It's Almost-Friday and National Junk Food Day. (Birthdays today: Robin Williams, Ernest Hemingway, Cat Stevens). What fragrance are you wearing?
I'm in Hermès Un Jardin Sur le Nil body lotion.
Reminder: on 7/22, for National Mango Day, wear a perfume (or a body product?) with a mango note, if you have one.
And for those of you who like to plan ahead, see Scent of the day ~ Friday community projects 2022, where I'll try (but obviously sometimes fail) to always have the next five or six weeks mapped out in advance.
Note: Top three images via U.S. Department of Agriculture Pomological Watercolor Collection. Rare and Special Collections, National Agricultural Library, Beltsville, MD 20705. Left (Mangifera indica: Hayden. Steadman, Royal Charles, b. 1875), Center (Mangifera indica: Haden. Schutt, Ellen Isham, 1873-1955); Right (Newton, Amanda Almira, ca. 1860-1943, Mangifera indica).
Gonna be a scorcher, 40C with the humidex, but for now I’m bright and cheery in 2000s-era Dior Eau Sauvage, dumbed down a bit and not as thrilling as it was in the ‘70s but still a classic.
Hot here too, but not that hot. Even dumbed down I am sure you smell great!
Good morning.
Sotd is MFK Aqua Universalis. Aquatic with a strong green bitterness like the rinds of an orange and crushed leaves. On the fence about this one.
Currently drinking iced matcha.
I am on the fence about most of MFK, unfortunately. I would like a bottle of Pluriel.
Mmmm iced matcha sounds delicious. MFK is weird to me because I really thought I would love them all and then i smelled them and it was meh. They all had a kind of screechiness on my skin. Money saved I guess.
I had some iced oolong tea this afternoon that really hit the spot.
I’m wearing Balle de Match, mainly because I couldn’t find my bottle of Pamplelune, and I wanted grapefruit today. I can’t eat it but I love the smell.
You smell fantastic PriscillaE!
Hello everyone, very pleased to say I was able to try Le Couvent perfumes for the first time today, Smyrna on one wrist and Porto Bello on the other. Thanks so much to those of you who mentioned this range here last week, I did not know their prices were reasonable (starting at £55 for 50mls) or that the wonderful Jean Claude Ellena had a new venture. Smyrna is a gentle rose that smells soft (not fuzzy) and clear (not musky), and Porto Bello has a gentle warmth and a woody drydown – again, not thick, not fuzzy, not musky – how can new perfumes be both warm and clear? These are such lovely discoveries! Thanks NST for little bits of happiness like this! Wishing you all a good day.
I wish I knew a place with testers in the US! Glad you found them.
Hi NST! I’m wearing 6 sprays of Jungle l’Elephant today, like chocolatemarzipan does. In for a penny, in for a pound! It smells wonderful in my air conditioned house, I don’t think I wore this at all last winter. I’ll see how I feel about it when I go out running errands in the heat.
Except she wore 24…
Ha! I just remember it was a lot.
I was thinking that 6 sounded a little bit low … 🤣
The Elephant is one of my perfume nemeses, but I do love to wear big, bold scents in hot and steamy weather. I am sure you smell wonderful in your side of the Jungle!
How did you and L’Elephant get along during errand time?
Fine! I did notice the cumin was more prominent and I couldn’t smell the cozy rice pudding smell that’s so comfortable in cold weather, and I couldn’t smell mango at all. But it didn’t give me a headache or anything so that’s good. Looking forward to a change tomorrow 😊
I’m wearing one of my two mango note perfumes, Jacomo Art Collection #9. I smell so summery.
Deva, still no Boyfriend. I’m letting the company know if it doesn’t show up today, because the USPS is no help at all.
Oh geez! Certainly hope that it’s winner when you finally get it…
Hope you enjoy it when it finally arrives.I like to use the body cream in the summer for warmer weather (more subtle).It is a warm,cozy scent that definitely shines in the autumn
Sorry about your delivery issues! I’d use mail order very little if I lived where the big shopping centers are.
