It’s Tuesday and National Croissant Day, plus the Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution. What fragrance are you wearing?
I'm in Comme des Garçons Incense series: Kyoto. Tea at the moment is Yunnan Golden Buds Organic from Upton.
Reminder: 2/2 is Groundhog Day...assemble some winter- and spring-appropriate samples in a bowl, and pick one at random, then tell us if spring will be early or late this year. (This is a repeat.)
And for those of you who like to plan ahead, see Scent of the day ~ Friday community projects 2024, where I'll try (but usually fail) to have the next five or six weeks mapped out in advance.
Note: the Hello Kitty Sakura Teapot ("Kitty is playing hide and seek behind sakura cherry blossom! Machine-washable and microwavable") is $65 at Ochaski.
In OJ Sakura today and I’m not a big fan. There is something common in most OJ scents that I find artificial and a bit disturbing.
Yeah, I think it’s in the base. I have a sample set and liked them when I first tried them, but over time I haven’t come back to them as much as I thought I would.
Same here, I went off them pretty quickly and don’t bother testing new ones, as the base bothers me.
I, too, struggle with most OJ scents. And the much-adored Woman ought to be right in my wheelhouse, but has never done it for me. Finally swapped away my bottle.
I believe i once read that Geza Shoen who developed a lot of OJ scents used a lot of Iso-E Super.
Yes, this. I happen to like iso e super, so doesn’t bother me.
I’ve got three that I love, but I know what you mean. I thought I’d love a lot more of them, but they all end up smelling a bit the same.
Quite a few people have mentioned something in the OJ base as being off putting for them.
Wow, this is so helpful for me — because I have consistently found that I love many of them at first, but by the time I get to the drydown, I don’t care for the scent at all.
I do like Woman the best of the bunch, but even it sometimes goes wonky on me.
Hello everyone!
I could barely drag myself out of bed this morning. For some reason I have a very hard time sleeping before my early classes.
I went with Grandiflora Queen of the Night, since it’s huge, beautiful, and lasts all day. I didn’t realize when I scheduled my Tuesday but I have three classes in a row, no breaks, and each across campus from the next. Queen of the Night will get me through it!
My perfume shopping trip with my future sister-in-law was so fun! She has great taste and we managed to find 4 maybes: Jour d’Hermes Absolu, Chanel Beige, Amouage Dia, and Grandiflora Magnolia Sandrine (I knew she liked white florals so I brought nearly the whole Grandiflora range for her to try.) I’m so curious to see which she’ll pick!
Have a great day everyone!
Oh, what fun!
So much! 🥰
I’m glad it went well, I’ve been wondering. That was so nice of you and a wonderful way of getting to know each other, I imagine. I like her choices! Good luck with all those classes today.
Thank you! It was a blast, really. And did you know Saks has a Dries Van Noten beauty counter now? I would love to spend more time with them.
Sounds like you had a great time.
It really was great to go help someone pick something they live.
JdH Absolu is a beautiful choice! I like it much better than its perfume parent.
I love every version of Jour but the Absolu is so lovely. I tend to wear the discontinued parfum most.
Hello.
Sotd is BR540 body oil + extrait.
Has anybody tried those anti-aging LED red-light facemasks? A few youtubers I follow have been using them for a while and are singing praises. Hmmm.
I don’t follow anyone on YouTube. Have you seen close-ups of the pre- and post- faces without any make-up and/or filters?
I would check if they received the products free.
+1 to this!
I think I will focus on year round scents this week until Friday, so today it’s Gris Clair for chilly rain. It’s good for warm rain, too.
Good idea!
I’m wearing AA Gentiana, which is quite springlike.
Gentiana was my first Guerlain full bottle purchase, you smell lovely!
If I’d known it was Croissant Day I’d have worn SL Jeux de Peau, but it’s too late for that now. Instead I’m in SL Rousse, a furious snarl of cinnamon and cloves that slowly metamorphoses into a soft, plush ambery base. A very unconventional gourmand.
If I had known it was Croissant Day I’d have eaten a raft of croissants!!!
