It’s our same-old open thread poll, just-before-the-holidays edition: Hanukkah starts on Sunday night. Talk about anything you like — the fragrance you’re wearing today, what you’re hoping to see on fragrance counters in 2023, whatever.
Or, ask a question about fragrance, then see if anyone else has asked a question that you can answer…
Note: top image is Christmas Tree Lights 2 [cropped] by ~jar{} at flickr; some rights reserved.
Wearing Serge Lutens “Chergui” for a mostly sunny day after a week or more of gloomy Atlantic weather from storm Efraím. Just lots of rain & cloud for us, but there were tornadoes & waterspouts further West and blizzards in the Sierra Nevada (north-east of us).
TOMK & I are back from town after a leisurely afternoon – picked up some records from the amazing Sleazy Records store, lunch at a favourite restaurant, coffee and cake afterwards at a favourite café.
I missed yesterday’s Jane Austen project. I would have picked “Persuasion” & matched it with Paul Schütze “Tears of Eros” or “Behind the Rain”.
I’m now sitting out on the balcony enjoying a phenomenon that only happens for a few days each year around the Winter solstice, when the sun is low enough to dip behind a neighbouring building for a few minutes before emerging the other side and setting behind a hill an hour later. Like a mini-eclipse. 😀
That sounds like an absolutely perfect day! And you smell great of course.
Nice to see you here!
Aww, I love that photo! I’ve surprised myself by really enjoying Christmas music on my crappy van stereo this year. Amazing how festive some tinny singing can make you feel wonderful as you drive along. Of course, my last swipe out at this pop stand may be helping boost me right along!
Still wafting faint tendrils Earth Mother but as soon as I shower, I’ll be luxuriating in Onda VdE just because! I have a lot to do today, so copious amounts of coffee will be imbibed and I probably still won’t get half of the stuff done. Oh well…
Happy weekend! 🎄
Yay for brighter days ahead!
Hope for the best, they say…
I have surprised myself by not listening to much Xmas music so far, I will have to get started tomorrow.
We have a crazy amount to do today and to make it worse we spent almost all morning doing an elaborate pot roast recipe. Hope it turns out to be much better than my usual slow cooker method.
Ha! Just woke and had pot roast soup for lunch/dinner. I’m quite sure yours will surpass even the best out there. They’ll be lauding your roast for years to come! 😉Nothing better on a cold day than a hot stew/roast of some sort, warm crusty bread and hot drink to sip. Yum!
It was a 2 day extravaganza (Food Lab version) and we are going to eat it as soon as my husband has the mashed potato ready.
I like Christmas music. Mostly the classics I grew up with.
Those are my favorites, too. Dean Martin, Perry Como, Sammy Davis, Jr, Elvis, Frank Sinatra…I’ll stop now. I’m all about fun songs, but I really love the more solemn ones best.
Surprised that I haven’t heard a peep of Xmas music yet. The terrestrial radio station that I listen to isn’t much for playing that sort of stuff.
The radio stations I listen to (mostly XPN and KUTX) have played almost no Xmas music this year.
XPN twins, but you knew that already. I haven’t pulled up any Xmas music channels on Sirius XM this year, either.
🙂
SOTD Le Lion 🦁 as I am cheering for the underdogs, ⚽️ the Atlas Lions. Croatia is playing a good game. I am a bit nervous. Tomorrow is the last game, and now my neighbors will get a 4 year break from me screaming at the TV
Back to Le Lion, it feels like a warm fragrant hug. I notice this perfume sometimes changes on my skin. Maybe I am still suffering from post -flu like sensitivity, but today it’s more wam creamy vanilla spice but other days it’s more patchouli linear. Just an observation. Anyone else?
Erm, I’d need to first find my decant of that one before I answer your question! And it’s a recent release, so I really have no excuse. 😂
Ok. Let me know
Wearing Thierry Mugler Aura.
Nice sunny, but cold day outside. I am finishing running errands and ready for lunch and the museum later this afternoon.
Wishing you all a happy and healthy weekend!
Have a great time!
Thank you, Lillyjo!
You smell great, dear. Have a lovely luncheon & enjoy the museum. Hugs, L. 😘
Thank you, my dear friend! Nice to see you here! Have a wonderful weekend!
You too, sweet friend. Hope you got my card. Hope you have a beautiful Christmas with your family!
🎅🏼🎄☃️
Not yet! Hope you got mine already! Enjoy the holidays the most! 🎅🎁🎄👋
You are smelling wonderful, I haven’t worn Aura in cold weather yet. Enjoy your lovely day!
