It’s Hump Day, World Pasta Day and International Artist Day, aka Pablo Picasso’s birthday. The splitmeet is still open for business! What fragrance are you wearing?
Me: same as yesterday...90% over Covid but still commando.
Reminder: on 10/27 we're doing Specialty woods... wear a perfume with guaiac, cypress, oak, or some other specialty wood note we haven't already done (we've covered oud, sandalwood, cedar and evergreens).
And for those of you who like to plan ahead, see Scent of the day ~ Friday community projects 2023, where I'll try (but usually fail) to have the next five or six weeks mapped out in advance.
Note: top left image is Swietenia mahagoni (West Indian mahogany)— woody capsule containing numerous winged seeds. Cultivated tree in southern Florida, USA, part of the native range via Wikimedia Commons, some rights reserved. Top right image is starr-090819-4632-Swietenia_mahagoni-leaves-Kilohana_Park_Wailea-Maui [cropped] by Forest and Kim Starr at flickr; some rights reserved.
What a cool picture! I had no idea mahogany had capsules like that.
I am in Miel de Bois, which has guaiac wood, ebony and oak. maybe I should have saved it for Friday, but this rainy autumn day seems prefect for it. So sweet, woody and warm.
The seed pods are amazing, here is another shot that I could not use because copyright:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jungle_mama/4398362721/
Oooh… It looks like some kind of dessert! 🤩
Doesn’t it?
SOTD is Nombre Noir, for its rosewood note, from the mini I managed to pick up some years ago for a fairly reasonable price. I loke this one and would happily wear it if a bottle dropped from the sky, but there is no way I will pay the prevailing prices for one.
Gosh, are there even still bottles for sale? If so, people must be buying them, smelling them, reselling.
There are a few FBs on ebay at the moment, including one sealed 15 mL parfum (the photos show the box still shrink wrapped and sealed), but they are asking stratospheric prices. Mine is a mini that I bought back in 2010 for $45, according to my notes.
I bought a mini of it years ago for $12 and was underwhelmed.
I had a mini too at some point, and same here. I suspect shelf life is a serious issue, I would not pay anything for a bottle now.
Fortunately, my mini seems to be fine. The fragrance is nice, if not mind blowing.
I have to give this one some props for longevity. I put it on over 8 hours ago, and I can still faintly smell it. Not unusual for an 80s fragrance, perhaps, but still far longer than I can expect from anything out of the past ~25 years. It is nearly gone, though, so I am going to try putting some Feminite du Bois (Shiseido version) over its remnants and see how that works out.
I’m in Dodo, from my Zoologist discovery set. I don’t think I’m taking any CP points. It has Balsam Fir in the middle notes, but that is an evergreen. Anyway, I like it.
Liking it more important than points 🙂
FREEBIES
I posted some freebies here recently, but I messed up my own email address 😳. I have no excuse except that I never send email to that address and don’t use it as a contact for any online accounts, so I am not used to having to type it. Also, the wrong way I mistakenly typed it is the way I wanted it to be, but the naming rules for email addresses did not allow it. The correct email is:
roses_50 at yahoo period com.
The text comes before the numbers, not after. You also can get my contact info by clicking on my gravatar. If you tried to email me and got an error message back, please try again. I promise it is correct this time!
Here is what I still have available to give away:
Vintage Gres Cabochard EdT. I don’t know its exact age, but it was among my grandmother’s things when she passed away in 1983. I just haven’t been able to love this one, but I would like to keep a little of it along with the bottle, so I will offer decants up to about 65 mL total.
I can decant into the following types of vials:
5 ml clear glass spray
10 ml clear glass spray
4 ml clear glass rollerball
8 ml clear, green, or cobalt glass rollerball
15 ml cobalt glass spray
30 ml amber glass splash
60 ml cobalt glass spray
Minis and samples:
SJP Covet, 10 mL EdP spray. Received in swap. Cannot tell the exact amount left, as the container is opaque, but seems fairly full.
l’Occitane Roses et Reines, 7.5 ml EdT splash, NIB. Bought new. This is pretty much a straight-up rose scent.
