’s apartment to match with your perfume ..
I’ll take that! ?
Oh, ginger jam sounds tasty! And No. 19 is perfect for any occasion!
I think a while back (eight or so years), Chanel released a body cream in No. 19, it was quite pricey but it’s so luxurious and rich-smelling.
I never tried the body cream, but if they release it again I would buy it without hesitation!
I’m glad it’s finally Friday, too!?
?
You’re smell wonderful! ?
Thank you! ?
You smell wonderful!
I wanted to buy No19 soap – and then something distracted me, other purchases seemed more urgent… I didn’t know it wasn’t a part of the permanent products line-up! And now it’s gone, I can’t find it anywhere but double-priced at eBay. Bummer!
Thank you! I was able to grab some and I am using my last bar now. I hope it is back in stock soon. They still have bars of Coco Mademoiselle and I have been tempted to get some, but since I don’t like the perfume I always remove them from the cart.
Ginger jam sounds like something I’d love, since candied ginger is a favorite treat! And you can’t go wrong with No. 19.
That jam is very addictive. I usually get Mackays Ginger Jam or Stonewall Kitchen Fig & Ginger. Both are really good if you love ginger.
Good to know, thanks! ?
My fantasy vacation is the one we booked for this coming September: two weeks across the Pacific on a cruise ship with almost no stops, and then a week in Japan. We’d been planning for almost a year, we prepaid everything, and then… pandemic. Obviously nobody’s going anywhere (and obviously we didn’t get much of our money back). It was going to be reality, and now it’s just fantasy.
But we were in Japan in 2012, and I bought a bottle of SL Feminité du Bois at the duty-free on the way out, so that’s what I’m wearing today. Cedar feels like a Japanese wood to me (temple incense?), and every time I wear the scent I’m reminded of the trip, probably the best we ever took. Even if we never get to go back, we were there once, and I’m immensely grateful that we got to do it. FdB smells kind of like gratitude.
What a wonderful scent association and memory. ?
Really, you did not get your money back? Did they give you a credit for a future trip or anything?
(And apologies if you have already said all this here and I’ve forgotten.)
We bought tickets to MN for what was going to be my 20th college reunion this month. When we cancelled, we didn’t get money back because we arranged it through my husband’s company travel agent. Don’t understand how that works, when the airline was offering refunds, but we’ve had no success pushing back on it.
We hadn’t paid for the cruise in full: the $1200 deposit was non-refundable, even though it was cancelled (no cruise ships can enter or leave Canadian ports). Delta gave us back about half our money for the flight from Japan to Toronto. Air Canada refused to give us back a cent for the flight to Vancouver, but they gave us nearly-useless credit for the full amount: it expires end of 2021. But honestly, it’s not going to destroy us: when the pandemic set in, we resigned ourselves to the loss of the vacation and the money. It’s a shame, but that’s how these things go sometimes.
It’s a terrible shame! Really, it’s robbery when these huge travel industries refuse to reimburse for these unavoidable cancellations. I’m sorry you’re out the money, not to mention the disappointment of the cancelled vacation.
Well, I get why a deposit should be non-refundable but I still think they should give it back if your cruise is cancelled.
Not giving the money back just discourages customers from ever signing up for a cruise again — seems like shooting yourself in the foot.
Yeah, they really shot themselves in the foot, and for what has to be a tiny amount of money for them. They could have bought so much goodwill, but they were greedy, and we’re definitely not going that route again.
What a beautiful association. I’m so sorry that your dream vacation went kablooey.
Thanks. Honestly, that notwithstanding, we’re so lucky: we can afford to lose the money, we have our health, we’re living in a part of the world relatively unscathed by the pandemic. In context, losing a few thousand dollars and a vacation is nothing.
I hope you get to take your cruise dream trip! FdB is gorgeous.
Oh what a wonderful memory! I’ve never been, but I associate cedar and incense with Japan.
Hearing that other people are in the same boat always makes me feel somewhat better and it has no relation to schadenfreude. So, I can have empathy with your plight as we lost an entirely prepaid trip to Morocco in March. We also got vouchers, but they expire within a year, so one has to take a very optimistic view to think we’ll get any use out of them. If the companies survive, as well.
I am inspired by your gratitude and sorry the trip won’t happen right now.
I received my bottle of Shalimar cologne today, so I am in that and fantasy trip I would be at the Taj Mahal in a beautiful ? sari. Sipping chai tea..
Listening to Peace Train by Cat Stevens and wishing all the dads a happy Father’s Day weekend and sending anyone a Shalimar smelling virtual hug if they need it.
Your scent matches your fantasy trip perfectly.
Have you ever listened to 10,000 maniacs version of peace train? That’s my fav.
Ditto!
10000 Maniacs..that is a group I haven’t listened too in awhile..
I started to listen to old Natalie Merchant songs – well, one in particular at the beginning of the pandemic
” these are the days we’ll remember”
Such an appropriate song. Love Natalie since way way back!
way back!
Someone posted a live version of Cat Stevens doing this song here on NST and I really enjoyed it.
I love Cat Stevens. Makes me think of Harold and Maude (which I love, but it’s a weird film).
Weird, but really good, would like to re-watch it some time
What a perfect scent for a fantasy trip! I have a few scarves made from repurposed saris, they are so beautiful and colorful and are among my favorites in my scary collection.
In my ‘scarf’ collection… 😯
Gotta love autocorrect ?
? ? I know! Good lord, it’s handy, except for when it’s not!
I’m way overdue for new glasses (and the dentist) but I have a feeling this new rx is going to be a doozie.
Ha, I would love to see your scary collection (shivers…)
I’m in Omnia today. No word on my lost perfumes…?