Thank you, Ringthing!
Hope that your lunch and museum visit yesterday were wonderful!
🎅 HOLIDAYS FREEBIES (US ONLY): 🎄
1. Tom Ford Noir Extreme, 5ml decant.
2. Dame Perfumery Soliflore Honeysuckle, 5ml decant.
3. Dame Perfumery Soliflore Osmanthus, 5ml decant.
4. Jo Malone Myrrh & Tonka, 5ml decant.
5. Jo Malone Orris & Sandalwood, 5ml decant.
Please, place dibs here and email me at monica67 in the land of aol.
Include your NST nickname in the email.
Happy Holidays! 🎅🎄🎁
Dibs on #5 if you please!
Dibs on #2 please.
Dibs on #4 please!
#3 has been claimed.
It’s Profumum Alba for me today — lovely warm wood pudding, in the best way. Got the one out-of-town package sent off yesterday, and need to do decorations and holiday cards this weekend. Oh, and swap out the tired old dish set for the new one that Mr. G surprised me with. Risky on his part (you should have seen the fight we had over silverware patterns!), but turns out he has learned what my tastes are and picked a dinnerware pattern that I love.
What a lovely present!!
Profumum Alba sounds lovely, I’ve added it to my list of perfumes to try.
Wearing Tobacco Vanille today.
You smell great Dawn 🙂
We are twins Dawn!
I’m in Lush Breath of God today, yet another one that I wonder why I don’t wear more often.
Working on Christmas cards today; hope to get them in the mail today also. I have a little rolling cart I’d like to put together, and a bit of unshopping to do, as pixel likes to say.
I need to decide what I need to make for Christmas presents for my buddies around here. I’m about to settle on the olive oil-based granola recipe from Nekisia Davis. We made candy last week and will make a series of cookies this coming week, so I think everyone is secretly sick of sweets. Granola might be just the ticket. 👩🏼🍳
I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! 🙂
I love Breath of God, too. Only have a little pot of the solid perfume & often wonder if I should get the liquid, as well. I got a bottle of Jo Malone’s Wild Bluebell from Costco a few weeks ago (serious melon-floral situation) and in an attempt to recreate a Breath of God vibe, I topped it with JM Wood Sage & Sea Salt. Et voila! Very close…perhaps minus that vague mint note in BofG. Going to try it with Chanel’s Les Eaux Edimbourg over the Wild Bluebell to see what happens. Happy baking & hope you have a great holiday!
I used to make granola every Christmas for grandfather. I think it is an excellent gift. You can customize it and keeps a long time. I would make it for myself but I am not much of cereal eater anymore.
It’s raining and trying very hard to snow but not succeeding. I’m back home from some errands and very cozy in Demeter Incense, not especially incensey tbh but lovely, warm and sweet.
That’s my kind of incense, then! On the “to try” list it goes. 😉
SOTD = Penhaligon’s Clandestine Clara
Lovely amber vanilla! I matched the P in plaid scarf to Penhaligon’s. No IG post yet.
I haven’t opened my box of 4160Tuesdays perfume. I will do that later and post in a different comment.
Finally, there’s a NY Times article on unscrupulous behavior by Medicare Advantage plans – no need for me to tell you how I really feel about these companies.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/17/health/medicare-advantage-health-insurance.html
I’m grateful to you for sharing your experience warning us off!
I saw that article. Being an internal medicine doc, I get to deal with the denials up close and personal, and they are maddening.
Hello all!
Thank you so much for the birthday wishes yesterday! I read them all and was so touched.
It’s finally cold so I put Jicky’s sweater on. I’m cozying up myself in Bois Des Iles EdT, a bottle I tracked down recently and bought for my birthday. I do like the EdP but the EdT has something special about it. Luckily I still didn’t pay what retail currently is on a new bottle.
Have a great weekend everyone! And Happy Hanukkah to all who celebrate. 🥳
Great find! Happy belated birthday.
Mini She-ra is on the mend from Covid after a tough week 👍🏻 and I have seemingly managed to sidestep it again in this round of the Pestilence Waltz.🤞🏻
Yesterday I tried Profumum Roma Freccia 1921 which is a new Osswald exclusive to the best of my knowledge. It was a hard pass…it has that pronounced aromachemical sharpness…not sure if something being used for jasmine or wood but there is that nose hair burning quality that’s strongest in the opening though it does settle down. Don’t think it’s Iso E unless it’s a huge excess…believe it’s another chemical.
Today I shall be trying a slew of Luckyscent samples and will weigh in later if anything impresses or disappoints. 😉
I wasn’t wild about Freccia either. Just tested Vir and Dincanto lately, they were both pleasant but not sure I need either one, will test again.