Phlur Apricot Privee 2 mL EdP spray, few spritzes missing. Bought new. This is a fruity floral.
Phlur Phloria 2 mL EdP spray, few spritzes missing. Bought new. This is a white floral.
I absolutely will send more than one item to each address. I need to weed out from my collection those things that I do not and will not wear. I absolutely do NOT need anything in return. These are completely free.
So I got home in one piece. There was a baby screaming, and I mean screaming, in business class for a good third of the flight: if I’d paid ten grand for a seat I would be furious. The man sitting behind us decided that the second half of the flight would be best spent hacking, coughing, and sneezing, so that was fun: as far as I can tell, we didn’t come down with anything despite his best efforts, but I guess time will tell. We’re going to get our flu/COVID jabs later today: we would have gotten them before the trip but the boosters weren’t yet available and we wanted to do them in one go.
I had read that the Charles de Gaulle duty-free wasn’t worth my time because the prices were no better than in the shops, but that turned out not to be true, because they had a small Serge Lutens collection that included Écrin de Fumée, one of his newest, which I had gotten a sample of at the beginning of the trip and worn a few times over the last couple of weeks, liking it more each time. The 50-mL bottle was over 20% off the list price, so, well, I bought it. Donatella will be pleased come January.
But that’s not what I’m wearing today! When I got those two Lutens room sprays on Monday, I also got a couple of samples of his latest, Poivre Noir, and I’m in it: while marginally more durable than Demeter Black Pepper, it isn’t any better than it, and, at well over five times the price, absolutely not worth it. What a disappointment from the house. At least ÉdF is good.
Sorry about the flight home, but glad duty free turned out better than you expected!
So happy you made it home and scored Écrin de Fumée. I always wear an N95 mask and carry heavy drugs when flying for exactly those reasons.
Welcome back home! Glad to hear that you survived the trip. 😮💨🤧😷
I’m in Narciso edt. Thunked my travel spray this morning. I have enjoyed it, but won’t replace because I have White Cube. Also, I heard from all of you that this line has been dc’d.
We ended up reaching 77 yesterday!🌞 I’m sure it was a record but I didn’t watch the news to find out. I got out for a lunchtime walk, in short sleeves! I wish it would stay like this til Christmas lol.
Fingers crossed for a mild winter! 🤞
Fingers crossed!🤞 My parents told me a mild one is predicted, but then they head to Florida, so what do they care!🤣
Lol! I did read that above normal temps through December but technically that might only be 1 degree difference so….
Wow! That’s seriously nice for late October.
Your record temps are headed my way, then.
After doing a couple of search-by-notes searches, I chose Heeley Cuir Pleine Fleur for cedar. It appears that cedar is in nearly everything though. 😆
Yes it is 🙂
I’m wearing a cypress scent today in the spirit of the community project, Cypress & Grapevine, from Jo Malone’s Intense collection. The woody fragrances that I tend to like in the autumn are sans florals.
Excellent! I love cypress notes but have not smelled that one.
Hello!
Sotd is Bvlgari Baciami (one of those new candy coloured bottles), sprayed from a tester bottle. Notes listed were simple – gardenia, vanilla and amber. Sounds good on paper, but on skin, I got no gardenia nor amber. Instead, I smelled coconut and something celery-ish.
SA told me the scents from this collection do not have a middle or base, what you smell at the beginning is what you get. I smelled all the scented ceramic plaques and I got to say, boring and meh. Money saved. But dang, those bottles are cute!
Thank you, that confirms all my suspicions and now I will forget about them.
Sampling Maplewood Inn from Solstice Scents which has cypress amongst its notes. So far, I think it would be better as a candle. Some friends are in town for a conference so I’ll be going to the art museum with them and then my husband will join us later because they want to go to a distillery or two before dinner
Have you tried Desert Thunderstorm by Solstice? It looks intriguing but no samples available.
Have a fun night out!