Oh dear, definitely read that as a missing boyfriend and was confused how the post office would be a better help than the local sheriff 😀
Sending you some package luck now: 🍀🍀🍀🍀!
More mango! SOTD is Vilhelm Mango Skin, very fruit juicy.
Still waiting for FedEx to deliver my pergola. Shall we spin the wheel to see if it turns up today?
And we have finally started putting up the skylight blinds in the living room, so my house is full of scaffolding AGAIN. Can’t wait til they’re all up, the shade will be awesome (and I could use a break from the swearing from Mr Pixel…)
Very good luck with your pergola, hope it shows up!
More delivery issues – bleh!
So many people I know are having delivery issues lately. What a pain!
I’m going to wear my Boyfriend Dry Oil because of Foxbins waiting for her Boyfriend (ha— there’s some fun to have with the end of that sentence…).
Today is a day off and will be full of housework – new carpet is installed and I love it – and now there is dust to clean and lots of things to move back in place. I am so happy about the carpet that I won’t mind the housework!
New carpet, yay! We need to do that… someday.
Congrats on the new carpet! You smell wonderful.
Hooray for the carpet! And you smell lovely.
Whoo hoo for new carpet done!
I dug around in the unloved samples pile and found Biehl Parfumkunstwerke PC01, which has both mango and mango leaf. Not sure my opinion has changed (this was in the little baggie labeled “miscellaneous meh”), but it’s actually reasonably nice for the hot weather we’re having. If a travel spray of this made its way into my life, I would not be sad at all.
I’m giggling at “miscellaneous meh”. We all have a baggie like that. 😊
I have a pretty old box of samples where some have just evaporated completely lol. And faded labels on top of that. “I guess that was good? Who knows?” Lol.
I just could never come to grips with that line because of the coded naming system — too much work. Also I they seemed a bit meh, at least from stoppered sample vials, so no incentive to put any effort into it. But sometimes it just takes finding the right weather for a scent, so good luck!
“Meh” beats “bleah”, though.
So hot! Found a perfect little spot on Lake Washington that ticks all the boxes: shaded parking and sitting areas-check! Bathroom- check! Dog friendly- check! Beachy areas for doggo swimming and old lady wading- check! And no timed parking like most of the public parks here- Checkity, check, CHECK! The only downside is that it gets very crowded, which necessitates getting here early! So many people here! I can’t wait to be far from the madding crowds!
Wearing Falling in Love because it’s light and was the first thing my hand bumped into this morning.
Oh yay for the spot on Lake Washington! Sorry other people know about it too.
Hey guys, chiming in. Getting some packages sent off today and I smell good from decanting. Usually I manage a few sprays on myself lol. So right now I smell like a spicy labdanum as two scents dripped on me..not a bad combo actually lol. Isn’t national junk food day everyday? 🍟🍔? My favorite is In and Out as I think I have mentioned like 5 times on here. Gunna be a scorcher at 115 today ugggh. Mojave in July..bleh. stay cool guys!!
Love In & Out and just as well I don’t have one near me! I can settle for Shake Shack.
115!!
I saw an ad for a Velveeta Martini..aka the Veltini…lol junk food & booze at the same time. I will take the Godiva Chocolate Martini I had one birthday and let others enjoy the clay cheese cocktail.
I gagged so much when I heard about that Velveeta Martini. I can’t even type it out without feeling queasy. 🤢
It sure does sound hideous but of course I’m going to go look it up right now! 😀
Decanting twin – mostly it’s EL Sensuous Noir vs. vintage Shalimar Cologne. And, too – not a bad combo lol!
Interesting combo. I generally really like EL. I preferred the Nude over the Noir..coconut won over patchouli for me. EL was one of my main gateway enablers. And not mad at it lol.
