Happy Friday and happy Groundhog Day! Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow, and he's usually wrong but I am choosing to believe an early spring is coming all the same. (Plus, Woodstock Willie didn't see his either, nor did Staten Island Chuck.) Our community project for today: 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.)
What fragrance did you pick? As always, do chime in with your scent of the day even if you’re not participating in the community project.
I put a bunch of Hermessence travel sprays in a small bag and picked Ambre Narguile. I haven't worn it in ages, I smell great, and I'm still going with the groundhogs so it's a good thing I wore it now before it's too warm.
Reminder: 2/9 is Lunar New Year's Eve...wear an auspicious fragrance to ring in the Year of the (Wood) Dragon, or burn or wear incense to honor your ancestors.
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: top image is Groundhog [cropped] by Erik Drost at flickr; some rights reserved.
Canada’s version of Phil, Wiarton Willie, predicts an early spring, and I choose to believe it because this has been a tedious grind of a winter and I’d rather not have six more weeks of that. At any rate, I don’t have enough samples to to the community wear properly, so I’m just willing spring into existence with a few sprays of the psychedelically green Mugler Aura EDT.
Apparently all the Canadian groundhogs say spring! (There’s a new Fred la Marmotte this year, too.) Let’s go with it.
Shubenacadie Sam also says “early spring”.
I don’t think a single groundhog predicted 6 more weeks of winter this year.
Seriously, they can’t ALL be wrong.
Well done, Robin. Ambre Narguile may be a winter scent, but it is amazing.
Wearing Cristalle, because I need some strength. I am not playing the sample game, since, frankly, I am not in the mood for it. I am here to vent.
Maybe some of you remember that in autumn I was offered work in a video game localization project and how excited I was about it. Well, after numerous delays and a very low volume of work, yesterday the localization studio informed that the game developer cancelled the collaboration with the studio. Basically, the game developer has some financial difficulties, so they wanted the studio to significantly reduce the payment. The studio refused (and rightly so, in my opinion), and here we are. This is a huge blow for me, both because of money and my interest in the subject.
Of course, I do not know the details, but I now respect the game developer less and feel bitter about this situation. This gave me courage to ask the studio for permission to use some translations from the project as samples on my website and for some positive feedback on my work (the feedback would be visible publicly). Let’s see what they will answer.
Speaking of the website, I finished all pages and the navigation bar. Still need to make the footer with links to my socials (and credit to the icon provider). And then there is still SEO and code cleanup and maybe small improvements here and there, but the finishing line is near. Some comfort in that at least.
Glannys, what a pain. I can un the bitterness. Hopefully things will resolve soon.
So sorry to hear that! Been there, done that and it’s no bueno. I hope you get permission from the studio, and get it soon. 👍
I’m really sorry to hear about the project folding. I hope something good comes out of it for you.
I hope they come through with the permission! Sending you lots of luck for finding new work.
Argh! So disappointing and challenging. My fingers are crossed that your website yields some valuable traffic.
Ugh, what an ugly turn of events. I hope you get permission from the studio.
I’m taking a (free) course from an educational smorgasbord of classes and the one I am currently in involves Employee Relations. Just yesterday, there was a segment on how private sector companies can embrace an inclusion aspect and Gamification was on the list.
Sounds like an interesting course. I hope you learn a lot of useful things from it!
I must say I am not a big fan of gamification in the workplace. Maybe there is a way to enrich work environment by adding it, but it is often used to treat employees like children and to avoid giving them more tangible rewards. Well, maybe I just did not see it done right.
Rant on, Glannys. I am right there with you.
How disappointing, that sounded like such an interesting thing to be involved with.
That sounds very frustrating and disappointing! No wonder you wanted to vent. I hope you get the permission to publicize your work.
Also happy to hear this rant. This is very disappointing and I hope they let you use the translations.
Hoping there’s something good around the corner for you.
I’m so sorry that the collaboration appears to have met its end and hope 🤞you get the permission you are seeking. Wishing your new website success! 👍
Sorry to hear this! But you did a lot of good work, and I hope it can be noticed and rewarded soon.