Just reading the Death Valley is still flooded from earlier rainfall. I’m currently camped on one of two large reservoirs (they’re not even 6 miles apart and there’s a trail that links them if you’re so inclined) in north central New Mexico and they are both so dry it’s just a trickle of water at the bottom. So severe is the drought in this area that the campground has started limiting water usage. Now, it’s only available from 4pm to 6pm. Showers and flush toilets are all closed.
Anyway, we had a cool front come through and I don’t think it’s going to get higher than the low 50’s, with a lot of clouds so I’m going for a favorite cold weather scent. I have no clue if wood is involved or not, but I want to feel cozy so I’m wearing Profumum Ambra Aurea.
Robin, I’m happy to hear you’re 90% back in business! Hoping you reach 100% by weekend!
It’s cool here along the Pacific as well, Deva.
You smell great!!
Maybe you will get some snow this weekend?
Yeah. Water is a problem out west, one way or the other.
Thank you everyone for your kind comments yesterday. My mom and I had a great time on our warm fall drive. She was even up for lunch at a new restaurant in her hometown, right around the corner from where she grew up. The house my grandparents had is still there and it was decorated for fall and Halloween to the max, so she really enjoyed seeing that too. It hit 80F, which is a new record high temp. Today it’s rainy and cool, so I’m glad we got out.
Wearing Wazamba, cypress for the CP.
Sounds like such a nice day spent together.
Your drive and time spent with your mother sounds wonderful! And you’re smelling amazing.
So glad she enjoyed the outing.
So glad you had a nice outing.
So glad to hear this! Would you ever knock on the door and then say it was your grandparents’ home?
Last summer the people who own the house were outside and we stopped and introduced ourselves. They were lovely to my mom and she told them some things about the house. It was nice.
Very pleased to hear your day was a smashing success!
In Memoirs of a Trespasser today — guaiac wood for the CP. Cold, dreary day here, and lots of company-wide meetings to sit through.
Robin, so glad to hear you’re nearly recovered!
Almost twins — my hand hovered over Memoirs this morning, but then headed over to the Heeley. You smell great!
That’s a lovely one! Note to self to dig out one of my samples.
Perfect!
For the CP Amyris Homme
Woody with nots of mandarin and rosemary.
Hope it was a good day ltsg!
In Piguet Bois Noir for the Guaiac note on this cold, cloudy day.
Ah, forgot that one!
I actually finished that bottle of no 5 edt last night. I don’t feel the need to run right out and buy another bottle of anything right now and I have tons of no 5 any way. Spending time in Lyric today. For the CP, it’s either Kyoto or Epic.
Congrats on your thunking of a bottle!
👏👏👏
Hurray for that thunk!
Hello all!
Got my sample of Nexin in the mail yesterday and taking it for a full ride today. I don’t know who needs to hear this, but I would not have expected a clear aldehydic floral from the description. That’s how it smells to me though, almost like the Mythiques version of L’Interdit (a favorite). Creamy, clean, and woody. I wouldn’t be mad about him reintroducing this one….
Thank you everyone who left me words of encouragement yesterday. Had a test last night and another tonight. I’m having a mini study now, then a group study beforehand.
Have a great day everyone.
Good luck, fingers crossed !
Thank you!
You are doing a great job with your classes Coumarin! Wishing you all the luck!
Thank you!
I got a lot of citrus and vetiver from Nexin. It smells very high quality but not sure it’s for me, was hoping for more of the other notes. Will test a couple more times before deciding.
I don’t smell a ton of citrus but yes to the Vetiver. Very clean but I smell a ton of rose. It’s alllmost soapy.
The Nexin is clean? Killed that lemming *dead*!
I knew a few of y’all would think the same thing. I don’t mind clean scents but this is like uberluxe Pleasures on me.
I’m wearing The Yard Next Door for eucalyptus and wishing Smell Bent was still around as the scents all had personality, even the ones I didn’t love.
Robin, I am reading that fabric book as a digital book ( via Borrow Box, from the library ) and it has colour plates, all grouped together at the back. The black and white illustrations are scattered throughout. Another review with more fabric.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/06/books/review/the-dress-diary-kate-strasdin.html
Oh good to know, thanks.