As far as fantasy vacay, I’m back in my van, it’s fall with all the colors that entails, the roads are wide open and no one is on them but me and a few other like minded folks happily going about our business of traveling, being astounded by the wonder of the natural world, with no intentions other than to be, to appreciate, and be grateful for the moment. ?
I hope you get your fantasy sooner rather than later! Just a stinking hot summer to get through…
Great fantasy vacation! ??
Oh no!?
What happened?
To the perfumes? No clue! I bought two new bottles for the split meet, they were shipped from Luckyscent on 6/7 and disappeared. The store launched an “investigation” with UPS (the shipping agency) last Monday when I contacted them because I was unable to track the package and it had not been delivered.
?<—-MIA
Deva, if it’s UPS, you should be able to get a new shipment from Luckyscent – all UPS packages are minimally insured (so Luckyscent will in fact recoup a portion of their $$ if UPS lost it), and it’s the sender’s problem, not yours. Might it be time for some pressure? Good luck!
Yes, Monday (which is 7 days since bringing it to LS’s attention) is going to be pressure day, methinks. ?
Phooey on the MIA perfume packages.
I hope you get your MIA bottles soon!
TF Eau de Soleil Blanc and imagining I’m sitting on one of my favorite beaches up north. I’ll be doing just that over the weekend of the 4th and I hope the weather cooperates. Last year we had the entire beach to ourselves one afternoon and it was perfect.
TGIF! Yesterday was a long day, grateful for a 3 day weekend and some sun.?
Fingers crossed for good weather!
Copying Robin’s Monday scent – Guerlain Terracotta Le Parfum. Beach, sun, summer…
Yep!
Hi all and happy Friday!
My SOTD is vintage Estee Lauder’s Alliage Sport Spray. This scent takes me back to my childhood growing up on Long Island. My grandmother wore it, my first memory of Alliage is of her giving me a hug, fresh off the tennis courts, crisp smell of tennis whites, salty sweaty skin, freshly-mown grass, and the greenness of Alliage. 🙂
Now I’m off to walk in foggy San Francisco!
Robin, I love asparagus, and that picture! My favorite asparagus recipe is below, from Food52. I don’t use as much pancetta, it’s a little heavy for me…
https://food52.com/recipes/4023-absurdly-addictive-asparagus
OMG, that recipe is going to the top of my to-make list! Thank you!
Ciao ST, just checking to see how you are doing and how your friend is doing?
Another recipe I like to do that is quick is roast asparagus with chopped garlic, salt and Parmesan cheese.
I just made that last night!
I have good timing!! 😀
I’ve got a five-pound Cuban Pork roast marinating. My apartment smells like garlic and freshly chopped cilantro. Black beans and rice, done…
Cuban music (Tito Puente, Perez Prado, Celia Cruz, Benny More, Roberto Faz, Pio Levya and more), in the back ground.
Queued up one of my favorite food movies Chef, with Jon Favreau, Sofia Vergara, and John Leguizamo.
Ciao Lovestosmellgood. Thanks for asking, you are so kind… I’m doing so-so. I ate two cartons of Haagan Daas ice cream for dinner.
I’m concerned for my friend, I’m aware what’s ahead for her. It doesn’t help that she is an hourly employee, food insecure, no health insurance. During our conversation yesterday, she said “why do I have any reason to live? My every day life is already so difficult. I’m so tired….” 😯
I asked a few friends to check in on her…. She’ll need time to go through stages of grief and adjust. I plan on helping her whenever and where ever I can.
Your friend is lucky to know you. I’m glad you have friends who can help support her (and each other) as she moves into this new reality. Haagen Daas also is a good support system. I prefer the coffee flavor – can I pass you a virtual bowl?
Yes! Absolutely, please I’ll take two scoops!
I had my coffee ice cream last night with a dash of Frangelico. Tonight I’ll have my chocolate with a dash of Grand Mariner.
No fat in that, nope, none at all…
I also have been indulging in some gelato..Madagascar vanilla and double dark chocolate
My mother wore Aliage in the 70s, I have a soft spot for it (for asparagus too) ?
My mother wore Aliage, my father loved asparagus.
I join you in the soft spot, ringthing.
?
My favorite salad has asparagus in it as well. I love anything green and crunchy… 🙂
Nice recipe! I had been looking to purchase organic asparagus but the only ones I’ve seen lately are the banded stalks sitting on a water-filled basin in a highly-trafficked area. I suppose I need to see if Costco got the 2 lb bags back in again.
Add cheese, and it’s close to my favorite broccoli. OR, I should add pancetta to the broccoli:
https://barefootcontessa.com/recipes/parmesan-roasted-broccoli
That looks delicious! Thanks Robin! 🙂
Oooooh, bookmarked that! Thank you!
The nice thing about that recipe is it’s delicious even if you are missing (or too lazy to add) one of the components. I have done all sorts of variations.
Okay that recipe just gobsmacked me…
Enjoy! It’s delicious! 😀
I’m in Coco and want to join parumelover67 in Coco Chanel’s apartment in the Ritz! Checking in early but am about to go “off” to my virtual conference for all-day sessions, so à bientôt!
Enjoy the Ritz.. 🙂
I have visited the Ritz when a friend of mine actually stayed there in Paris after we had been at a conference together. I will tell a story about it later. In a rush now.
See you soon! ?
Sounds glamourous!
If your conference is via Zoom, you could probably try to find a picture of that apartment and use it as a virtual background 😉
Oh, and almost forgot: you smell great!
Ahhh lovely.
I’m not really participating in the CP this week, just wearing comfort scents. Today it’s Silences.
I love Silences!
I also love Silences!
Me three for the “Loves Silences” club!
I am actually on a short vacation today visiting Bend, OR for an outdoors weekend. But I am wearing Ichnusa in honor of the big vacation to France that we had planned in Sept with several friends (and like Pyramus, will not be going now). We had bought tickets, etc. but were fortunate to get most of the money back. However, at 62, I don’t ever feel now like “oh there’s lots of time to do these things.” What if there isn’t?