Thanks for the supportive comments yesterday. I am feeling less burdened today. Also trying not to beat myself up for things I feel I could be doing better both professionally and personally. Rest assured, perfume research is not one of those things. I am still excelling at that. 😉
Trying Arte Profumi Bisquit and getting lots of chocolate and some orange so far.
Happy Friday Eve to all.
So glad it’s a better day She-ra.
Thank you, Robin!
This summer, when not taking care of the kittens, I’ve been consciously choosing to NOT try to keep up, or get ahead, on both professional and personal fronts. I’m not against improvement or progress, I’m just weary. There’s an overriding pressure, both external and internal, to be constantly making some sort of movement, checking items off the list, working toward a goal, getting things done. I think we internalize this to an unhealthy degree, particularly when it comes to our professional lives. Add to this the complexity of having much of our identity tied up with our jobs, and we end up feeling guilty any time we’re not fully engaged in being “productive.”
Completely agree. And then these are such heavy times with the state of the world in general…it all seems a bit surreal. And suffice to say I have no personal mission statement either.🤣
I hope the week continues to get better. And thank you for your service to perfume research. I have loved reading about your experiences with vanilla, so cool. Big thumbs up to you. And hello to your sister. I’ve been thinking of her recently.
Thanks, Kanuka! My sister lives in Connecticut and I visited her and rest of my family back east the end of June. It was really wonderful. I live in San Diego but grew up in CT. Everything was so lush and green there. We have been in a drought in southern CA the last few (maybe several 🙁 ) years and one forgets what green really looks like. 😉
I think a lot of us are just a little overwhelmed with everything right now. I almost listed all the stuff, but no one needs a downer list. It’s Friday. My only goals right now are 1) to (gradually) go through “stuff” in our house while cleaning and see what stays and what goes and 2) (much less gradual!) to find a dress for son’s wedding in September. Enjoy your perfume and weekend!
Yay for your son getting married!
Big hugs to you, SP. And yay for your son and good luck on the dress! I am mentally scheduled to go through my closet on Saturday as well. It’s not huge but it is technically walk-in which is not really possible right now.😅
Happy Friday eve to you too She-ra and I hope things continue to improve for you. Sending hugs.
Thank you, DolceVita! Big hugs to you!
Good to hear that you are feeling better today She-ra. More hugs, b/c we all can use more of those now.
Thank you, Jalapeno…hugs to you!
You smell yummy! I blind bought Bisquit las xmas.
It’s very nice and reminds me of Dulcis in Fundo a bit.
Glad you sound better today!
Thank you, hajusuuri!♥️
All this discussion about mangoes has me craving mango salsa. I might just make a run to the grocery store. I’ve been craving picadillo too, so I guess it’s time for a Mexican feast!
I wore Timbuktu yesterday, but didn’t report it. Couldn’t really get much mango specifically, but it’s definitely fruity. I’m in Tauerville When We Cuddle and I Can Smell My Perfume on Your Clothes today. I found a syrupy decant of it and intentionally put a lot of everclear in it to make it a cologne to use at bedtime. It’s so comforting it functions as a sleeping pill for me, but it’s a little too strong in the original concentration to use at night. I’m actually putting off a shower cuz I smell too good! 😂
I get mostly green and a bit of incense with Timbuktu. It’s funny how different perfumes can smell on various people.
Commando for now because I can’t be bothered. Tested + for COVID using an at-home test this morning. Was going to go in to the clinic to get a second check, but I spoke to my boss. She did a clinic test that came back positive, so I’ll take that as confirmation. I had thought this was a cold. No fever, just sneezes, blowing nose, some congestion and dry cough. Today is scratchy throat. All of which is the norm for me and colds. It was to be expected.
I just drank a nice cup of pear tea from Jeju with some honey. Delicious. Such gorgeous tea.