Ha, that’s the spirit!
Apparently I am in the mood for spring — the hand hovered briefly over Thé Pour un Été, and then went straight to Fox in the Flowerbed. Jasmine deliciousness.
In other news, repairs to our water-damaged garage are continuing. Yesterday they discovered that our 16 feet of built-in shelving would not be salvageable, so the deconstruction is in a pile while we wait for the drywall guy to remove sections of damaged wall and ceiling and haul the detritus away. I never liked those shelves so I’m not too sad. 😉
I guess it’s a good excuse for a slight remodel? 🙂 But not a fun one.
Fox in the Flowerbed is in my grab bag and I’m hoping I grab it soon.
Also a good way to force us to get rid of a whole bunch of stuff that really didn’t need to be out there, like very old candles, Halloween costumes, and 20 year old tax returns! Out of sight out of mind for sure. As much as I detest plastic, I now see some value in those large plastic bins — wet cardboard is just yucky.
For some odd reason, I thought tax returns should kept forever.
Only 7 years. Statute of limitations for them to reassess you.
Fox in the Flowerbed is such a wonderful name. I don’t like the IA gimmick but perhaps this one could make me see the light?
If you like jasmine in perfumery, do give it a try. It’s a very bright, happy scent.
Good luck with the garage! Something very similar happened to us a little over a year ago, water damage in the garage. Our shelves were salvageable (only the dry wall behind had to be replaced). As you said, the best part was being forced to declutter and reorganize everything!
If I had a garage and was keeping stuff there besides a car, it would be in plastic bins.
Been shredding old financial documents (like 13 years old) lately. Most of them are for accounts or credit cards that don’t even exist anymore.
Oh, I have SO much of that sort of paperwork to go through. Good for you!
Kyoto means spring to me, since I was in Kyoto in the spring, so that’s one on the plus side, Robin! 🙂
I came up winter today, pulling Smell Bent Hot House out of the bag. I suppose most people would think a green scent is a spring scent, but to me it (and CBIHP Black March) mean my grandfather’s greenhouse in February, when we’d be starting all the tomato plants from seed.
I think of Kyoto as agnostic when it comes to season, but I can see it if you were in Kyoto in spring!
That’s such a lovely scent memory. I really enjoy Hot House too and can never get enough tomato leaf!
I love Black March, but I’ve found it tends to tug my emotions downward even while I’m sniffing with delight. But I also love Wild Hunt, which is quite similar but warm where Black March is cold.
Oooh, I have never tried Wild Hunt. I should! Noting…
Well, yesterday I made my first bottle purchase of the year. I really thought I’d get through January without one, but I couldn’t pass up a bargain on eBay (story of my perfume life). Since I also have a large decant of the same scent, I’m wearing that today. It’s the wonderful Chambre Noire by Olfactive Studio.
Chambre Noire is great – that’s worth adjusting your plans!
I thought so too. 50ml bottle 95% full for $45!
Funny how irresistible perfume bottles show up to derail No Buys, isn’t it?
Heh yes indeedy, but happily I’m not on a true no buy. I’m trying to be very thoughtful and not impulsive in my purchases. I do really want to work harder at paring down my collection, too.
SOTD is SSS Ambre Noir from a sample dated 7/2/12
We overnighted in a rest area off 95. I pulled over to the horse section so I didn’t take up a spot in the truck lane. Doubtful people would be hauling and riding horses out here in the middle of the night. I ended up with the back end of the truck in some mud. When I woke this morning, there was a fresh cigarette, smoked about halfway, right outside my door. I know it wasn’t there yesterday. Someone was having a look see. 🤔
That’s a bit creepy! I assume doggo would let you know if anyone tried to break in?
Ha! She doesn’t take her guard dog duties very seriously. 🙄
I’m going to hope it was someone who was interested in getting a closer look at my rig (it’s a man magnet) and not someone up to anything nefarious.
Hopefully it was a park attendant or other authorized person just making the rounds.
No attendants at remote rest areas that I know of.