I hope your weekend is rejuvenating and relaxing at the same time. You smell fabulous.
Thank you!
Bend is pretty, and it smells like nowhere else I’ve been. I always stop in Sisters on the way to wander through art galleries, but I suppose that isn’t in the cards right now. 🙁
Funny – we just went out to get things from the car and my son said “doesn’t it smell great here?”
Dust and junipers.
Oregon is so beautiful! I’ve been fly-fishing a few times. Such gorgeous country! Enjoy a restful and restoring break.
Enjoy Bend! I hope you are having good weather!
Perfect weather! Thanks.
Enjoy, you definitely deserve a break!
Thanks!
I am 49 and sometimes wake up in a cold sweat dreading my time on earth is up. I don’t think anyone should take time to do things for granted.
You’re right – I just used to feel more relaxed about it, even if it was false.
Hoping you make your way to France eventually, but at least even in the meantime you’re spending your time in great places making great memories! Bend is lovely.
It’s been many many moons since I last passed thru Bend, OR. I still have pleasant memories of that family vacation, though.
Scent of the morning: CdG Grace Coddington. It’s a very pretty rose scent. Nothing to do with vacations, but maybe I’ll find something later that’s more evocative of a fantasy vacation.
Oh, I think we could find something fun for this fragrance – how about a tour through England’s villages and gardens?
English garden is just what I was thinking.
Very clever, folks! I like that idea. 🙂 Thank you!
My dream vacation is Ireland but I didn’t have anything particularly reminiscent of it, so I wore Fig Tree for Italy instead, which comes a very close second.
❤️ Ireland. Got engaged in Dublin and would love to go back and sound more time exploring all parts. People laugh when I say that vacation had some of the best food of any vacation I’ve had..including Paris.
…maybe Memo Irish Leather? I was in Dublin last summer and smelled it there.
I would just love to resume my exploration of Britain, both of its landscapes and its architecture. Somehow, with Brexit a fact and the Corona virus putting the country even more out of reach, I seem to have developed an even greater longing for the place …
Consequently, I’m participating with Lush’s The Smell of Weather Turning – both for its actual smell paying hommage to the British countryside and for its title which hopefully can remind us all not to give up hope that some day the weather, metaphorically, will be turning (for the better, of course).
That’s the one Lush perfume I really wish I had blind bought when they still had the 30 ml size. One day I may just bite the bullet and order the expensive 100 ml bottle. The description just speaks to me.
Any idea if Lush ever offers free shipping for smaller orders? I would like to buy some shower gel, but the shipping is outrageous, and I’m still preferring to avoid shopping IRL when I can help it.
Looks like free shipping over $40, and $6 if a small parcel…
Maybe I’m cheap, but I think $6 is a lot for shipping, and I don’t usually buy $40 of bath products at a time.
You can now get the shower gels in 1 liter sizes, which is amazing in terms of reduced packaging and carbon emissions associated with shipping. It would definitely put you into free shipping range, and you wouldn’t need to buy shower gel again for a long time!
I considered wearing this last week as part of the garden CP. I love it!
Woke up in Cormandel today but wearing Kyoto today. Too hot and humid and expecting thunderstorms today. People in my household are stopping at Costco to stock up on some groceries and I gave them my list. Creating a meal plan for when my folks are out of town.
Thunderstorms, check. Hoping they will end soon so I can go pick up my things at the farmer’s market without getting drenched.
Thunderstorms were in the forecast for me today, but they seem to have taken today off. I’m not upset about that. ?
Big heat wave here in Québec, I’m inside with the AC cranking. Wearing 4160 Tuesdays Lightning Ridge, which is supposed to smell like an opal mine in Australia (where it’s winter right now).
Still sad I couldn’t get to Montreal last month, weird weather or not…
And what does it smell like? (I don’t know what an opal mine might smell like)
It’s sort of incensey, mineralic and boozy. I’m sure the boozy part is just an added plus – a rum cocktail while touring the mine. 🙂
Sign me up! Sounds great.
Interesting, thanks cazaubon!
My scent of the day is Arielle Shoshana’s Saturday. My fantasy vacation today is a trip to the DC area to see my in-laws, visit a ton of museums and finally make it out to Arielle Shoshana’s store. Of course this is all perfectly safe and masks are not required.
Gosh, this stuff is just so darn good!
I’ve enjoyed this CP – every day I’ve been thinking of different fantasy vacations, which very strongly are determined by my mood. Today I’m missing loved ones, so I want to see them. Yesterday I was missing dramatic landscapes so I wanted to go to the beach. I was super stressed earlier in the week, so I sent myself to a meditation retreat at a posh resort.
We are twins! I have beloved relatives in D.C. and love the museums and long for a trip! It is about a 4 hour drive one way, so it can be a day trip but it is pretty tiring. Much better to stay with my cousin in Arlington. I was at Arielle’s last June and bought some perfumes and had a great visit.
So, in my little personal version of the CP, today I am imagining I’m taking a walk along the fun, hipster-filled Hawthorne neighborhood here in Portland. The businesses are all open, the sun is shining, and I’m enjoying people-watching while eating a scoop of Ben and Jerry’s. (In my fantasy, I’m no longer lactose intolerant, too!) I’m wearing vintage Shalimar for its I-listened-to-vinyl-before-it-was-cool vibe and to add va-va-voom to the vintage-inspired dress I’d be wearing on my stroll.
Imagining I am strolling next to you, as we have astonishing luck at the thrift stores…
Ooh. Let’s go see if we can find something really great and funky!
Nice fantasy!
I’m keeping them closer to home this week. It’s too hard to imagine seeing more of the world these days.