Trying to decide if I want my husband to get me a couple of scents for my birthday in September. Last thing I need but there’s a few calling my name…. The new Carthusia and the new PdN.
Sorry you are sick, LizzieB! I’m glad your symptoms aren’t giving you much trouble, and hope that will remain so. The PdN Riviera Verbena sounds interesting to me too.
Wishing you a speedy recovery, LizzyB! 🌻
I hope you feel better quickly! If you’re talking about the new Carthusia in the gorgeous colorful bottle (A’mmare), I have a decant of it and it’s gorgeous.
I hope you can it easy until you fully recover.
Get well soon.
Get well soon LizzieB!
Hope you recover quickly!!
And the sense of smell seems to be going…. This happened to me once before with a bad cold.
Drat. Sorry to hear that you tested positive and that your sense of smell is fading in and out. Hope that your symptoms remain mild and you recover fully.
My sympathies to you! My sense of smell is still pretty dulled.
Yes on asking for the perfume.
Sorry you tested positive but hopefully it will be an uneventful and quick recovery.
In Annick Goutal Ninfeo Mio.
Happy Thursday! 🥵
Yum! You smell just lovely!
Thank you! 🌻
Nice! 😈
🤣
Such a shame they changed the bottles. The old colored ones go for stupid $$$$$$$$$ on the Bay of Evil now.
I am glad all the AG bottles in my collection are old. I am not so fond of the new ones.
Dame Soliflore Osmanthus. It’s really pretty, I don’t think I’ve ever smelled Osmanthus in real life so this is fun. I love how he has affordable small 2.6ml samples, with the number of perfumes in my collection (50ish bottles I think, so not terribly large but still quite the variety when you add in samples etc) it’s just about the perfect size.
That one is such a cheerful beauty! You smell great.
I’m wearing Arielle Shoshana’s Sunday today. Definitely on my top 10 favorites list, so I am a happy sniffer.
Just pootling around doing housework and trying to stay cool. Hope everyone is having a great Thursday!
Have a happy pootle day Sistine.
We’re heading for a high of 8 degrees today and it’s still dreary and damp, and the cloud seems to be lower and lower each day, obscuring the hills. At this time of year there are constant advertisements for holidays in Fiji and the Cook Islands, only three hours away. Back in the early 70s my parents went to Fiji and came home with an enormous ( baby-sized) jar of pickled mango. I had never seen mango and was amazed by the fibrous nature of it and the smell. The pickle was made with lime and lemon and chilli and it was oily and salty, the hottest thing I’d ever tasted. I ate it everyday, on the cheese sandwiches I took to school. The mangos in our supermarket come from Mexico and Australia, and they are always dry and never ripen. Wearing Nuit de Tubereuse.
Mango pickle, the kind that sounds like what you had, it one of my desert island foods. No one in my family likes it, but my loyal sister will allow that it is interesting. I eat it with pretzels, taco chips, matzos, pappadams, or just a spoon; my mouth waters just thinking of it! Regarding fresh mangos, we at certain seasons get the most wonderful yellow ones here in the Midwest, and I think they come from Mexico. The tri-colored variety (red/green/yellow) are widely available, but are hit and miss as far as sweetness and texture.
Today I noticed that the mangos were from Peru. Very green an hard.
Yes those small yellow mangoes are the best! Atalfo or Adolfo, and here at least, they do come from Mexico. The sweetest flavor and the most tender non-stringy flesh. I adore them.
Mango pickle is a staple in my fridge. I use it constantly! I also like lime pickle, mixed pickle, and tomato pickle, but mango is my favorite.
Yum and yum – mixed pickle is my next favorite. I’ve tried many types, and the brand can make a difference.
In Liberia they had fairly small, apple green-skinned mangos that had a delicious creamy flavor. I’ve never seen that variety anywhere else since.
Now I have to try mango pickles — your sandwiches sound wonderful!
Mango pickle is great added to mayo — instant dipping sauce or sandwich spread.