Adding my loud BOOS to the game developer and hoping that the studio comes through for you. Grrr.
ARGH! Such a shame that a promising project went belly up.
Oh drat, I’m so sorry Glannys.
Thanks everyone for sympathy. ❤ Well, what can one do? Move one and look for other opportunities. 😐
Hello and tgif!
Spring’s comin’ early with my sample pick of Eau Capitale. Fresh rose bouquet from a morning Paris marché.
PSA: I just read this report from Allure and guys, RUN AND BUY YOUR FAVOURITE ESTEE LAUDER CLASSIC NOW!
As I quote: “His new “Legacy” versions will replace the original formulas” 😱😭😭
Here’s the link: https://www.allure.com/story/frederic-malle-estee-lauder-legacy-collection
Thanks for this timely PSA!
They probably can’t get very close to the originals any longer anyway because of restrictions on ingredients. I’m not sure Malle is the right editor for this project, but I am very curious and will definitely seek samples.
Very interesting article to this EL Super Fan Girl. So glad you shared!!
Thanks for sharing that link.
That would explain why Beautiful was not in the mix, anyway. I am guessing that and Pleasures are the only older ELs that sell.
According to the radio station I had on this morning, groundhogs have a 39% accuracy rate. Today there’s a celebration of Harold Ramis’ life at Harry Caray’s Tavern on Navy Pier…sounds entertaining, will take a look at the livestream this afternoon.
Awaiting LuckyScent samples, so will choose sotd after the mail arrives.
Yay for samples arriving! I too received an order from LS today and broke into the samples w/ haste! 😉
What’s really fun is the festival Woodstock has every year this weekend to celebrate the making of the film. We’ve gone several times and enjoyed it immensely!
https://woodstockgroundhog.org/
What samples did you get?
Our local groundhog Jimmy did not see his shadow either, so spring it is! Woot woot!🌸🌺🌼 This year he stayed in his crate because back a few years ago he got a little too close to the mayor and gave him a little nip.
I’m doubling up on orange blossom in Glossier’s Body Hero body cream, which really is a lovely rich texture and faint OB scent, followed by Art Meets Art’s Like a Virgin LE.
Our extended forecast is for sun although it’s overcast at the moment. I took my car through the car wash yesterday and now it is all sparkly and clean. Looks like next Thursday we may hit 50! Last night’s weatherman almost seemed to be complaining about how unseasonably warm it’s gonna be, but you will hear no complaints from me.😎 Happy Friday!
Yeah, apparently Fred la Marmotte (the Quebec groundhog) bit his handler today, too. And then did not see his shadow. Maybe bites REALLY mean spring is coming! (Or that groundhogs don’t want to be awakened and lifted up.)
I don’t know why, but the fact that the groundhogs and marmots are fighting back tickles me. Maybe it’s because I hate being woken up and dragged out of a cozy bed on a February morning.
My sample archive skews heavily spring/summer, but I scrounged enough for an even split between winter and spring for the CP.
Sr. Spiderplant did the random selection and landed OJ Vanille d’Iris, which points winter to me, though I think an argument could be made for spring. I’ve ignored this sample since it entered my world in a discovery set at least a decade ago. Turns out it’s a too strong plasticky scrubber on me. Maybe its the carrot seed?
So I went ahead and scrubbed and subbed in Black March. Early spring? Late winter? Tough call. Definitely fits today’s damp grayness.
I associate Black March with early spring, you smell great.
I love Black March! Early spring, for sure. Reminds me of that wonderful day when you can first smell dirt, which has been covered by snow forever (it always seemed this way.)
I love Black March! You smell wonderful.
I did not like Vanille d’Iris either. Spell-check changed “Banille” to Banal, which may actually be appropriate.
HA.
Black March is such a great scent. I found Vanille d’Iris very inoffensive and a bit boring. My husband insisted it smelled like the deodorant his girlfriend used in 1996.
Now that’s a ringing endorsement, to be sure.