Happy fake vacation day everyone! I hope you are enjoying your travels of the mind. I struggled all week with this one, and then realized it was because the only trip I REALLY want to take right now is to visit my parents. Sniff. So I’m wearing Hyacinth and a Mechanic, because my parents have both hyacinths and a wonderfully gasoliney-smelling shed where they keep their lawnmower. On my fantasy vacation we will also take a drive to the Jersey shore and swim in the ocean.
From what I glean from comments he made, Hyacinth and a Mechanic was inspired by a particular scent memory of Andy’s. It really is an evocative scent!
Yes! To me there are perfumes that are just good smells and then there are perfumes that are emotional experiences, and this one is definitely in the latter category.
I totally get that distinction! Do you have other favorite scents that have that emotional connection? I’m thinking that for me the list includes Ubar (something strong, upstanding, persevering about it), SSS Nostagie (feels like Laurie was trying to evoke a particular moment in that one), and Lipstick Rose (which I know was based on a scent memory of the perfumer’s mother’s lipstick).
Balmain Ivoire, Parfum de Therese, Magie Noire, and there are days I straight-up can’t wear St. Clair’s First Cut because I know it will make me feel too many things.
❣️This.
Chanelling a vision of myself in expensive clothes strolling down the boulevard in Cote d’Azur.
Riviera babe, French riviera…
Chanel Paris-Riviera!
LoL, I am there with you – would be neat if we actually do that!
OMG! Yaas!
Perfection!
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Oh gosh, I really need my fantasy vacation right now. I think it would include a plane that could take off with me upon a whim to go travel the world. I would spend 3 months in Europe, gallivanting around to all the beautiful places I haven’t seen and returning back to my favorites, but with a home base in Rome. A stop in Paris for the hallowed perfume shops would be my first stop.I would venture to fabulous beaches and restaurants and carry a perfume made from every country I plan to see. I would end up on a safari for an additional month and somewhere along my comings & goings I would buy a goat in New Zealand, a tonkinesse kitten in Thailand, and maybe pick up an abruzzese maremma pup as a gift from my cousin.
I think I should begin my adventure with Vol de Nuit.
https://www.rarebreeds.co.nz/arapawagoat.html
Here’s an interesting goat for you, thought to have descended from a couple of goats left by Captain Cook in the late 1700s. The location is the Marlborough Sounds, a beautiful spot at the top of the south island.
Thanks for that link, I’ve just spent a very agreable half hour looking at all the horses and pigs in New Zealand. I’m a great fan of Kunekune.
Thanks Kanuka! They are really adorable I could take a couple, so cute.
The colors, those horns!
I’m wearing Songes for an imaginary holiday on a tropical island. I don’t even really like the heat, but I enjoy watching Death in Paradise and wishing for a week of that ordered and beautiful world.
Other than that Songes is just beautiful and a wonderful companion anywhere.
Love heat so long as I am right next to water! I saw a season of DiP but can’t even remember where they film it. Doesn’t matter, I will take the beach house from season 1, the one where the detective lives.
I so want that beach house. DiP is not that great in many ways, but it’s great escapist television and I particularly enjoyed the first two series with Ben Miller. Oh and all the detectives continue living on that beach.
I think it is filmed on Guadeloupe.
Agree — dumb but enjoyable, and does not seem to make you a worse person, unlike some dumb but enjoyable tv.
Enjoy your trip!
Thank you! Sometimes I think that the anticipation is even better than the actual trip itself.
One of our best vacations was to Hawaii so I’m going tropical. I rediscovered my box or minis this week so I selected LL Elle l’Aime’s Lime and coconut.
Can’t get more tropical than that!
I’m back in Capri exploring the Amalfi coast and the cities in surrounding area. From a yacht. (If we are doing fantasy, let’s go all in.). And wearing gorgeous Italian leather sandals and small handbag. And gold, lots of gold. And linen.
Fiori di Capri.
This was me last year but without the yacht, gold, small handbag and Italian leather sandals. My shirts had the linen look somI suppose that counts!
Hah! A friend of mine did a similar trip to yours in the past year. I was jealous. In the fantasy I also need to be slender to carry it off….
I enjoyed the food more than the hiking. I ended up “going with the luggage” twice instead of hiking and also only opted to do 2/3 of one of the hikes due to the 1,000 step ascend and descent which my poor knees could not tolerate (but ended up doing a lot of steps anyway because I got lost exploring and took the long way back to the hotel).
And some fantastic sunglasses (gold, if you like).
Love this..
Can I come with you?
Also I would be fluent in Italian and say things like ..allora…che bello..etc etc and using hand gestures..
I’m wearing Assam of India. I was supposed to go in March, but…. The trip is rescheduled for March 2021 and I’m really looking forward to it. I expect I’ll buy some tea while I’m there, even though I am more of a coffee person.
will you travel up to Darjeeling, foxbins? you can smell the tea before you get there.
marvelous! both trip and sotd 🙂
Finishing off my sample of Kilian blah blah blah Princess which has actually grown on me.
I get green tea, ginger and vanilla and not sure I have any other vanillas w/ green tea or ginger.
Green tea, ginger and vanilla sound like a tasty treat to eat as well as sniff.
I did a sniff-off of Montale So Amber and Hermes Ambre des Merveilles, both rather different. Retrofitting the CP, amber equals visiting Tofino in colder weather, drinking tea and watch the pounding waves.
Oooh can I come too? Tofino is one of my favorite places!
Oh I would love to be in Tofino right now!
Was in Tofino years ago whale-watching. It’s a beautifuk corner of the world.
SOTEM = American Perfumer DSH Colorado
I’ve only been to Denver on stopovers but really want to explore several areas. My dad got a mining engineering degree from The Colorado School of Mines in Golden, CO and I want to go there as well.
