It’s Tuesday, plus International Mother Language Day. Birthdays: Anaïs Nin, WH Auden, Nina Simone, John Lewis, Alan Rickman. What fragrance are you wearing?
I am still on vacation (we head home Thursday) with my one fragrance, the not-very-steampunk Guerlain Terracotta Le Parfum. Tea at the moment is Numi Aged Earl Grey with milk.
Reminder: 2/24 will be Steampunk Friday... do whatever you like with the steampunk theme. Suggested by JB and seconded by a bunch of other readers. (And if you need inspiration for this project, see JB's comment here.)
And for those of you who like to plan ahead, see Scent of the day ~ Friday community projects 2023, where I'll try (but obviously sometimes fail) to always have the next five or six weeks mapped out in advance.
Note: the Steampunk Large Teapot ("a lovely large tea pot which holds 6 cups...Slip cast earthenware, handmade and decorated in the traditional manner in Stoke on Trent") is £35 but currently out of stock at The Great British Shop.
Mugler A*Men Pure Malt, which does not smell anything like whiskey or peat to my untrained nose, but which does smell like the original A*Men slightly tweaked, and frankly that’s good enough.
I like that one.
Rabbit, rabbit, rabbit! Happy Tibetan new year in the Buddhist calendar – it’s the year of the Water Rabbit. 🙂 Wishing for peace, prosperity, health and happiness.
I’m sampling Celine Black Tie today.
I will vote for all of those too!
An excellent plan for the year of the Water Rabbit!
“Water Rabbits” sound like they would be so cute!
Wasn’t there a book called Watership Down about rabbits?
Both a book and an animated film!
I was thinking of something that looked like a water balloon with rabbit ears, LOL.
Happy Tibetan new year to those who celebrate
for the CP-I am doing Eau de Magnolia for the magnolia trees that bloom in the south and all the ghost/supernatural stories involving cemeteries in the south. Not sure if this fits the CP-but I read on the link Mary Shelly was the inspo
Marco Polo tea
Has anyone tried Le Lift skincare from Chanel. My sales lady gave me some samples of this line-and I am wondering if I should pass it on to someone else or if its worth trying…
Book update (you know I Love books as much as perfume)
Today I am picking up Bonjour tristesse, someone on this blog recommended this to me. Thank you
I just finished Tanizaki’s The Key, and now starting Diary of an Old Mad Man and also reading Forbidden Colors by Mishima at the same time. Its been a lot of Japanese authors thus far in 2023
I meant to tell you that I picked up Snow Country because ya’ll were talking about it, and realized within a few pages that I had read it before and that I’d given it away during my last book cull. Greatly enjoyed reading it again so thank you.
you know its a good book when you read it again
Oh, Tanizaki – one of my favorite novels is The Makioka Sisters, highly recommended.
I’m in the mood for spring fragrances (temps in the 80s this week) and I was happy to draw Wet Garden by Demeter from my box of minis. Perfect for spring.
Demeter has so many good florals.
I’m wearing Aura today for the CP. Neon vanilla. Hope everyone in the path of the “monster storm” has a safe go of it, we’re expecting ice, not my favorite thing.
Aura is EXACTLY what I was looking for to do the project on Friday! Totally stealing the idea from you. Thanks!
I may wear it again on Friday, we can be twins.
Agree, perfect pick ringthing.
Neon vanilla is the perfect description for Aura!
I am expecting ice plus snow. Stay safe!
Thought of you and madtowngirl, looks like you guys are in for some major snow, not that you aren’t used to it. Hunker down!
Hope that all the NSTers who are due for a clobbering of snow and cold stay safe and warm!
Happy Tuesday!
I’m in Initio Psychedelic Love.
Heliotrope!Enough said!(although the “reviews” on another site again cracks me up!)
This is the last one from my discovery set of Initio,and I do think they are all extremely well done,albeit somewhat familiar and similar to many things I’ve smelled before,specifically golden oldies from Tom Ford,Kilian,Montale and Frederic Malle.
Wish I could go big with better cp-compliant perfumes this whole week,unfortunately the ones I have in mind are not that office-friendly….
XO’s✌🏻🌹
I will try to participate in the CP everyday this week
Yay!That’s wonderful!
P.S!
The most significant inspiration for the cp is probably the fact that throughout the history of perfume,steam distillation has been playing a huge role in procuring essential oils for our lovelies.Nothing looks more steampunk-esque than a copper alembic,right?Right.🤣👌🏻🌹🤗
And I just read something about distilling fruit wines and herbs to make medicines a La Medieval monasteries. I definitely need a little copper alembic!.
I hope this is OK to share,just some more inspo from fragrantica….
https://www.fragrantica.com/news/Steampunk-Perfume-Come-Come-The-Engineer-Awaits-14144.html
Of course it is ok!
This is a fun read, thanks J B!
I resisted for a couple of weeks, but it was only a matter of time until broke down and bought unsniffed the Jean Patou Collection Héritage Chaldée currently discounted on Fragrancenet.