I’m in L’Ombre Dans L’Eau edp, which I more or less blindly chose. So spring. I am hoping for more winter actually, since we are more likely to get rain, and since we’ve been experiencing summer droughts, I would like all the rain we can get.
Wishing you a wet spring, PriscillaE! You smelled great today.
Sounds like all the groundhogs are in agreement this year, and I like their decision! I tried a blind grab into one of two Chinese teacups of dabbers for the CP and came up with Kemi Luna. It’s a kitchen-sink type, with both spring and winter notes, and it’s faint and fading much too quickly to be interesting. The house’s entire collection is listed as discontinued, but the bottle was really gorgeous and by far the most interesting thing about it. Later on I have a lunch date with a former long-time employer who remains a friend, and I’ll wear something spring-y for that — maybe Jour d’Hermes. Happy Friday everyone!
Hope you enjoyed your lunch get-together!
The result of my perfume divination game this morning was Diorella, so I predict an early spring.
You smell so good!
I really want to believe the early spring predictions from our famous groundhogs, so I am wearing Penhaligon’s Ostara.
It has been a very tough week. My office has been moving out of the building to the new facilities since November last year, and this week was time for our department to move out. Between decluttering, packaging, field inspections, and on-site work, the rush and confusion have been very high. The real move is being done today, and IT is scheduled to set up our servers and connections this weekend so we can work remotely next week. We will be physically at the new building starting the 12th.
On my second cup of coffee and a big piece of beer bread that I baked last night. Ready for the next boring Teams meeting just now.
Happy Friday! ☕️
I hope everything settles down and you can catch your breath. And I hope you get a relaxing weekend.
Thank you, Kanuka!
You smell wonderful!
Is the new place a shorter commute for you?
Thank you, Hajusuuri!
The commuter will be shorter at least 20 minutes, considering that I do not have to take the office’s shuttle bus anymore from the subway station. We will access the new building now directly from the subway station. Pretty convenient!
Office moves – always fun! I’ve been dragged into helping manage a few of those.
We are looking forward to being there soon. The place is really nice!
I hope the move goes as smoothly as possible and you can settle in soon.
Thank you, Sistine. After 15 years working in the same building, I am sure it will take some time to get adjusted to the new place. But I like the new offices a lot.
Ugh to the transition and disruption…that is never easy. Hope you have a relaxing weekend and do something fun.
And yay to beer bread! Mr. She-ra baked a loaf using TJ’s mix and added cheddar cheese, jalapeños and an egg. 😉 It came out quite good…not as sweet as corn bread can be which I like.
Thank you, She-ra!
I also used the TJ beer bread mix. I only added cheddar cheese, but I will add an egg next time. The loaf is nice, but came out a bit dry for my taste.
Sounds exhausting! But hopefully the extra 20 minutes saved each day will all be worth it!
I hope so!
Ugh. good luck with the office move!
Glad to hear it will result in a shorter commute for you. Those extra minutes can add up.
Thank you, Jalapeno. I am looking forward to that shorter commute, especially on days of very bad weather.
I am defying Punxsutawney Phil’s weather prognostications and chose my 15 ml Hermessence Muguet Porcelaine a lovely lily of the valley springtime fragrance by Jean-Claude Ellena.
Perfect!
Starting the weekend with Le Galion Cologne Nocturne
I looked up the notes for that one, and it sounds like it’s quite an elegant masculine cologne.
Le Galion has some lovely perfumes, don’t they.
I reached blindly into one of my sample/decant boxes and pulled out Vilhelm Parfumerie Dear Polly which I’ve never tried. It smelled good but two hours later it is completely gone, so I am smelling like spring now in Allure edt. Way to go groundhogs, let’s hope they’re right!
I hope they are right too
I’ve sniffed a few things from Vilhelm Parfumerie and liked them. Don’t remember what longevity was like for me, though.
I’m sampling Pekji Odoon and loving it! I wouldn’t have thought fennugreek was a promising perfume ingredient, but independent perfumer Turkish Omer Ipecki has created something wonderful with it.