SotD Shalimar Cologne, from a circa-1990’s bottle. Very nice woodiness. My local hummingbirds were very late this year, but starting last week, I have a regular pair, male and female, and another female that gets chased away. I love how they will hover in front of my window to watch me back.
Shalimar anything – what a good idea! I have never seen hummingbirds in reality, only in pictures, and they seem so magical. Thank you for this description!
Oh how cool to see hummingbirds for real!
I was so delighted when I moved to Southern Indiana to find that hummingbirds are everywhere. They become used to you if you sit outside near the feeder, and will chatter at you and come closer to hover and check you out.
Picked Latin Light this morning which is fruity exotic but no mango, this evening it’s the turn of RP Visa extrait which is kind of really fruity too and very cheerful, I forget I have this extrait and wear the edp more often, both are very good.
A check on Fragrantica confirmed that my only perfume with a mango note is Un Jardin Sur Le Nil, and I don’t feel any urge to wear that in the cold, wet and windy weather we are having today.
I was warm and cozy yesterday in Anima Dulcis, and I’m continuing the theme with Fate.
You smell great!
Aurora you have so many interesting perfumes, I often don’t recognise the names you mention and have to look them up. Today’s choices both sound very enjoyable!
Thank you, if something appeals to you one day let me know, I would send you a decant, I have more perfume than I could ever wear in a lifetime😃
You rather like quite a few things from Piguet.
It’s an interesting house, I love Baghari too but I don’t get along with their most famous Fracas😃
I think I’ve seen these photos of astonishing libraries before in the past, but they’re always worth looking at:
https://twitter.com/alexandbooks_/status/1549052938168909826?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
I’m ensconced in AC, wearing Skive by Canoe Goods and loving it.
Gorgeous photos.
Love libraries.
You smell fabulous! I just happened upon Skive this summer and am really enjoying it.
Love Skive!
I adore these, never visited the Ottawa one which is one hour away.
Greetings, NSTers.
Under the weather today. I had some severe GI distress very late last night, and as a result of that unpleasantness, I am not quite feeling right. Off my feed for a bit. Plenty of fluid intake. I guess something I ate did not agree with me in the slightest.
Heat indices in my area are anywhere from 100 to 111. The air outside feels like a saturated wet T-shirt. July the Hot has come in with a vengeance!
SOTD = SB St. Tropez Dispenser Gold EdT again. At least I smell good and feel well enough for perfume.
Hope you feel better soon, Jalapeno! 🌻
Almost back to my baseline, perfumelover67. Thank you!
Oh dear that can be so horrible. I’m sorry and hope you feel more normal very soon.
Thank you Calypso. Last night SUCKED so. very. much. Hopefully I can figure out what caused it so I don’t experience anything like that anytime soon.
Hope you feel better soon!
Thanks cazaubon!
Oh no! I hope it passes quickly!
A good night’s rest tonight ought to clear up any lingering malaise.
Hope you feel better fast. Seems like good news that you feel well enough for perfume!
Thank you springpansy! Thankful I wasn’t dealing with any nausea; that’s the worst.
Feel better soon Jalapeno! I hope you can rest well tonight. It is a good sign that you are up for perfume.
I’m feeling much better now. thanks! I think part of my problem was some low-grade dehydration.
I was wondering if it was related to the heat…I felt a wee bit sick myself last night.
Hope you feel better soon and get plenty of rest. Sending even more hugs, Jalapeno! 🙂
I had a doctor’s appointment today and wore a spray or two of Azemour for that, hoping it would be pleasantly fresh and inoffensive. She is having me do more tests but the likely plan is for me to start Tamlos, which is a fairly new medication for older women with osteoporosis, to build back bones. It does not sound like the most pleasant thing but the research is that it makes a huge difference in reducing the chances of fractures. I need that. We shall see. I’ll report more on this as things proceed.