I already had the La Collection version, so I can compare. La Collection is crisper, leaner, and has real sandalwood. I have always found it a bit much, though.
I had thought the Héritage version might be lighter and more wearable, but, instead, it’s a mind-blowing recreation of the musks of a certain era, so intimate and pillowy. Wearing it is like spraying on a comforting cocoon — just a very relaxing perfume. I don’t know if I will ever wear it out of the house, but I’m so glad I bought it!
I still wonder what the original Chaldée suntan oil smelled like; however, the whole idea of wearing a suntan oil with vintage or even modern perfume ingredients is terrifying. The following is basically an ad, but there’s a brief explanation of photosensitization, and it’s interesting to see that Clarins makes scents designed to be worn in the sun:
https://www.escentual.com/blog/2017/06/23/why-you-need-non-photosensitive-fragrance/
I like the idea of this CP very much but it will take some thought.
See my comment above!Haha!(I think that opens the door wiiiiide open!)✌🏻
Thanks for thinking of this poll and all the related information. I’m going to have to finally sign up on Fragrantica to read this!
Correction: fragrance dot com, not fragrancenet.
I have the Heritage Collection Chaldee too. No regrets getting that one!
Wearing L’Heure Bleue this morning and I forgot my glasses at home, so it’s going to be a rough day. However, I did receive my Narcisse Noir and wore it on the weekend and felt decadent and glamorous.
L’heure Bleue is lovely.
Glad to know your Narcisse Noir arrived safely and was fabulous.
Wearing a dab of no 5 extrait today. Had to take the day off due to my mom needing some tests done. I almost went with Fracas today but had to refrain.
You smell wonderful. I often feel that way about Fracas – I reach for it and then think about whether my clients will love it as much as I do😊
Fracas definitely makes a Perfumed Statement!
In Penhaligon’s Elixir because it’s a great Olivia Giacobetti fragrance and the bottle with the old timey black label and red bow and the spicy contents seemed to fit the cp theme.
Elixir is one of my regrets! You smell fantastic.
I remember how much you like it too💕
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pllRW9wETzw
CP- We’re in an official drought in my town but last night it started raining and hasn’t stopped so, for the CP, I am taking the pretty hammy video for Kate Bush’s Cloudbusting as I think that making a rain making machine is pretty steampunk, especially once you add in a bit of brown tweed and Donald Sutherland as Wilhelm Reich ( Book of Dreams). I am matching it with CDG Copper . I am off to meet a stained glass historian today for a project. It should be interesting…most early stained glass here was from the Morris company but later became more localised, incorporating lots of native floral aspects. In churches, that is.
I love stained glass.
I also love Donald Sutherland. Lol.
I loved the Cloudbusting video. Donald Sutherland was perfect in it.
I am big fan of stained glass, specially with a twist. One of my favourite windows are in the St. Francis of Assisi Monastery in Kraków, which is a very old Gothic church that got a stained glass update by Art Nouveau artist, Stanisław Wyspiański:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_St._Francis_of_Assisi,_Krak%C3%B3w
In the gentle Guerlain Vetiver Pour Elle.
Hope it was a gentle day to match, AnnieA.
Finally got around to trying Secretions Magnifique today…yesterday I ended up in Saturday to be perky for the online interview, so no CP points there. I feel like SM works for the CP, though, with the very brief floral up front and then what comes out as metallic industrial on me. Very interesting perfume, but so far I don’t see owning more than the sample for reference.
What a brave soul you are!!
I have SM and tried to wear it….once….I get everything on my skin that is not supposed to be in perfume!Haha!Still a fun experiment.✌🏻
CM8 found that Secretions Magnifique was rather lovely on her!
So interesting.
Great that you tried it. I almost hurled, no bueno.
Yeah, I didn’t hurl…it wasn’t that…interesting…I guess. I got about 30 seconds of floral and then…hard to describe but vaguely metallic and otherwise somewhat just…industrial and very very linear. I’d read that it could settle into an iris, but that never happened. It just faded eventually, and I was happy to spray something else instead. 🙂
But, you know, I’m glad that there were perfumers trying out things like this (I know this is an old perfume now). And I know there’s got to be someone, somewhere, this works for, because it still exists. The mysteries of perfume!
I am back from my vacation in Alexandria, VA! I had a wonderful time. Thanks all for the well wishes, friends 🙂
Minimal luck with vintage perfume hunting, most bottles were emptied out before they reached the stores. However, I did find a full mini Miss Dior Cherie that I so wanted to smell, and a large, empty bottle of Guerlain Chamade in the style of that iconic upside down heart, which will do well on my perfume shelf for decor <3
Steampunk makes me think of coal, smoke and machine oil. And also thick, worn vegetable-tanned leather. Perhaps the metallic smell of copper as well. It has to be bold and gritty, such is the adventurous spirit of steampunk. Here are my candidates:
– Hiram Green Hyde for leathery smoke.
– Hermes H24 EDP, while not vintage in quality, I think it captures a modern steampunk energy with its metallic, modern nod to technology.