At first I thought Odoon had immortelle but learned more about the perfume from Mark Behnke’s review:
https://colognoisseur.com/new-perfume-review-pekji-odoon-battaniye-and-zeybek-woods-wool-and-barns/
I will have to check out this line. Sounds promising! I have Ruh on my to try list. Have you sampled this one yet?
I have it and love it and you have just provided me with my SOTD!
Uh oh. I feel a new lemming coming to life. Time to run!
I tried Ruh years ago. I think I liked it and would have gotten some when I was browsing Scent Split recently, but they didn’t have it. So I checked reviews and got Odoon instead.
All three sound very interesting. Wet wool, to me, doesn’t smell the least bit soapy so that description caught my attention. To me wet wool is a fuggy scent, like pale urine mixed with mushrooms. It instantly reminds me of two things: the woollen gym slips of our school uniforms which, when wet, made the class smell ( say it was raining on the way to school), and tramping huts when after a days walk in the bush people hung their wet socks up to dry. That smell, is etched in my memory as strongly as damp newspapers, and the gasworks in my hometown.
I haven’t sampled Battaniye yet because I have similar (but less reality-based) thoughts about how wool would smell. But maybe I’ll give it a try based on Mark’s review and how effectively Omer Ipecki used fennugreek.
I chose Chinotto di Liguria from my sample set of Acqua di Parma scents, and like many of you I am hoping for an early spring 🌸
Have a great weekend!
That works! Here’s hoping, NinaV.
Farmacia SS Annunziata Vaniglia Del Madagascar from another old, old sample. Thunk!
I also thunked something last night before bed but can’t remember what it was.
Happy friYAY!
You’ve been a thunking MACHINE lately!
You know it! I was inspired by CM8 and now “thunking” has taken over my perfume life, at least for now. I have so many samples it’s just ridiculous and wasteful. I found several already evaporated and a couple with no label, so that will be interesting! 🙃
I decided that I am going to start draining my decant of Amouage Dia. It’s kind of an early spring scent.
Good idea!
Feeling springy in Profumum Meringa! 🙂
You smell great!
I could see my breath last night before I went to bed, and the forecast is for hail and rain today so I’m thinking of autumn and going with Bois de Vanille. I watched that documentary about recording the song We are the World last night. Found it so interesting.
What, hail? My sister flew to Tucson, Ariz today, and was hoping for some warmth and sunshine and she was met by hail as soon as she got there 🙂
I chose two samples from my winter/summer dish this morning – one for today, and one for tonight. I came up with Kalimantan and Snowy Owl. Looks like I’m going against the predictions and it will stay winter here. Ok with me, since the summer temps have become unbearable here.
I’m also on Team Winter.
Not participating in the CP today. Felt like wearing Shalimar MI today. Seems to me to be a winter scent, but could probably be worn anytime.
Sounds like Shalimar MI is a 4-season perfume for you!
Early spring for me in OJ Woman, although this could also work for winter.
I think of it as a 3 season scent.
In Dior Homme Original today. The iris is beautiful. Not sure why this version seems to be exclusive to the EU, while Dior foisted an entirely different scent with the Dior Homme name upon the rest of the world.
The rest of us don’t deserve it 🙂
A weak sun is gingerly daubing at the very soaked ground. Fooled the cat though, who shot outside and then stood as much as a cat can on his tip toes (he’s also pretty bowl-legged, so its a look!) and high-stepped it under the dripping trees.
I’m in Mohur today, plucked at random from my dresser. 🩷
Enjoyed your word picture – our Sun was a bit more distant, but he did come out.
I laughed at the mental image of your cat and his walkies! Very “Simon’s Cat”.
Yeah. He makes me laugh all the time!
But I am so glad you said hello, because here’s an odd one. I got an email from what I think is an old email address of yours–about maybe a week or so ago. It just said something like the email was acting up. I didn’t understand it, so I didn’t respond. I waited for a follow-up and never got one, so deleted the email. I didn’t mean to be rude if it was you!
If it was a Gee-mail address, then it’s current. I was trying to get in touch with another NSTer who was having problems contacting me. So I accidentally pinged you instead. Oooops!