My library does not have it but if they don’t get it eventually, I might have to buy it.
(ps love the name Borrow Box. Most US libraries have the “Overdrive” system, and the user app for Overdrive is called “Libby”. These are boring names.)
(pps The Yard Next Door also a great name)
No woods for me today. I felt chilly this morning and craved ambers, so I’m in a spritz of L’Eau d’Ambre Extreme and a spritz on Akkad on the other arm. I’m off to get my hair cut this afternoon, I can’t wait! I plan on chopping off at least 5 inches.
I bet your hair will be super cute!
Fun!
Exciting! How did the big chop go?
My sotd is La Danza Delle Libellule worn over bbw apple honey lotion.
Do you need a laugh today? If so keep reading about how dumb I was… last night I really needed chocolate but of course didn’t have any. I had a little bit of vanilla ice cream and thought to add in a hot chocolate packet. I dumped in the packet and thought why is the hot chocolate orange? Oh.. it’s because it was a macaroni and cheese packet! Lol 🤣 I took a second to wonder if the ice cream could be saved, but no. It went in the trash. Moral of the story is to always have a chocolate stash!
Oh my!! Thanks for the chuckle.
Fusion cuisine! Now you can have both the dessert and the cheese plate in one handy serving.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/food-drink/300995909/salmon-ice-cream-proves-a-hit-in-auckland-as-sold-out-sign-goes-up
Nest time you have a tin of salmon and ice cream try this
Oh gosh.. no thanks!🤣
You smell great! LOL on your mac n cheese fiasco.
Oh my, sorry that happened but it did indeed give me a great big laugh!
😃 That’s quite a mix, did you actually taste it?
I could not bring myself to try it! Lol.
I would have tasted it after microwaving it, just sayin’ 🤣
Adding heat makes it sound worse! Lol.
Oh that is so funny!
Macaroni & Cheese ice cream:
https://www.foodnetwork.com/fn-dish/news/van-leeuwen-kraft-macaroni-cheese-ice-cream-nationwide-return-walmart
Get the heck outa here!🤣 too funny! Here I thought I was the I invented it!
😆😆
I was JUST about to comment this!!
When we were in Maine some years ago, there was an ice cream shop in Bar Harbor that had some unusual flavors. One I remember for sure is garlic. Now, I love garlic in/on almost anything that isn’t supposed to be sweet, but I just couldn’t bring myself to try garlic ice cream.
I can’t even imagine what that would taste like!
Ice cream and macaroni and cheese have something in common; they both were popularized by Thomas Jefferson. While Jefferson was not the first to introduce ice cream in the U.S. (and likely not the first to introduce macaroni and cheese), both became more well known after being served at state dinners during his presidency.
How interesting!
I would have tried the Mac & Cheese ice cream. Wouldn’t be the weirdest thing I have eaten.
But you definitely NEED a chocolate stash!
I will stock up after Halloween!
IDK. Last year there was no Halloween candy to be had on November 1 in my area… 😱😱😱
OMG lillyjo, that is excellent.
Years & years ago, when parmesan cheese in the US was pretty much the green canister of Kraft or nothing, my mom was having a dinner party and went to sprinkle cheese on her salad…NOPE, it was Comet.
(Now realizing young people probably don’t know Comet is a scouring cleanser that comes in a green canister)
I am laughing so hard right now!🤣
(I have comet under my sink!)
ZOMG! That is giving me the willies!
I was in a bit of a rush so grabbed CdG Black which is just so incensey. Love it.
Hi apsara, I was wondering if you have tried the Fenty perfume body cream yet? My store isn’t selling it. Reviews seem to be mixed.
I did not. I spent my hard earned clams at duty free in Paris.
I was in a bit of a rush so grabbed CdG Black which is just so incensey. Love it.
You smell wonderful!
Should have tried the CdG Color perfumes when they were at Sephora.
I’m wearing Trudon Vixi, which is greener than I would like, but the drydown is nice. I layered it over Coco Paradise lotion.