Healing vibes for your little girlie!
Hugs for Mini She-ra! Love your Covid nickname, lol! That new Profumo sounds like an outlier in their line. I recently sampled quite a few of them, and most of them were too sweet/gourmand for me. Hmm. I hope they’re not joining the general downward-slide in quality.
Good news about mini She-ra! And I got a chuckle out of “Pestilence Waltz”.
So glad she is getting better! Fingers crossed you make it to the finish line healthy!
I was absolutely shocked to reach for my bottle of Profumum Dulcis in Fundo and come up empty-handed this morning. Fortunately I had a backup bottle waiting in the wings, that I nearly sold last week in my big purge. Whew! I am going to stop selling until I have a chance to go through all my boxes filled with the Canadian bottles to verify what I actually have. Sold both of my 100ml backup bottles of Traversée du Bosphore only to realize after the fact I only had a 50ml partial on the shelf. I’m really hoping there is another 100ml bottle in the Canadian boxes, otherwise I’m going to be sad.
Lists and spreadsheets! I’ve long kept a list of FBs, but now I’ve also added a column about where they are stored, I’ve got bottles in all sorts of drawers and cupboards. I hope you find more Traversée du Bosphore.
I hope you find that you have another bottle!
The story gets worse! One of the women on FB who bought one of my bottles (that was 100ml, approx 2-3mls missing, sold for a very friendly $175, because I don’t gouge) has put it up on Ebay for $355! I pm’ed her and asked her nicely if she would send it back to me for a refund because she insisted she bought it for herself but didn’t care for it, explaining the situation of being left with only my 50ml bottle.
My father taught me ethics, I would definitely send the bottle back, because it’s the nice thing to do. Yes it’s her right to sell it, but given the situation I would send it back.
What a weasel!
If she doesn’t send it back I hope she sits on it for years.
Lying weasel!
Unfortunately, it’s such a rare item she is likely to get what she wants for it, but she has to live with herself – clearly she has no scruples.
“Weasel” is much too nice to describe that kind of person.
Wow! I hope you get your bottle back! Karma should intervene, I’m pretty sure.
I am positive about the karma aspect!
After frantically digging through my boxes, I did find a mostly full second bottle of TdB, whew! The FB woman is giving me the silent treatment. I’m watching her auction on ebay to see if it sells out of curiosity. But fortunately, it’s just perfume! Not the end of the world.
Yikes about the scalper buyer, but glad you found a backup! Makes me sad to see people scalping discontinued gems.
Enjoy your TdB!
Yeah, it’s aggravating and disheartening. I like to sell for fair prices and not gouge; others are no so kind. I think I will give up selling.
The snow and bad weather have finally ended for now. We are expecting below freezing temperatures this week and maybe more snow. Oh, well I am watching the NFL games and snuggling under my electric blanket in Black Orchid today.
I’m glad your snow is ending. I’m expecting another days worth but not to the extreme you have.
“They” say another winter storm before Christmas. Stay safe and warm!
You, too! Yes, “they” are saying that. Sometimes “they” are right and sometimes not. It’s a crapshoot most of the time.
Hope that you both have an extended break in the stormy weather.
There are rumors of a 20 degree plunge in my area just in time for Xmas. I might be digging out my heavy duty wool socks out later on this week.
We do have a break, but on Thursday our high is supposed to be -10 so no warm up in sight.
Reporting back on my sniffing of new perfumes yesterday – very exciting!
The local perfumery has brought in a limited range of Nishane. I have tried only a couple of Nishane before, so was very excited to try Wulong Cha and Ani. They are both very nice, Ani reminds of Guerlain’s Angélique Noire, so I will need to do a side-by-side comparison. I’ve got only a sample of AN, so Ani might be a great alternative.
Also exciting, but stupidly expensive, is the new limited edition from Fort and Manle, Under Which Rivers Flow. It reminds me of the discontinued Forty Thieves, which I nearly bought. But oh my, the bottle!! I try not to be influenced by the appearance of a perfume, but this one is exquisite.
I looked up the bottle. It’s gorgeous!
So glad you found fun new stuff to smell Gaynor!
Ferre on one wrist and Iris Poudre on the other to compare these Pierre Bourdon greats.
I will be interested to discuss!
Yes, the adventure continues!
Sniff-off! Have done this exact one and the Ferre has a slight edge.
Oh, say more! I’m more familiar with Iris Poudre so I’m still trying to understand the Ferré. IP is more aldehydic…
Do tell! I’ve heard they smell similar but never had a chance to try the Ferré.