SOTD = Chanel No.19 EDP
Gorgeous, as always! Any guesses as to whether or not I will THUNK the bottle this year?
https://www.instagram.com/p/C22trm9RXot/?igsh=MTk3cTZoZWZrbWIyZQ==
In other news, and nothing to do with cats today —
The Wall Street Journal had an article recently where they’ve highlighted Parent Coaches. Prior to reading the article, I thought it would be about how to help parents navigate the intricacies of helping their child(ren) move away to college. While I was partially correct, it was about how to help parents deal with being empty nesters. I know at least one fellow NSTer had mentioned wistfulness (for lack of a better term), but I wonder how others have felt when it was / will be their time?
I couldn’t link to it but you can Google “when Junior goes to college”.
You Can Do It!
Time will tell!
I vote for thunk! Especially since you’re on a low buy. 😉
This! And you will smell fabulous.
Thank you!
We’ll see. It is low enough as it is!
I doubt I will ever be an empty nester but if it ever happens I hope that my joy for their independence outweighs any other feelings I may have. ( and if not that I will at least put on a good face)
Indeed!
Awwwwwwwwwwww.
Best response ever! Your kids are so lucky to have you as their mom!
My employer is offering a series of webinars for accepted students and their parents — one of which is about parenting a college student.
This is good!
How many bottles do you have as a backup to that one?? 🤣🤣🤣
I have 2 that I know off. There could be a 3rd one …
I gave the dish a good stir before I picked out Perris Monte Carlo Patchouli Nosy Be. It reads winter to me…I feel so sorry for the poor groundhogs who are dragged out each year for a stupid news story. I’d bite, too, if somebody did that to me.
Ditto this! I can’t stand when people use animals for their entertainment. Only thing worse is people killing them for entertainment. I have a good long rant for that but I’ll keep it in my braincase…🤐
I totally agree!
I heard a blurb on the radio this morning that Punxsutawney Phil was not dragged out but came out by himself, but I didn’t catch the source of that statement.
At least one city I know of has a stuffed (taxidermied) animal making Groundhog Day prognostications.
That’s perfect.
I might have somewhat cheated & peeked as I was choosing from the grab bag today, because I wanted to wear Fox in the Flowerbed.
Second day of “semester turnaround”, which basically means two days when Ockeghem teen sits at home playing her favourite Japanese video game, so the soundtrack to my office is clashing metal and swooshing and grunting in Japanese right now. I’m trying to get her roused and moving to do…something…while also trying to work.
Hi jasmine twin!
👋 🙂
Ooh, you smell excellent!
How about Ockeghem teen bringing her headphones next time? 😉
The first thing I grabbed this morning was Thé pour un Eté and since we’re having a mild, early spring-like day, I’m solidly in the spring camp.
In other perfume news, I ordered the Estee Lauder Discovery Set for the Legacy series and can’t wait to sniff them all😋
You smell perfect. Even summery.
I have gone through quite a few bottles of Thé pour un Eté over the years and will be sad when I finish the last bit of my current bottle (an original with the round gold cap).
ooh…did not know there was a Discovery Set! Do weigh in from the field when you have gathered more data please! 🙂
I have the EL discovery set on the way, too. And, a bottle of Spellbound in the House of Lauder bottle (this from Ebay). I only have one OG bottle of Spellbound (backups of most other Lauders) and no bottles in the HoL style. So my inner completist-for-bottle-styles decided on Spellbound. Down, lemmings, DOWN!
Ack! Too tempting on that Discovery Set!
The forecast wasn’t good, but I’ve had the unexpected pleasure of waking up to a sunny Saturday morning.
I’m booked in for a facial this morning, I’d never experienced that till recently, and I’m finding that I’m getting more self-indulgent as I get older 🙂 .
I’ll leave the perfume till later, and continue trying my latest samples from Luckyscent. I’ve found a few likes, but no loves so far.
Hope it was lovely! I did an acupuncture session today, that is my version of self-indulgent — so relaxing and I feel great after 🙂
An early spring, according to Dunkirk Dave here!