I love that lotion. I should have bought a back up.
They still have it on their website, I’m thinking of ordering more. I bet it will be back in stores in spring.
Aha, then maybe it is just as green as I like? Any other comments on Vixi?
It’s interesting, as it’s quite green and sappy, and it lists Nepali sandalwood (which I didn’t know existed) but doesn’t have a typical sandalwood smell, although it does smell like it has a woody note. It also has a small jasmine note I am considering amping up with Korres Jasmine lotion just to see how that works. Good projection and longevity. I’d be happy to send you a sample if you like.
Xerjoff Lira today, from a little decant my friend shared with me. It’s really nice, a very easy wear on a cooler day. I had hoped it would have some sort of CP participation, but the closest it gets is licorice. So close but so far 🙂
The new Dolce and Gabbana Devotion smells similar imo. Try it if you get a chance.
Thanks – I will give that a shot!
I’m wearing PG’s Indochine, another favourite. It has a note of thanaka wood, I haven’t had a chance to Google that, but it sounds very exotic.
This one is on my list for this week. You smell amazing!
I learned something about thanaka when I was selecting scents for this CP. It is actually a paste made from ground bark and used as a makeup in Myanmar. And several trees can be used to make it. And it apparently smells similar to sandalwood.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanaka
My number one most beloved fragrance is Indochine.
The thanaka powder in this is not very noticeable.
I have thanaka from visiting Burma, and when it’s mixed with water and spread on your face to protect from the sun, it’s almost scentless. You can order it on Etsy or eBay, a small chunk lasts forever.
I’m wearing some Corpse Reviver which must be one of the worst named scents of all time. It smells a bit sweet and maybe tangy but is calm and well-behaved. Supposedly it has cypress but I don’t really think I know what cypress smells like. Nor do I know what guac wood is supposed to smell like. Right now I’m wishing I still had some CdG Palisander because I used to and really loved it. That would be perfect for the CP, and it’s very distinctive, not like this little soft waffle smell.
Thanks for the review on Corpse Reviver. I thought about getting a sample of it a while back, but decided to get other things from Fzotic.
Oh I really enjoy Corpse Reviver. I don’t even mind the name. Palisander is pretty great though too.
I always liked the name Corpse Reviver though, as a cocktail…the idea that it would bring you back to life.
Maybe now nobody knows the cocktail so the perfume name sounds weird?
Funny, I got a sample of Corpse Reviver and it was the one of the three that I really *couldn’t* wear. Just…awful on me, basically a scrubber. I was hoping it’d have more to do with the drink, rather than actually waking the dead. 😉
I’m in SJP Stash today. It is playing nicely as the weather is a bit cooler today. Good companion for deep cleaning the house before we get it on the market.
You smelled great today Gail!
Banana, apples and yogurt smoothie.
Réminiscence Tonka today and tonight Berdoues Maasai Mara which has a note of buchu/agathosma, no idea what it smells like but it’s a shrub or tree and the leaves are distilled.
Back to smoothies today for you.
Yes, that’s the best way to get enough fruit in my diet, I find.
I love wearing Reminiscence Tonka to bed.
It’s cozy, perfect for bed indeed.
I can’t square with scent with being in Mara , but I love the bottle.
Not much to do with Maasai Mara but good nonetheless.
After my flu and covid jabs on Monday I spent yesterday feeling quite miserable. Fortunately, this morning most of my symptoms had disappeared and I’m feeling quite well again.
SOTD is Fils de Dieu. Serious lack of woods in this one. I do love it though.
Glad to hear you’re feeling better. You smell wonderful!
Glad you’re feeling better! I felt a bit rough on Monday after my Sunday jabs. Thankfully the symptoms disappear relatively quickly.
Fils de Dieu is a great scent.
Good to hear that you are feeling better, and that your discomfort was short lived.
I’m in the everything-but-the-kitchen-sink floral Panthere de Cartier parfum from 1986. The notes say it has cedar in it, but it is such a melange I can’t pick it out. It really needs shoulder pads to accompany it. I love it for the civet.