Oh gosh. Hopefully it was just someone sneaking a smoke.
Last week here, someone stole a horse and buggy that was parked outside a store. They were caught. Horse and buggy were ok.
Glad the horse was okay. People have become absolutely crazy. My water fill is not locked. It’s a simple twist off cap and I always some idiot will dump something in my tank. Trying to find a way to know if it’s been tampered with, especially because I’m will be in a very urban area for the next three months. Life would be so much easier if it wasn’t for the jerks.
Life would be so much easier if it weren’t for the jerks should be posted everywhere.
We need to buy an island and only allow non-jerks to live there! 🏝️🍹
Maybe you can put a ball of foil inside the door that would fall out if it was opened, so you know if someone other than you had opened it?
I think it would end up in the tank because the mouth to the tank is quite wide. If it did fall in, there would be no way of retrieving it.
Do you have some Parafilm you could put around the twist off cap?
This is a good idea! I was thinking something along the lines of this, but using crime scene tape. Of course, no access to that! But something that will break or tear if the cap is turned…I may go to Home Depot and see what I can find.
There’s also a type of plastic wrap/cling film that sticks to itself, a la Parafilm. You can find it at Target, Wal-Mart, etc.
I’d suggest putting a pinch of glitter in the layers but that stuff is a pain in the tuchus to deal with.
I saw that, outside a Walmart or something!
I would say it’s creepy! Glad you are ok. Doggo must have been under a ton of blankets to not alert you.
Yes, you know my dog well and you’ve never even met her! 😂 Don’t bother her after bedtime. All you’ll get is serious side eye.
Yikes! That’s hella creepy!
Not as creepy as the guys that ask, “Are you traveling alone?” 🙄
Aahhhh!
Be Safe!
GAK!
Glad I never encountered that during my move. I do have an epic case of RBF, though.
Counteracting mine is pretty much my only New Year’s resolution. But that’s only because I am at a place in life where I feel I shouldn’t have it (this is probably temporary but I should go with it while it lasts) but yet still do.
Yuck. Honestly, what are those people thinking, like you’re gonna be like, hey, yeah, and I’d love to chat? Uh, no, and is there any woman these days who’d want that?
Reminds me of my hostel days travelling around Europe. But that was…checks calendar…30 years ago. (Ugh, didn’t want to think about that.) And even back then, it was a no.
Wearing Greenwitch this morning and enjoying its sea breeze.
It’s a great name!
Couple dabs of Niki de Saint Phalle parfum today. I like it but don’t adore it. The spectacular square bottle with the twined snakes, on the other hand, makes me very happy.
I *love* this bottle and have my mom’s, but this is hands-down the most challenging perfume I’ve tried. It’s actively distressing to have it on my skin! 😀
Ugh, what a disappointing misalignment!!
NdSP is one of my favorite perfumes to wear around Halloween. It fits “spooky season” so well!
Couldn’t post yesterday but I wore Black Opium. It was okay, it started out with a bang and then just kind of degenerated into grape juice with a buzz. Not a scrubber, but nothing to open a channel to the homeworld about.
Also, I am more than ready for some sunshine. It has been so cloudy and gloomy in my neck of the woods for days. Gettin’ a little done with it.
I hope you get some sun soon, and an end to the dreary days.
Thanks!
We had high clouds and no rain here today, and it felt like a revelation. I feel you!
SOTD is a 20 year old bottle of Chanel Elixer I found while reorganizing. WOW it’s beautiful.
I don’t know that fragrance but those two words together must equal something wonderful😊
What a great find! 🤩
It’s a fluid body gel that was part of a limited edition called Sensuelle something or other.
Now I have to decide to keep it or sell it.
Oh interesting, usually gels don’t hold their fragrance for more than a year or two or three.
In Libertine Eros Fig this morning. It’s a bit of a sultry fig and I like the contrast to the greener fig fragrances I own.
“Sultry fig”? How so?