SOTD = Parfum Satori Satori
Another fantasy trip is to visit Japan, especially on a temple tour but I don’t want to be under any dietary restrictions that may be imposed on the monks or the caretakers of the temples. Maybe I’ll encounter pyramus ? there!
I was supposed to go on a tour of Switzerland and Germany in mid-July and to attend the Oberammergau Passion Play for a day. The trip has been rescheduled to 2022 and we’re signed up for that. We used a travel agency but our rep was incommunicado so my sister did all the rearranging.
I am still working on my Italian haiku, haven’t forgotten
Donatella approves ?
I’ve never been to Japan and would love to go there someday. The Shikoku temple pilgrimage has always fascinated me, much respect for people who walk the 750 miles and visit all the temples.
Wow! 750 miles! That would be a challenge and if I were up to it while still working, I would split this up into 3 trips of 2 weeks each.
I was in Oberammergau a few years ago – we stayed nearby on a farm but my brother stayed right in town. It wasn’t during the actual passion play, but still lively (in a nice way). Went to a really good restaurant there. If you ever reschedule, I’ll try to figure out what it was called :). Switzerland, as of today, has lifted almost all restrictions due to low case numbers.
The Passion Play organizers rescheduled to 2022 already … i’m thinking it takes a lot to organize something that only happens once every 10 years. We start in Zurich and would love restaurant recommendations there as we have some meals on our own whereas. I don’t recall the meal situation at Oberammergau but a recommendation would be great regardless. Thanks!
I won’t be much help re. Zurich, but before you go, definitely get in touch!
Denver and Golden are pretty much squished together now. No empty space between the two cities anymore. But the view from Lookout Mountain is still amazing.
Today my armchair travel takes me back to Siem Reap and Angkor Wat.
Where we get up at 4am in the cool of the morning to go to the ruins and walk through the Bayon.
My fragrance is Indochine and I am surrounded by hundreds of thousands of carved apsaras.
You reminded me of the movie Indochine with Catherine Deneuve. And I am super embarassed to admit that I only Googled your avatar name just now. Celestial nymph is kind of cool!
One who dances for the gods.
Thanks!
Another one on my bucket list! (I don’t really keep a bucket list, but Angkor Wat and Budapest are always the first 2 places I think of to go.)
Eau D’Italie Magnolia Romana for my personal Roman holiday.
Late mornings, sunny afternoons in the shade of some cafe or tree, long conversations about nothing and everything, a book in the gardens, lazy days on a balcony overlooking a busy piazza, art museums, glorious pasta, endless summer twilight.
Oh, all of that sounds just perfect!
SotD = Eau des Merveilles!!!
It’s been too long, darling EdM. I do love you so, please forgive my unfaithful nose.
EdM has gone on vacation with me every summer since it came into my life about 5 years ago. This year EdM and I are (pretend) vacationing in Vancouver, BC, my favorite urban vacation destination. I love playing in mountains and oceans equally. Vancouver has both, and EdM smells like ocean air and tall trees to me.
Applause and more applause for Robin’s choice today! Cologne du 68 is a perfect summer vacation scent. It’s another bottle I always take with me for the annual week at the beach where my extended family has our summer retreat.
Please share if you have a favorite perfume released in the last year or so that is stocked by Luckyscent? I’m tempted to put in an order for samples this weekend.
Happy Friday, fragrance friends!
How about a little ‘ Vancouver Rain’ to enhance your (pretend) trip? An original from my favorite cellist, Ian Maksin, who composed it as a tribute to a place he loves. Enjoy!
https://youtu.be/uZglAQCYqYk
marvelous! thank you, Laila! 😀
I know there were some complaints that the samples are more expensive, but Jorum Studios is carried by LuckyScent now.
Having gotten the chance to talk to Euen the perfumer behind the brand in Edinburgh last year at his pop-up shop during the Fringe Festival, he hadn’t figured out US distribution by that point and was quite frustrated by how expensive it was trying to get his products overseas, so I think the sample pricing is reflective of that issue.
That said, all the fragrances are really unique/complex and worth trying. I wound up buying Phloem and Nectary before I left Scotland last year!
thank you for the recommendations! 😀 will definitely check out Jorum Studios scents.
You may want to try some new releases like Goldfield & Banks Bohemian Lime, Hiram Green Audacious, Xerjoff Corallo and Golden Dallah, L’Artisan Couleur Vanille, SHL 777 Isra & Miraj, Rogue Perfumery Jasmin Antique, or 4160 Tuesdays Meet Me on the Corner.
perfect! thank you for the recommendations. Audacious and Bohemian Lime are already in my shopping cart, I’m sure I’ll add more now. 😉 4160 Tuesdays is a house I’ve always wanted to try, and I didn’t realize Luckyscent carries them.
Happy Friday and Happy Juneteenth Everyone!
SOTD: Bronze Goddess by Estee Lauder. Perfect summer scent for any destination spot. Oldie but always a goodie!
Have a great weekend Everyone!
Yes it is 🙂
I’m wearing Hove Perfumery Fascinator to conjure up New Orleans. I’ve been there many times so it’s only a fantasy in that I can’t go there right now, but we have lots of friends and family along the Gulf Coast and we like to make NO our home base so they can all come and see us. I miss everyone.
I have not been in 20 years! I will be one of the (fantasy) people who comes to (fantasy) visit you.
I was there in October 2014 and I think Fascinator was one of the samples I bought!
Never been to New Orleans, but would very much like to go!
Wearing my decant of Corsica Furiosa, but to my nose it’s a cousin of Untitled L’Eau, just more resins and a bit darker.
The took the boyfriend to the surgery again, because he has a hemorrhagic pericardic tamponade and a big hematoma. Still have not heard anything…. The poor boy has a knack for complications, hope it will be better after his
Oh, dear. We’re thinking of him and you.