Oops, that is Tymlos, my mistake. If you look up Tamlos you’ll laugh, because it is for an enlarged prostate–decidedly not something generally needed for postmenopausal women. 😉
I suggest reading all the side effects and pay particular attention to the ages of the people in clinical trials. I hope it helps you.
I used Forteo, a similar medication, for two years and had no problems. Got good results.
Oooooooooof. Good luck with the medication.
Glad there is a medication which can help and hope the test results are positive.
One of the sucky parts of living so close to the water is the foggy marine layer. We get patches of bright sunshine but way more cloud cover than I would like. Oh well. Sprayed on some JM Orange Blossom as my sense of smell is still pretty muted so it kind of doesn’t matter what I wear.
Just received my bee bottle of Guerlain Gourmand Coquin, muled from Paris by a kind facebook friend. The bottle is so pretty! They included a cute mini of La Petite Robe Noire. Will wait to wear it until my nose is working better.
I can tell you you smell great. A Gourmand Coquin Bee bottle is special!
I’ll send you a photo, it is the white matte bottle I’ve been lusting after. 🙂
Ooohhh fancy! Congratulations!
Thank you! Been waiting for it for months.
Sending you some sunshine! And how wonderful about your new bottle!
Thank you! Will email you.
Sending you some of my excess sunshine!
Thank you!
Yay for your new bottle! It must be magnificent. 🙂
SOTD = Zoologist Sacred Scarab
This was one of the perfumes I bought at 15% off! It has aldehydes, animalic, amber, resins, and stewed fruits. I do like it although my broken nose likes Bee and T-Rex better. It’s candidate for splitting in case anyone is interested. (Won’t send out until October because too hot!)
https://www.instagram.com/p/CgSlNVju1AK/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
The thermometer hit 99F today. Hot enough for you? 🥵
In other news, I went into the office yesterday. There were trays of food in the pantry from a lunch. Pre-COVID, I used to avail myself of leftover food but I have not done so since then. Question: would you feel comfortable eating leftovers?
I usually would not eat leftovers. The exception being cookies since they don’t have germs or calories 🤣
There were no cookies for which I may make an exception 🤣
I wouldn’t touch the leftovers.
Yeah, definitely not for the savory stuff!
Now, with the hyper contagious BA.5 variant out there marauding, I wouldn’t do anyone else’s leftovers. In the Before Times, I might have if anything was particularly interesting.
I did in the before times for sure but only wrapped (half wrapped) sandwiches and cookies.
I’d skip the leftovers unless it was cookies for the reasons lillyjo mentioned. 😉
Ha! Great minds think alike!
I’m also interested in the intense extrait version of Sacred Scarab, did you see it on Instagram?
Yes! And I am lusting over the bottle …
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cf9idxtDBti/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
And I suppose it is an attar although it seems like a lot unless the bottle is really small.
I’d be very interested in a split of Sacred Scarab if the times come! Regarding leftovers, I understand your dilemma. I am always torn about office food in that I hate waste, but I am way pickier about using serving implements and keeping things cooled and covered than some people I’ve seen. 🙂
So true about the implements! I will note down your interest in Sacred Scarab. There will be further discounts besides the 15% off because I got samples (real small samples to clarify 🤣).
I’m waiting on a storm to come through. I am glad to be home. I hate being out in storm’s.
My sotd is Jessica McClintock. It’s still lovely after all these years.
It rained twice here this afternoon. Did not cool things off at all!
The rain made things worse!
It’s nice enjoying a thunderstorm from the comfort of inside your house. 🙂
You smell wonderful; I still remember the first time I smelled the original formula of Jessica McClintock and how fabulous I thought it was. This was long before falling down the rabbit hole.
Today for National Mango Day I am using all my mango body products from the body shop. The reformulation of the mango scent they use in this line is soooo juicy, much less sweet, I’m really loving it. I also recently had the chance to finally try Mango Skin from Vilhelm, really fun!