The leaves on the maple are turning red and orange around the edges. They seem to die from the outside , towards the centre ( which is still green) . I guess that points towards Autumn though we’ve barely had summer. Had an interesting hospital visit. The radiation oncologist locum is brought in from Australia, which I’m guessing does not come cheap. Had a good long chat about TB treatments during the 1940s ( related to a novel I had recently read) and then lungs in general ( which wasn’t entirely unrelated to my regular chest X-rays). All good. Wearing Vierge de Fer as it is still lilly season in the gardens. Today I plan to try and find out what paints were used in a typical watercolour palette in the 1880s as I am writing something where I need to know my paints, and colours.
I am still reading In the Country of Others and enjoying this book a lot.
The book that you recommended The North Light, it looks like my library hasn’t bought it yet.
Are you enjoying it? My reading has been particularly random recently. A lot of books where nothing much happens, and the best amongst them is a novel called Brian, by Jeremy Cooper, about a clerk in London man who goes to weekly movie screenings at the British Film Institute. It’s one of those engrossing “ unremarkable men” novels that digs deep into ordinary life. Some people find it very slow but others find it engrossing.
You smell wonderful and yay for a good Dr. & Dr. visit. Paints and color research sounds very fun.
Thumbs up for a good hospital visit!
At work today in vintage Jicky edt today. I am going to be making a Luckyscent purchase in February and have a question. When did Luckyscent start charging tax? This is the first time I am seeing this.
Oh I did not know about LuckyScent charging sales tax! I am still persevering (preserving too!) on my low-buy / no buy!
Are you not in California? I have always been charged tax because both I and Luckyscent are located in California. I’ve shipped expensive perfumes to a friend in Arizona to avoid the tax.
I live in Ohio. In all the years of ordering from Luckyscent, this is the first time I have seen it. My last order was probably in June or July last year.
They may have remote employees or other operations in Ohio now that require them to collect tax there, even if they don’t have a store there.
Has anyone tried Neroli Plein Sud yet?
I tried it, it’s really a lovely orange blossom. I didn’t smell any other notes.
The SA applied it abundantly on my coat, it still smells after a week. It’s not full bottle worthy for me since the high price and i much prefer my Fragonard fleur d’oranger.
I love the Fragonard, finished a bottle last year.
It feels like Guerlain has transitioned from naturals to potent synthetics – orange blossom that still smells after a week screams synthetic to me. Tobacco Honey and the oud scents were the same – extremely radiant and nuclear longevity.
I agree.
I did and didn’t care for it. On me it was high-pitched and synthetic, more like a functional product than high end perfume. Not for me.
PHI today – I’m really enjoying the cooler weather here, so I can wear some of my thicker scents. Usually it’s too warm! But PHI is so lovely that maybe I will figure out a way to wear it anyway…
You smell lovely!☺️
Croissant day! Well, sounds like I’ll need to stop by my favorite bakery on my way home from grad school today!
I’m in wildly seasonally inappropriate Le Chevrefeuille today, because I needed a lift. Bad/sad dreams all night, and then a Cal Fire guy was just so rude to me via email that I did the working-from-home version of walking out of my job (that is, I closed my computer and went and put on perfume). Planning to avoid work accordingly for the next half hour, then go have lunch at a wonderful Japanese restaurant with Boyfriend, then go hang on campus with my scientist peers for a bit. And then, *maybe* I’ll work some more, but only after I’ve had my croissant!
Sorry you’ve had such a tough day. Glad you are giving yourself a break.
What is it with people who feel the need to be rude @$$hats?
This guy’s @$$hat is part of his standard fashion statement. His problem, of course, and not mine. Thankfully, raw salmon and avocado and cucumbers-with-shrimps plus wonderful company for several extracurricular and academic hours made everything lovely again.
You smelled great today! Perfect thing to be wearing as you walk out on work 🙂
Inspired by the OJ discussion at the top of the page, I’m wearing OJ Woman.
I love that one!! It’s my favorite, and when I wear it, I get compliments. 🙂
Czech & Speake Dark Rose and a cup of Russian Country Tea
Nice.