Oh no, I’m so sorry to hear about the boyfriend! What a time he’s had. I hope all goes well at the surgery. ??
Hope surgery goes well. Thinking of you both.
Thanks you all, just got a call. He is back, stable and now on steroids for the inflammation. Will visit him tomorrow
That’s good news. Wishing him a speedy recovery!
Yay…good news. 🙂
What a rough time for you both. I hope things begin to improve this weekend.
Oh what a relief. And they tested him for covid since the other day, I assume, and he was negative.
Hope you have him home soon!
Great news after the bad! Wishing him well!
Wow, you both have had a lot of ups and downs lately. Good luck! ?
Glad he came through okay, wishing him a speedy recovery.
That’s very good news!
I’m glad it went well. So much stress for you, I hope he recovers without any more complications.
So sorry!!! I wish him a speedy recovery and fortitude for you.
I hope things will start improving for both of you from now on.
I’m so glad you were able to get him back to the hospital quickly! I am thinking of both of you, and sending healing vibes your way. Biggest hugs to you.
Sending positive energies, healing vibes and big hugs your way.
Hope the surgery goes well and big hugs to you.
Wearing Ormonde Jayne Tiare – one of my tropical vacation perfumes. I still have a fantasy that we’ll be able to take that September trip to Hawaii, but meanwhile Hawaii are closed until July 31st – we’ll see how it goes, and how the situation in the country progresses. We can always move the tickets to the next year, and I still haven’t booked a condo, so we won’t lose anything but the hopes for a vacation 🙂
The hopes matter too though!
I would like to think I’m going back to Grenada next February, right up until the last minute, even if I’m not going. Just thinking I am going makes it easier to make it through the winter.
You have a much longer period to enjoy your hope 🙂 We’ll need to figure out soon whether we want to even attempt to get a condo and then keep watching for the development to see if we need to cancel it 🙂
Yeah, that is really hard to decide. We normally book in Oct-Dec, hard to believe anybody will be booking anything then, but maybe.
Hope is good but if there’s still quarantines going on, so not worth it. I am awaiting the fate of my Bentonville trip. I hope it’s cancelled so I can get my money back. Even if it is on, I will just wait until the bitter end before making my intentions known…it’s not like I can transfer my spot although I just got a great idea!
Did you not get an insurance for that trip, or does it not cover these events?
I’m thinking of getting an insurance for the trip but I haven’t checked yet what are the current covered/qualifying events are.
It doesn’t cover cancellation by me. I booked the trip Sept 2019, way before we got a whiff of the virus and the Cancel for Any Reason is not worth it based on the overall cost of the trip.
I usually am an intrepid traveller, but at present I only want to go to the Buddhist retreat where I’ve taken my children twice on a youth retreat. It is set amongst indigenous forest in very hilly country. They serve only vegetarian food and the accommodation is a block of “cells” – very ascetic. But the peace and natural beauty are what I need now. I’m wearing MdO Chamarre for its lavender, but on my retreat I may only scent my body lotion with some lavender essential oil.
oh please take me with you! 😉 a retreat like that is on my wish list for “someday.” And I love lavender.
Sounds very serene…and the only thing I may be wary of is the vegetarian food — it’s definitely good but I am an omnivore.
That retreat sounds heavenly!
when I lived in San Francisco I use to go on a Buddhist retreat as often as I could. Days of silence and veggie food..nourished my soul
I don’t have a specific place in mind, but in the spirit of general coastal escapism I’m wearing Bronze Goddess layered over Bobbi Brown’s sadly discontinued Beach Body Oil. Of course, I’m headed out to a cattle ranch this afternoon so hardly as glamorous as I smell…
That seems so weird they stopped making the body oil, Beach must still be a big seller?
Those asparagus are just too beautiful for words. Participating in a generic, go anywhere, travel for the sake of it way by wearing Hermes Voyage Parfum.
those asparagus are beautiful to my eyes too. 🙂
I once smelled Voyage, that cardamom is so distinctive, while sitting on an airplane waiting to depart Los Angeles. I spent the next five hours wondering who smelled so good.
? The images were a treat this week. Oh absolutely agree, Voyage is ideal for cardamom lovers, how lovely to have smelled it on a plane!
Normally, I’d be all about vacation but today I’m all about getting back to normal–in other words, working. The governor announced that personal services can reopen on Mon so I will be back to work in a few days plus I just had a phone interview today so I’ll also be picking up a new part-time job! Yay, hallelujah! Scent of the day is the bright, happy and exciting Vine Street from Soivohle
That’ s a good start to summer. Well done!
Congrats on your new pt job!
Congratulations!
Yay…congratulations on the new job!
My fantasy holiday is to return to Pender Harbour or Desolation Sound BC by yacht, days on the water, feeling the tug of the wind and nights anchored in a quiet bay listening to the lapping water. Chypre Mousse.
Wow, Desolation Sound looks gorgeous. Like to be there in a kayak right now.
Sounds beautiful
Given the current state of the world, we have no trips planned at present, so my fantasy vacation is to return to places I’ve been to and experiences I’ve loved.
I started last week with Penhaligon’s Victorian Posy taking me back to England’s West Country. This week Pacifica Malibu Lemon Blossom had me cruising down the Pacific Coast Highway in a Mustang convertible, salty wind in my hair; then C&E Sonoma Valley made me one with the clouds again in a hot air balloon ride at dawn on another trip to California’s beautiful wine country. Back on land, EA vintage Blue Grass brought me back to the gently rolling green hills of western Kentucky’s horse country.