I’m having a hard time putting my finger (or nose) on it, but to me, there’s something slightly more “commercial” about the Ferré. I keep hoping it’s not the dreaded Ambroxan!
I take the Ambroxan part back, but there’s something…
I’m back in Portland today and freezing. I had to scrape frost off the windshield last night (note to self: buy a better scraper) and then to top things off, I got the heating bill for last month. It was twice as high as last year’s so I’m turning down the thermostat and buying a heated throw for my chair. I’m wearing Oro which is helping keep me warm, but I think soup for lunch will help more.
Less than 10 days until Christmas. Eek!
An old trick for quick ice and frost removal on you windshield (less time being stuck out in the Arctic breezes is a win for me!) is to heat water, throw it in an hot water bottle, and then drag it back and forth over your windshield. Melts ice and snow quick with less effort. Your defroster in the vehicle will do the rest. When you get back home just take the hot water bottle back inside and leave until the next deep freeze/snow. Requires a little prep, but it’s prep inside a heated area, which beats scraping off snow and ice in frigid temps (and it my case muttering curses at the weather gods!) for 15 minutes. 🥶
Wow. I am from the north but I never heard of that, very cool. When I moved to Texas from New England I, of course, had a little ice scraper in my car. My husband liked it so much he kept it for nostalgia sake but that thing actually has gotten some use.
Thank you everyone for all the advice on applying perfume on sensitive skin yesterday! Haven’t had time to respond to all individually, I will soon. Glad to know I’m not the only one <3
Today I am drenched in Hermes Vanille Galante (~10 sprays) because it is such a light fragrance. Lovely ylang ylang and light woody vanilla.
Diptyque advent calendar day 16 item was a mini Tuberose candle! Once I am done opening all the boxes, I'm thinking of gathering up all the candles and minis I won't use for a lil giveaway on NST 🙂
I need to do a freebie post too, so many decants I’ll never use!
Hi everyone, thanks for the good wishes at the sale I went to yesterday. There was a corner full of Etat Libre d’Orange and testers, nice because we live in an area that has only Macy’s for perfume shopping, so K, my young budding perfumeista friend, and I got to sampling! They also had a couple bottles from Nishane, Color, a couple brands I’ve not heard of. Sadly, the bottles were full price so we sniffed everything and looked it up online to find better prices lol….I confirmed that Fat Electrician is only ELdO that I really like from all I’ve tried and that I found a very discounted bottle online, but I still don’t really want to buy a bottle. And there’s some aroma chemical in a lot of citrus perfumes that’s straight up cat urine to my nose. Anyway, it was fun to do something different!
I’m with you on the citrus issue, I tend to avoid them for that reason. Glad you had fun sniffing! I had a friend over today and we went through a bunch of stuff looking for a new perfume for her.
Cat pee? Oh no! 🤢
Glad that you had a great time with your sniffing expedition.
What fun!
I am wearing Fiele Juniperus. I am terribly allergic to cedar (juniper) pollen but love the smell of the tree and the berries. I have tons of stuff to do and probably won’t get it all done, lots of it is leftover work from last week plus a lot of home stuff. Son is home from military and mother is expected in a few days. Still have to clean up the space for the Christmas tree. Still have to finish getting the stocking stuffers for the “kids” who are now adults in their 20’s. The stocking stuffing is still fun for me. I usually give daughter makeup but we are scaling back, since she has so much. I ordered her some Baccarat Rouge body oil since she likes the sample I passed on to her – but found out it is backordered.
That is a long to-do list, very good luck! I am sure seeing your son and your mother will make up for whatever doesn’t get done on time.
Smelling like a favorite holiday treat in Masque Fragranze Panettone. 🙂
That does sound yum!
This morning I’m comparing two vintage versions of Gres Cabochard EDT: one from the 70s, courtesy of a very kind and generous NSTer; and one from (probably) the late 80s or early 90s, ordered from STC. Cabochard seems to have suffered more reformulations than most, with very noticeable differences. The 70s version is rich and lovely, with lots of soft leather and sandalwood. By comparison, the later vintage is thinner and a bit dusty (the orris maybe?), but still quite enjoyable and recognizably Cabochard. If I had a third wrist I’d add a spray from my current-ish bottle and see how it stacks up (probably not fair since it seems to have been heat-damaged somewhere along the line). Another potential rabbit-hole waving at me. 😂
Sometimes those rabbit holes are more like sink holes… 😭
Yes! Into which one sinks more $$ than one really should! 😂