Temperature is milder today, but we haven’t seen the sun since I don’t know when. This drop of vintage Miss Balmain should cheer me up.
Lucky you to have a bit of vintage Balmain!
I’m wearing Molinard’s Jasmin today. I really like it – it’s a bit of a naughty jasmine and has a clove note which I really love. (It’s not overpowering cloves, which I love even more!) It reminds me of being a Cure-loving teenager in 1989, smoking clove cigarettes in freezing Canadian parking lots.
Love your description! I blind bought that one from FragranceBuy during their Thanksgiving sale but haven’t tried it yet.
” smoking clove cigarettes in freezing . . .” well not freezing for me, but definitely grey, cold, wet winter days playing hooky at Au Coquelet in downtown Berkeley, nursing a huge caffè latte. Thanks for the trip down memory lane!
Wow, blast from the past to hear Au Coquelet mentioned! RIP. Sigh…
RIP indeed! Nice to find a fellow traveler :-)!
Sistine-
I left you a message on my post yesterday of the boutique in North Carolina.
It looks like I’m 50 miles away. Some of their necklaces are so lovely!
They have some beautiful items there, but I will warn you that it is quite a spendy shop. You must have found the website. It’s in Pinehurst Village so being by the famous golf course they get a lot of wealthy people coming through. They have a variety of things at a variety of prices.
Oh, they were definitely spendy! Out of my budget now, but if I ever win the lottery…
IIRC Molinard’s Jasmin had me happily sniffing from application onwards. Good stuff!
Happy Friday! Sampling Gioiosa today and it’s quite nice so far. Many on Fragrantica think it smells like Bianco Latte and I can see that. It’s also twice the price of Bianco Latte. I am kind of annoyed w/ perfume prices right now but won’t go into a diatribe b/c I am a hypocrite w/ far too much perfume as it is. You’re welcome. 😉 Ehaeheh
In other news, I got through 2 big hurdles at work that were due 1/31. 🥳 January can’t hurt us anymore, friends! Happy weekend to all! 😎
Happy Weekend She-ra!
Congratulations on clearing those hurdles! I hope you have a fabulous weekend.
YAY for making it over those big honking work hurdles/deadlines!
So, I brought out my discovery set of Oriza L. Legrand and my hand fell on Violette du Czar which I think means early spring.
I hope you are right!
To be honest winter has been very mild here so far but I sure hope springs starts early in Michigan.
Let’s see what March looks like…
P.S.-Estée Lauder online has Estée Lauder: The Legacy Collection
Discovery Coffret Gift Set: 5 Vials (.05 oz. each) for $30 for anyone who was interested in trying this new collection of their classic perfume remakes without blind buying full size bottles. They are running a promotion for a discount if spin the wheel. I got 20% off my purchase.
Enabler Badge headed your way. And I tried a new lippie shade, too!
Report back!
I will check that out! Thanks.
OMG! Thanks for the heads-up! So tempting.
I vote for spring: Douceur de Siam
Yay!
I found a small, long-forgotten bag of Luckyscent samples – I didn’t even remember what they were – reached inside for today’s cp and am now enjoying Atelier Cologne Orange Sanguine as my SOTD. I guess with its multiple orangey top notes it heralds Spring, yet its base notes – sandalwood, amber, tonka bean and cedar – make it suitable and a good transition scent for this chilly, cloudy late winter day as well as yesterday’s beautiful blue skies, 🌞, and 55 degree temps, the warmest Feb. 1 day here in 56 years! And I was delightfully surprised to learn its orangey top notes are blood orange and bitter orange, which are my favorite citrus notes.❤️. In a way, Orange Sanguine reminds me a bit of my favorite orange fragrance, vintage Nina Ricci Bigarade that was only available briefly during the 1970’s.
A busy weekend ahead. I just returned from helping set up a winter pop-up sale sponsored by my Friends of the Library group – an incredible array of all sorts of new board games donated by a game company from our area – as well as a huge array of children’s books and many jigsaw puzzles. Will be working at the sale tomorrow in between morning and afternoon on-line workshops at a virtual dulcimer fest from my favorite dulcimer musician. I’m really looking forward to both!