Today’s SOTD, C&E Nantucket Briar, takes me back to a very special place, Assateague Island, the northern half of a barrier island off the coast of Maryland (the southern part belongs to Virginia and is called Chincoteague, home of the famous children’s book, ‘Misty of Chincoteague’). Camping on the pristine beach, listening to the ocean just a sand dune away, smelling the wild beach roses growing everywhere, watching both the sunrise and sunset from our campsite, the tiny little night-blooming evening primroses opening before our eyes and, best of all, the tiny wild ponies native to the island just peacefully hangin’ out a short distance from our tent. Roses, a bit of greenery/hay, and a little bit of incense and spice conjure up these wonderful memories for me, til I can get back there again. Sigh!
Hope your fantasy takes you to a very special place this weekend and Happy Father’s Day!
Happy Juneteenth!
In ELDO’s Eau de Protection, which to me smells like my aunt’s little cottage that I would visit when I was very young. She used to make huge, elaborate panoramas of city and domestic scenes out of bits of wood and cardboard, adding items made for dollhouses like furniture and clay fruits and vegetable, and miniature newspapers, and bricks that she made herself. She had an entire kitchen counter top that was a scene of houses and buildings full of people going about their business. She would serve me coffee that was one part coffee to three parts half and half, and we’d invite her cat to join us for our tête-à-tête.
As for less well-known artists–new to me is Elizabether Southerden Thompson, and later Lady Butler. I learned about her from Malcolm Gladwell’s podcast. Her work is hardly conducive to a perfume blog, so I’ll paste a link here to a selection–mostly battle and regiment scenes https://www.artuk.org/discover/artworks/search/actor:butler-elizabeth-southerden-thompson-18461933. She was the first woman whose art was ever shown in the British Royal Academy, although she was never formally inducted into the Society.
Welp, a friend just told me that it was not cool for a white person to say ‘Happy” Juneteenth. As a lover of history and someone deeply interested in the events surrounding the Civil War and Reconstruction, I have always loved the recognition of Juneteenth as a day to commemorate and even celebrate. No offense intended.
I didn’t know what Juneteenth was until it all came out in the news over a week ago. There’s much about history I have yet to learn.
I said it in the sotd poll the last few years. I happened to read an article about the “happy juneteenth” phrase yesterday, looks like some people think it’s great to say it, and some don’t.
(Adding, there are also several twitter threads on this subject. I would say more people saying “yes” than “no”)
One of my “bucket list” destinations is Hawaii. I’ve wanted to go there since I was 6. It hasn’t happened yet, but I keep hoping… I think I would wear Guerlain Terracotta for the plane trip there.
However, I wasn’t feeling Terracotta today. So I ended up in Las Vegas, with Bruno Fazzolari Unsettled to keep me company. I’ve been to Vegas twice, not counting airport layovers. I don’t really gamble, but there is enough to do there to keep me entertained for a few days.
I’ve been to Vegas once on a work trip (and I participated in meetings) … those were the days when companies can wine and dine clients and I was part of the company doing the wining and dining but without the organizational responsibilities (I was “corporate” and the clients were usually impressed, for no apparent reason, when “corporate” was in the mix)
My trips were both definitely NOT business! It was shocking how much Vegas had changed between the two trips, though.
Hope you get to Hawaii! Luckily, I’ve been to Maui twice and also Honolulu one time; I’d go back to Maui in a heartbeat. Terracotta is a great fragrance to wear there!
Been to Vegas a few times, and it’s always crazy. I’m not a gambler, but there’s all kinds of other fun.
In Nahema this morning, so I’m somewhere fabulously exotic, but the precise geographic location is a bit vague.
Last time I wore Nahema a few weeks ago, it didn’t smell nearly as nice as I thought it should, and I wondered if it was starting to go off. Surely not, I thought, it’s a Guerlain! But I’m smelling it this morning and it seems as lovely as ever – my nose must have been having a bad day.
I unwrapped my BUB to compare, and they are very similar. The BUB seems a bit lighter, that might be a reformulation in the EdP, or might reflect that my first bottle is nearly 10 years old.
Nahema is gorgeous! ???
Not able to do the fantasy vacation thing due to lack of brainpower. Something mountains something hiking something cozy cabin with a fire at night. Alps? Colorado? Alaska? Bhutan? Amyitis’ Buddhist retreat sounds nice.
But it’s been a No. 19 kind of week, feeling a bit put through the wringer. Thanks for the swaps, or I wouldn’t have any!
I hope a good weekend is in store for you all.
I hope you have a good weekend. We can meet up in Colorado as I want to do a trip there (with American Perfumer DSH Colorado perfume).
Sorry about your crappy week. I’ve had a couple of those and can sympathize. You’re very welcome to my imaginary retreat!
I did a 7km walk in a heat wave today to distribute some of my ridiculous number of homemade beignets to friends, and therefore save my pancreas from myself.
I also had one perfume decant to contactless-pick up, someone who was letting go 5ml of January Scent Projects Selperniku Extrait. Holy moley, if you like apricot/osmanthus this one is a doozy!
I had put on Zoologist T-Rex for my walk and hosed off in the shower afterwards but was still worried a test spray of Selperniku on my hand might be wasted with the remnants of dinosaur still lingering.
But the Selperniku Extrait is powerful stuff! Opened on me with an impression of lightly citrus flavored salt water taffy, and then the apricot and osmanthus and creamy sandalwood came on strong.
Yay to beignets and a saved pancreas! I have not tried anything from JSP yet but that one sounds lovely.
Please bring beignets and osmanthus to DC – we have plenty of heat and humidity (starting next week) to help you feel at home!
Everything has kind of sucked this week and I am not looking forward to Fathers’ Day this Sunday, but I came by NST today almost exclusively to see today’s painting, and it did NOT disappoint. How gorgeous. Thank you, Robin.
Rose de Petra for a bit of heartening sparkle today.
Scent Cousin – I’m in Nuit a Doha! Hope this weekend and next week will be better, and that you’ll get through Father’s Day without too much sadness!