– Masque Milano Russian Tea is smoky tea and a little bit of leather.
– I'll have to look through my collection, but I think an old-school fougere would fit in here nicely as well.
Steampunk also reminds me of Howl's Moving Castle, though I do not have a scent association for that movie myself.
SOTD is Coromandel and Vanille Havane. Excessive combination? Perhaps so, but I am craving something large and sweet today.
Hyde is great for steampunk! I have a sample of it and tried it and it was just too much muchness for me. It is a beast of a fragrance.
Haha it is a rather polarizing fragrance. I quite liked Hyde because it reminded me of the Chinese temples I grew up with that were constantly thick with incense smoke. But lots of people think it just smells like barbeque
I’m sampling Forte & Manle’s Amber Absolutely today. The F&M bottles look like they would fit in well in a steampunk interior!
You’re right, they absolutely do!
Shalimar MVP still lingering from last night.
Last night’s Shalimar is always lovely.
Wearing Felanilla from a most generous NSTer.
I quite like one and revisited my decant based on good recent experiences w/ Tonka Bodykon and Intime Extime. I think these are the only Pierre Guillaume fragrances I’ve tried but I have really enjoyed them all.
Felanilla is great stuff; have not tried the other 2. I did like some of the other early PG scents but he got too prolific and I got too lazy 😉
It was PG Cadjméré this morning and tonight vintage Molinard Nirmala, a real fruit salad.
Another good PG!
Oh glad you liké it too, Robin, It was a coincidence with She-ra that we both wore PG, those early ones are really good I think.
Yes, there were quite a few that I would wear if I owned them!
I’m wearing a mystery sample today and trying to test my nose. I’m getting minty/camphorous eucalyptus note and a dry wood note (or maybe dry vetiver). I do OK searching for listed notes, but I’m not good at pulling them out blind.
Started the day with a travel mug of chocolate puer, but I’m at the office, so I’m at the mercy of whatever I have in my tea bag stash here. So far I’ve found a Hathikuli Estate assam and a couple of Paper & Tea breakfast blends left over from my tea advent calendar. I’ve like almost all of the P&T blends I’ve tried and I wish I could find a US stockist.
Your mystery sample sounds pretty good to me!
I do not know Paper & Tea but looks like they have some nice blends and I like the packaging.
Reaching for CP points with another bottle design: wearing Chopard Wish. The gem bottle and the pull ring could be some sort of key for a machine that leads to adventure. I love Wish. I sprayed generously.
Good call MossyBerry!
The crazy winter weather continues here. There was a possible tornado up by the Quaker Bridge Mall in central New Jersey this afternoon. Tornadoes are a summer weather issue!
SOTD = back in Aqua Allergoria Rosa Rossa EdT. More roses for me this week so far. 🌹🌹🌹
A tornado in February is definitely crazy!
Seriously crazy.
Princeton! It is pretty crazy.
I was texting a couple of friends who live up in that area this afternoon. Both of them had a hail storm pass thru before the Tornado Warning was issued.
IDK if they lost power or not, but last I heard everyone was OK.
I’m wearing Oud Bouquet today.
It’s so dang sweet but I like it in cold weather. Good thing because it will be on my clothes for days!
I went to the store ahead of the storm. It wasn’t as busy as I expected.
I hope you get home safely if you are still at work!
Thanks. I am still at work but will be ok. We aren’t expecting anything to start until morning.
Fingers crossed that your snow storm is just snow and nothing crazy!
I’m wearing Box of Eels parfum. A box of eels is pretty steampunk, isn’t it? Like for eel pie in merrye olde England?
I agree – good tie-in 😺.
Yes, I like it!
SOTD = Diptyque Tempo
Steampunk all around…my interpretation anyway.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Co8diwwOqNZ/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
To answer some questions posed to me this past week and yesterday:
Meredifay – I wouldn’t knowingly buy a Puff Atomizer so I chose to get the much simpler looking bottle of Iris Lumiere.
Kris – I am pretty sure my L’Ambre des Merveilles bottle is the ordinary one. I have seen the pretty ones although I never seem to see them.
Yes, I think you are correct. I did look at some of the pictures and they do appear to have that gold around them.
Tempo smells great and turns that gorgeous green color in the bottle. Color changing potions and perfumes are Steampunk-ish, right?
That teapot is wonderful, Robin.
what a weekend of calls and emails and blocking credit cards and opening new accounts and omg I am just going to the stores from now on with one credit card.
I have almost everything captured and replaced. Some right away and some a bit slower.
I actually weeded in my courtyard yesterday for an good two hours. Something I usually hire task rabbit to do. And I have two second interviews.
And because I have one credit card I bought a small Parfume de Nicolai Caravansarail.
Glad to hear! Also, good news with the interviews and the perfume purchase.
LOL at the last sentence — hey, you DESERVED that bottle after your ordeal!!
Apsara, because of what happened to you, I went thru my purse and removed my old keepsake photos that I had in there.