Both Punxsutawney Phil and Illinois’ Woodstock Willie saw no shadow today so 🤞 warm temps are just around the corner. Happy weekend to all!🌿🍃🌷
Oh nice, hope the sale goes well and raises lots of $$ for the library!
Wearing Trish McEvoy n9 Blackberry & Vanilla Musk. I keep this one on my desk and spray liberally throughout the day as it fades quickly if not aggressively applied every hour or two. Which means I only wear it when i wfh, and since wfh feels like groundhog day the movie (same pjs, same (tasty) coffee, same instant revulsion when looking at the fridge contents I was excited about while grocery shopping 12 hours previously, whyyy). So I am project compliant! A wonderful way to start the weekend!
Yes, definitely compliant, and happy weekend!
Hi all, I didn’t really pre-prepare my sample batch this morning as directed by the CP, but grabbed one from among a convenient tray of small bottles and pulled out Zoologist Sacred Scarab–a reasonably big sample I believe I bought as part of a split on this site. I have not used it much and this was as good an excuse as any to try it, so I sprayed BIG (BIGLY). It’s a quite potent scent and I almost regretted that, but I’m kind of enjoying it by now, around six hours later. Animalic, sweet, resinous, musky, fruity, smoky, dusty, and floral, it’s a real mix. I’d be hard put to categorize it as belonging to any season in particular. But it’s sexy and beautiful and I’m happy to explore it more.
I got a haircut today and am liking it. I’m trying to grow my hair out a bit more but the parts in back were getting too scraggly and curling up in a most inopportune way. It’s already warm here and is humid, = frizzy hair. Oh well. I have a weird weekend with some difficult duties to perform tomorrow and then a five-hour opera on Sunday (Parsifal, which I love), followed by dinner afterwards with friends from Austin whom I haven’t seen for four years. A mixed bag. Tomorrow the forecast is for sheets of rain and Sunday should be gorgeous. I hope y’all have a good weekend, fall it as it may.
I received a big sample of Sacred Scarab from a kind NSTer and like it a lot. One of the Zoologist travel sprays would be just right.
Love that new haircut feeling! Been too long for me.
My blind sample pull was Soivohle Journeyman in oil format for winter. It’s a lovely smooth amber. However, all signs around here lately are for and early spring. It’s 56 with sun and white clouds today! I am totally fine with an early spring.
I also wanted to report on the new Hiram Green perfume, Philtre. I love it! It’s a gorgeous rich and spicy clovey carnation. So far I’ve only worn a couple small dabs because the day I tried it, I was dealing with lots of sinus pressure. But I plan to give it a full wearing with sprays very soon. Indigo Perfumery has it, and that’s where I got my spray sample. If only HG still offered travel sprays!
I’m so happy to hear that you liked Philtre. My sample is in the mail, stuck in the Midwest as of today. I am looking forward to trying it!
I hope your sample makes it to you safely soon!
Philtre sounds beautiful!
Philtre sounds gorgeous!
And I have a 10mL bottle of Soivohle Journeyman in the EdP format. Liz Zorn does ambers and leathers extremely well.
Yes, she does. I will be sad when my sample is done. Looks like it just has one more wear now.
Oh, Philtre does sound tempting!
For the CP, I had to go through many samples to find 5 that suggested Spring; the five for Winter were easier. I rarely think of the seasons when I think of a perfume. I sort of get it, so this CP has helped me see things in that light. I ended up with a perfect blind pick: Shiseido Hanatsubaki Kai Sumire. I have this rare gem courtesy of a kind NST’er’s swap. It is a soft Spring violet with a vintage vibe. It is a sample to return to. Regarding groundhogs, or woodchucks, I am surprised at how such a big critter manages to hang out in our suburban area. I see them several times a year – they are very appealing! I think of them as “that chubby animal” but they can flat-out run.
Groundhogs are MUCH chubbier than prairie dogs, for sure.
I see them in my backyard frequently…
I remember when Staten Island Chuck took a chomp on then NYC mayor Bloomberg back in 2009. It was one of the biggest headlines of the day.