For the CP, I reached in a sample jar and pulled out…a tiny vial of lavender essential oil! I almost threw it back and tried again, but decided that was cheating. So, for the first time in years, I spent the morning in good ol’ lavender. I enjoyed it, but it did not stick around. I will try some YSL Libre edp later, from a travel spray I picked up for a few bucks. Looks like my sample predicts an early and warm Spring.
I go back and forth with Libre. Sometimes I love it and sometimes it’s just too much lavender for me.
How do you feel about Mon Guerlain? I think that’s my favorite lavender floral.
Today I’m wearing Amouage Fate, because it came up a few times recently and I was reminded to put some on. I’d have to call it a winter scent because of the amber and its heavy quality, though I checked and it does have a lot of florals (jasmine, narcissus, rose). I am smelling quite spicy at the moment.
Last night for the first time I made Singapore noodles, a favorite dish of mine to order in Chinese restaurants. It was complicated to make and was quite messy, so that it wouldn’t win any prizes in a food photography contest, but I thought it was pretty good! For some reason, mine came out more brown than yellow, as it does in restaurants, perhaps due to the particular curry powder I used for it. (In reading about it I learned it’s neither really Chinese nor from Singapore, hmm, a bit of a mystery there!)
Lately I’ve been occupied with the so-called Vengeance Trilogy by Park Chan Wook. I am writing something about them for an upcoming conference. I can’t exactly recommend them because they are EXTREMELY violent, but they are truly amazing films, and deep. If you have some capacity to tolerate violence (some sexual violence and painful talk about child murders), I particularly recommend Lady Vengeance, which I found to be both beautiful and profound. A friend told me she thinks Koreans “do vengeance in a different way” (she’s Korean), and it might be true, I don’t know. But as a moral topic it’s difficult and although it’s often central in films (and TV), usually the treatment is pretty shallow. Not here!
Thank you for an interesting film rec.
Funny, I rewatched Oldboy at the weekend . Each time I see it I get more out of it. I guess that’s because the plot and violence become less dominant when compared to the other aspects. Did you go and see Poor Things in the end? The Guardian had a good long piece where ten writers/ viewers responded to the movie and it was good to see all the different viewpoints.
I was in PG Louanges Profanes today which I hadn’t worn in a good while, and for croissant adjacent tonight I’m wearing Panettone which is very moreish but lifted by its orange zest.
Panettone is lovely! Not too sweet with that lovely citrus note.
Isn’t it, so glad you love it. Yes that orange/lemon zest is what makes it come together.
Oh, I love that perfume! I mean Louanges Profanes. It’s one of those that has been on my buy list for years and years.
It was spring for me yesterday in Neroli Outrenoir, but today I’m back to winter in L’Eau d’Ambre Extreme. The weather here is swinging back and forth as well, low 70s yesterday and today, but we’ll have rain and colder temps for the rest of the week.
Any advice for being stuck in a cooking slump or just feeling lazy to cook? I try my best to curtail eating out too much but sometimes it just gets to be such a chore, especially preparing meals for the whole family. Do you have any trusted tips or hacks to share? I’m definitely not above store-bought cheats and what not, no where close to being the all made-from-scratch type, but even then it can start to feel unending.
When I’m tired of cooking, mostly it’s lengthy prep I hate, so I turn to the crockpot and make stew, soup, chili, spaghetti sauce, or pot roast. Or I make breakfast for dinner.
I always forget about breakfast for dinner, great reminder! Thanks!
I make dinners I can reconfigure the next day using leftovers. Roast chicken one night can be turned into a nice risotto the next. A slow cooked piece of lamb or beef one night can become a Ragu with pasta the next. A main dish of lentils one night can become a pie the next etc.
Off to search for lentil pie recipes, I would like to eat more lentils and beans. Thanks for the tips!
We will do “batch” type cooking such as a quinoa salad (a favorite), soups or chicken. Plus we try to have salad greens and vegetables prepped ahead of time and stored in breathable bags. That way, you cook or prep once and get many meals out of something fairly quickly.