AnniePerfumes, please email me about your splitmeet interest, thanks!
I was in a hurry to get to the office this morning and oops — forgot to put on perfume. Thankfully I have a serious sample stash in my office desk, and I found a vial of Traversée du Bosphore in there, which is just perfect for a cool, near-rainy, fall day at the height of apple season.
What a nice scent to have in your desk!
I’m wearing Le Labo Vanille 44 today. One of the more prominent notes of the 44 (yeesh!) is guaiac.
Plus you smell great!
Hermes Poivre Samarcande for peppery oak. A very interesting fragrance that I go back and forth on. Sometimes it’s just a little too ‘dirty’ for me.
Great call, I forgot that one was oak!
I went with a perfume I’ve had for a long time but rarely wear, Miller et Bertaux Close Your Eyes and…/Bois de Gaiac et Poire. What a name! It’s a really nice perfume though.
Wow, your SOTD is a challenge to type out!
It’s really so long!
SOTD = Scents of Wood Hazelnut in Oak
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cy1eZ7NRS_J/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
… and for full disclosure, it was Scents of Wood Bread in Chestnut yesterday.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cyzd7H9OTQx/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
I may just keep doing a week of Scents of Wood because I have plenty!
Yesterday, I met up with a friend for miniature golf nearby. The course was dressed up in Halloween so it was fun to go around! Afterwards, we had dinner at Olive Garden. I had heard that Olive Garden had stopped doing the endless bowl things (soup or salad or breadsticks or simple pasta) but then also saw that it was back for a limited time. We shared toasted ravioli for appetizer and it was excellent!
Now I am off to take a walk … kind of late but this is when the inflatables get filled and the lights are turned on!
I wish we still had miniature golf around here. It’s fun!
I haven’t been to an Olive Garden in ages. That toasted ravioli sounds delicious! 😋
I’m going to break out my Scents of Wood tomorrow! Could have done a whole week but got distracted. Love those little 10ml sprays.
Another busy day. More packing and cleaning. I packed up my hobby paints today, and was a little sentimental about it. Also started doing some touch up with the new-ish paint job, since little scuffs and dings happen. Plus a few spots that the painters missed. Glad I have leftover paint!
SOTD = same as yesterday. Commando plus Dame Perfumery Gardenia body butter.
Dings definitely happen! No matter how careful you are.
Yep. And if you have kids or pets, they are all but guaranteed to happen.
Packing and cleaning twins! I hope seeing your hobby paints was a positive thing.
Yes to leftover paint! I knew we had a can of the leftover paint that we used (years ago) hanging out in the garage. Thankfully when I shook it, it made a liquid sound so it was still good (95% full). It’s definitely come in handy because we’d never find it again; it’s that obscure and the store isn’t open anymore. I’m sure difficult to match because it’s a white with an “oyster” undertone.
Didn’t get so lucky with the paint we need for the cabinets. At least that paint is still around and I know exactly what it is.
We got really lucky when we needed some paint for one of our bedrooms. The previous owners of our house had covered one wall with fabric in a large, gaudy paisley pattern. When I took the fabric down, I found that the other three walls had been repainted, so the recently uncovered wall was a different shade of off-white. Fortunately, they had left the cans with the leftover paint in the garage, and labeled them, so I had no trouble finding out what brand and color it was. As it turned out, it not only was a brand that I could easily buy, but the color was one of their base white shades, with no added pigment.
That’s fantastic! Labeling is a wonderful thing; glad it was easy to get.
Paint can also change color over the years. No two batches of a tinted paint are ever quite the same. That’s why the paint cans say that if you have multiple gallons, mix them before painting a large area.
Most of our paints that were left over from the painters are very small quantities. Maybe an inch at the bottom of a gallon can?
I was quite pleased that it still looks like a really good match; thankfully it’s a very neutral color. There were 2 small walls in the kitchen that got a new coat and the entry way got a refresh.
Glad your painters left the remaining paint for touchups.
They asked if we wanted it after they were done, which was nice.
Hermes Un Jardin a Cythere