Not “quite” playing along with the CP. I wanted to wear a particular perfume today, and I did it!
SOTD = vintage Obsession, thanks to a wonderful NSTer here.
Back in the day I could NEVER wear this one. Waaaay too masculine on me then. But now… the topnotes are still one the “Dude” side, but everything shifts a couple of hours later into something that I keep sniffing out. Looking forward to the far drydown of this!
So I am disagreeing with all the groundhogs and going with Winter in my perfume.
Lucky you to have vintage Obsession. I never wore it myself but do appreciate it. I worked with a lady who wore it and for years I could smell her a mile away. Then one day I noticed she wasn’t wearing it so I asked what perfume she switched to. She said “what do you mean? I am wearing Obsession”. I was shocked by how much it had been reformulated.
Thanks lillyjo!
I will admit that the current Obsession I smelled wasn’t bad. But it was sweeter and not nearly as complex as what I am currently wafting.
You smell wonderful, Jalapeño! Vintage Obsession is gorgeous.
Thank you ringthing! This is another perfume that I have done a 180 on.
You smell nice! Contrarian is good!
Thanks! I do wonder how this will wear in other seasons.
Yay for wearing perfume and vintage Obsession is so wonderful, I have it and the pour Homme to which I slightly prefer maybe.
I don’t have a scent memory of Obsession for Men. The women’s perfume was such a juggernaut back in the day that it overshadowed the male counterpart.
Mr. Mossy is a big fan of DW News, and he shared this with me. Here is a story with a happy and fun ending: https://www.dw.com/en/in-norway-motorists-saved-from-fjord-in-sauna-rescue/video-68160452
Thanks for the link! How lucky for them to be rescued by the sauna. The fact that they could warm up there immediately will hopefully save them from pneumonia or similar issues. I wonder how the car is, especially considering it is electric.
I’m guessing that car has less than a 50% chance. And I could hardly imagine how cold that water was – floating saunas – who knew there was such a thing?!?
The sample I pulled today was Guerlain Petite Robe Noir. I also used J’Adore body lotion after my shower.
Notes for the Guerlain- Top notes are Sour Cherry, Almond, Red Berries and Bergamot; middle notes are Licorice, Rose, Tea and Taif Rose; base notes are Vanilla, Anise, Tonka
I don’t think of that one as winter or spring, really, do you?
I chose a random sample today and came up with BDK Pas Ce Soir. I really like it. I think it’s a fruity floral. I received a compliment from a customer. I then had a coworker tell me she thought I was wearing a men’s cologne. It’s not heavy enough for winter but doesn’t make me think spring. I will say it’s for a Michigan spring which means even if spring comes early your still going to need your coat. Lol.
Hope everyone has a great weekend!
You can always turn wearing perfume into something very positive AND you always relate it to your life!
It’s funny what some people perceive as masculine or feminine in perfumes. Also very much a matter of personal taste!
Have you ever heard of Old Time Hawkey? I always think of you and some other midwesterners when he pops into my feed. His channel (IG & YouTube) is super UP Michigan and 1970’s all rolled into one soothing mustachioed Old Time Hockey kinda guy. He uses 1970’s era dishes, appliances, the aforementioned mustache and sideburns, and it’s just a blast from the past!
https://youtu.be/1yBUXPNi6KU?si=GYZCMGB-Zf_quBxR
Thanks, Deva – OTH takes the cake!
I really didn’t prepare my samples properly, just pulled a vial randomly. Truth be told, I discarded the first 2 picks because I had never tried them and I can’t risk totally unknown perfumes on a long stressful workday. So the chosen sample was Fire At Will. I guess I will call it spring but really could be either. And I live in Texas so I know the hot weather is coming. Recently, our air conditioner fan burned out. Really says something that the air conditioner came on in January.
The Estée Lauder scents sound exciting. I will go look up the discovery set but maybe will just take a ride over to the EL counter when I have time. I have mixed feelings about replacing classic fragrances.
I think if you live in Texas, groundhog day is less of a big deal!