Thanks for the tips, Gail. It’s a good reminder to put in work ahead of time for the lazier days ahead.
I’ve done similar to what Gail has mentioned. Make a huge batch of ‘something’ one day which would be enough for several days’ worth of meals. That way, reheating the leftovers is much easier and far less tedious than cooking from scratch.
Yes, leftovers seems to be a key tip! I really need to make more food so I have more leftovers, easier said than done sometimes since I now have a teenager with an appetite.
Stouffers frozen lasagna and meatloaf in the party or family size are pretty decent.
I also buy frozen meatballs for spaghetti or meatball subs.
Yum, those do sound comforting and easy!
Schnitzel. Or whatever you want to call it, tonkatsu, veal milanese, whatever. The kid is always happy. And it takes 10 min. I have become something of a connoisseur of schnitzel over all these years (I do German well but my family’s preferred version is basically a milanese, because I put parmesan in with the bread crumbs). That and some roasted broccoli = dinner gold in our household, and very little thought or work on my part. (In fact, I think we’re eating this tomorrow.)
Otherwise, stir fries. Kung pao chicken is another fave, though you have to spend a little more time chopping things up.
I reached into the grab bag and pulled out PDM Athalia. It’s pretty much straight orange blossom and white musk on me. I didn’t detect any of the iris in it so to me with all the orange blossom, it’s an going to be an early spring!
I think I have a sample of that somewhere. PdM hasn’t caught my attention yet though.
Let me know if you find it to sample. I was expecting a bit more iris but on me it’s pretty much 1-note. I don’t have any other ones to test. Money saved!
Today’s teapot is SO adorable!
I am getting a healthy dose of Spring weather this week. But Winter is expected to make a return just in time for the weekend. Oh joy. Teflon kitty has been soaking up all the sunbeams that she can.
SOTD = the January Special. Aka commando, but wearing Boyfriend Body Creme on my shins.
I hear I will get about a weeks worth of spring before winter returns. It’s super foggy here too.
Not quite a record high temp here, but it’s been T-shirt weather for the past few days. But it’s been dry, dry, dry along the Front Range. Lots of prescribed burns going on to try and reduce fuel for wildfires.
That teapot makes me smile!
I’m doing Fall perfume until Friday. Today I wore Angel’s Share. I passed by a lady who smelt like Spring today. I asked what she was wearing and she said Gres Cabotine. It was beautiful. Then she ” now that I am an old lady, I am going to wear too much perfume and jewelry ” lol.
LOVE that response!
You smell great! I wore a lot of Cabotine in my twenties. And I agree about wearing too much perfume & jewelry. 😉
Good for her! I love Cabotine, it was a very successful cheap blind buy for me
Late to the party …
SOTD = Chris Rusak Caji
Not sure what it stands for but I am loving this one! It’s the newest of the new (bought in 2023 but Chris’s perfume is one of my exceptions to the low-buy / no buy “rules”)! Orris butter and something feral! 😍
https://www.instagram.com/p/C2vvTuixMFt/?igsh=MW0za252ZWJwY3BsNw==
In other news, I’m so glad I am not commuting these days (to NYC) because I’ve had so many emails simce December about NJ Transit not running so well!
LOL on the autocorrect of orris to oreos. 🙂
Your SOTD is the same shade of green as Diptyque Tempo!
I dipped into the grab bag 4 times today:
1) Rogue Rostracto. Very fresh, “green” rose to my nose. I’m classifying it as Spring.
2) Maya Njie Nordic Cedar. This is so refreshing and transparent, it transcends the seasons.
3) Maya Njie Vanillj (okay, after Nordic Cedar, I dug in the bag for this one). Also refreshing, sheer, and seasonless. Both this and Nordic Cedar have a prominent cardamom note.
4) Escapade Gourmande. I like it, if you want some full-on vanilla, but wouldn’t pay what they’re asking. Winter. Suspect there’s something in a cheaper price point that would scratch the same itch (which I don’t have often, anyway). I’d be more apt to reach for my L de Lolita Lempicka.