Hey there, scent cousin 🙂 and thank you <3
Sending you an extra big hug for the suckiness and sadness, Koyel; hope that Rose de Petra is working some uplifting magic for you.
Thank you, FM <3 it did help.
Sorry that this week was loaded with suck for you. I get it about Father’s Day… after my dad passed away, it was a bittersweet day for many years. It does eventually get better.
Thanks for that, Jalapeno <3 I am sure the same will be true for me eventually. Just…not yet.
Sorry for the sucky week. Hopefully good memories of your dad will carry you through Father’s Day. For the first time in a long while, my parents were in my dream about a week ago. The only thing I remember was finding giant ledgers that my dad said was okay to shred. I was not in a shredding mode so I have no clue what brought that on!
Haha 🙂 thanks, hajusuuri. I’ve been dreaming about my father a lot this week.
Great big hugs to you, Koyel. My week sucked too…but it is Friday at least.
And double hugs for Father’s Day…I will be missing my Dad too. 🙁 2nd Father’s Day without him.
Oh She-ra, sending you hugs right back <3
Hugs to you and She-Ra as you miss your dads.
Thank you, cazaubon <3
I lost my Dad this year, so yeah, we can have a joint cry on Sunday.
Oh Robin <3 sending you love and hugs this weekend.
I’m doing a retro vacation – in Nuit a Doha to recreate the scent of the high Sierras that I caught on our hike in Yosemite yesterday (we went for a long day trip). The drydown of Doha really reminds me of that sweet, dry smell that you get in the woods when it’s warm – I have never been able to pinpoint the source, and I’ve sniffed tree bark, moss – you name it! If anyone knows….it’s one of those scents that you only ever catch drifting by, but never up close. Lovely. Spent time today trying to figure out our actual summer – we are not quite ready to throw in the towel for Germany/Switzerland, but it’s just so unpredictable.
Oooh, Doha (and the Yosemite hike) sounds so nice! Putting it on the list of to-be-sniffed-at-some-point…
My parents came to Canada in 1949. They left Budapest in 1945. I was born in Vancouver in 1950. Hungarian is my mother tongue. I can still speak it. My parents had so many sad memories of their homeland that they never returned and they never wanted me to go. I would like to go to Budapest. People say it is very beautiful and the Paris of the East. It is so very far away from here.
SOTD: Givenchy Le Secret
It is indeed beautiful. I was there 10 years ago (or thereabouts) as part of a holiday tour with the Newark Museum. I think that going to your parents’ homeland carries with it an emotional attachment that makes it more special.
The largest synagogue in Europe is in Budapest, it is gorgeous, you can see it in this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhi8zBddfpc
Whenever the credits roll on Schindler’s List and the actors take their real life counterparts to put flowers on Schindler’s grave, I always cry uncontrollably. I mentioned the book here before, but for a biography of Hungarian Jews, I can really recommend Susan Faludi’s book In the Darkroom.
Late to the party today. I had a whole description of a dream vacation, driving through Yamhill County here in Oregon (wine country!) in an elegant convertible with scrumptious leather seats, top down, weather gorgeous … and then the internet ate my description before I could hit “post”. And then work got completely ridiculous and stayed that way up until a few minutes ago. Anyway, the scent I paired with the dream was, of course, Italian Leather. It has dried down to mostly vanilla now, but it did a good job of keeping me from losing my mind while working through the ridiculousness today. Happy Friday everyone!
Italian Leather! You smell wonderful!
Have completely missed the CP and NST this week… I’ve stayed predictable/boring for the last several days in Commodity Moss. I wasn’t crazy about a lot of the Commodity line, but I do like this one. However, since Commodity is no longer carried in Sephora, I don’t plan on going to any particular trouble to seek out more of it now that I’ve used up my largish sample. Next!
My anticipated vacay this year was to go with my sister to Croatia in September, for her first post-retirement trip. (What scents are evocative of Croatia? I haven’t done my research properly.) Instead, we are hoping now to get her through the last of her chemotherapy by late fall — oh, the things we never foresaw back in February! — so perhaps we can go sometime next year.
Yes to next year! Wishing your sister the very best and to you for being supportive. I have a Commodity discovery set somewhere but alas, anything I love would not be available anymore.
Thanks so much for your good wishes; I’ll be sure to tell her! (Both sisters and b-i-l fondly remember our sniffing expedition in NYC ? )
That was fun! Too bad no more Barneys ?
With times like these, predictable scents are a good thing!
Agreed. I’m finding that I kind of like the reduced mental effort involved in wearing the same scent for several days in a row.
Yep, I totally agree!
Best of health to your sister!
Commodity is back in buisness selling on its own website now.
???
Re paintings, one of my favorites is Remedios Varo. I don’t know if her paintings are in the public domain or not.
Cartier Carat. It’s somewhere between Puredistance I, J’Adore, and La Panthere.
The vacation would be a trip to the Tysons II Galleria Saks 5th Avenue where I bought it, with a lunch at the wonderful Lao restaurant Sen Khao — crispy wings in fermented chili sauce with eggplant salad and coconut sticky rice. So near, yet so far away!
Mmmm, Sen Khao is so good… I’ll join you there in my imagination!
Fantasy vacation is on the beach, in Rio, in healthier times. Wearing Batucada by L’artisan, which is the only L’artisan that lasts any amount of time on me.
Also, “Hello” everyone, I’ve lurked here off and on for a very long time, so it’s nice to finally participate.
Hello! Glad you delurked?
Welcome!
Welcome!
Welcome!
Glad you decided to join us, practicalann! Hope we’ll see you again.
I wore Shangri La today, my plan was to go to Greece and stuff my face with olives, tomatos, cheese and bread.
Instead I went to work, lol. Home now, and the power is out. Hopefully will be restored soon.
I hope you got the power back on ASAP. How was the first day back? Or was it Day 2 or 3 already?