It's Monday and International Dance Day. (And a couple quick PSAs: this will be my last Monday post for the foreseeable future...look for the weekend polls to expand into Mondays, and I'll mostly be posting from Tuesday through Saturday. Also, the swapmeet will close tomorrow night, make your deals while you still can!) Birthdays: Duke Ellington and Willie Nelson. What fragrance are you wearing?
I'm in Terre d'Hermès.
Reminder: 5/3 will be Chypre Friday! Wear a chypre fragrance of any sort — classic or modern or post-modern. This is a repeat from 2016.
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 Lilac Time [cropped] by judy dean at flickr; some rights reserved.
I’m taking cp points in Basic Black by Bill Blass
That’s a great one.
I’m sort of CP-compliant in Assam of India — the tiny elephants on the bottle are doing a line dance! 😆
Sorry, not CP-compliant — I meant International Dance Day compliant. Oops.
Hey, close enough! I still say the elephants always get points.
I will never be able to un-see that. 😄
We could call it the Elephant Conga if you prefer, as that sounds quite fun…!
A conga line, perfect! Either one is fine with me, since I think they’re both hysterical. 😅
Trying so hard not to have “Achy Breaky Heart” as an earworm now!
Robin did I miss something-why no more Mondays..
Mondays are like a bad alarm clock-but NST is always a nice way to start the week
I have 2 bottles up on swap
Reading Don’t look at me like that and enjoying. I think I will read her memoir after.
Robin cannot post five days a week anymore. Either Mondays or Fridays had to go.
ok! Thanks for letting me know 🙂
Robin, your dedication to NST warms our hearts and daily lemmings make my credit card sing! Thank you for your unwavering commitment. Remember, you come first, and we wouldn’t want you to take on anything that stretches you beyond your capacity.
Yes, sorry, I posted a comment on Friday and Saturday but of course not everybody saw it, I should have said.
I am working more and doing all sorts of other stuff, I can’t keep up. So I will post Tuesday through Friday plus the Saturday poll, which will now always be a 3-day poll 🙂
Robin i just wanted to add my two cents that whatever works for your life and serenity is what’s best and we are all grateful to you for the warm and scented hearth you’ve created here.
I am going to have to try that Assam of India, which has not been on my radar at all, but so many of you rave about it. So thank you.
SOTD is vintage Givenchy III, a green chypre (in line with the CP) which also (*she whistled nonchalantly*) happens to be up for swap along with six others. Chypres were one of my early loves (EL Private Collection, Paloma Picasso, Fendi, Cristalle) and I have too many, if such a thing is even possible, and I’m tending more toward spicy incensey resinous things these days, except when I’m not.
Ditto on the first part. Robin-Thank you for being a part of making this community truly wonderful. And remember, we’re here to support you, whatever you choose to do.
What spicy incense perfumes have you been tending towards these days.
Lovestosmellgood — I keep going back to the Lutens original Orientals line – Chergui, Sultan, etc. and CDG Incense line, especially Jaisalmer, Eau Duelle, Tauer’s LADDM, Francesca Bianchi Sticky Lips and Sticky Fingers, Bois d’Armenie. When I was younger, those were too much for me, but now I love them.
You can’t really have enough chypres, especially since they aren’t really making them any more. I wish I had known in the eighties what I know now!
Or even the early nineties *gazes at my last few drops of L’Arte di Gucci*
You smell lovely.
Givenchy III Is a pretty one! With apologies to pyramus below, I have too many chypres already.
Thank you!
Will add that I love Assam of India but at least 50% of that is the elephants. Without the elephants it would just be another perfectly serviceable summer tea & citrus scent 🙂
Doing chypre week because it is my most beloved of all fragrance categories, and I’m starting with Ungaro Diva, I think a 1990 bottle, with that overloaded eighties too-muchness I can never resist — aldehydes and citrus and rose and carnation and a gazillion other things but most importantly a bucketful of honey-drenched oakmoss. It’s a big sexy wallop of a scent.
Oh yea that’s a monster, and the farther back you go, the better. There were so many of those rose oakmossy animalic sexy monsters back then. Paco Rabanne’s La Nuit is another.
It sure is! It’s on my list for later in the week. The funny thing is that when I first smelled it at its launch, I HATED it: it was my reference for how horrible a commercial scent could be. So young, so ignorant! It wasn’t until decades later that I tried a decant and understood its greatness, and years after that until I got my hands on some vintage extrait, which I treasure.
You smell wonderful, swapping my Diva away is a swap regret for me.
I couldn’t possibly have kept every scent I ever owned, but I sure do regret swapping many of them away — Coco, Fendi, a whole bunch of Yves Rochers back when they were great and I didn’t really recognize how great, Calandre, Egoïste…. I tell myself that they probably would have turned at some point – a clear case of sour grapes, but it’s all I have.
Fendi! I swapped away the original and Palazzo, which was one of my favorite bottle designs ever 😭
That is a very cool bottle. I’ve been tempted by it several times. And I’ve never even sniffed the juice!
Yes to Diva! I tried it for the first time last week and now I have a FB.
Sorely tempted to see if a current bottle of Diva is any good after this thread. I have a smidge of vintage.
Oooh, chypre week! A fave genre, though today I am wearing No 5, which is not of that category.
No 5 is lovely no matter what day.
CP points in Cristalle EDT.
I will need to rant again. We have been having issues with internet lately – all the devices keep losing the connection and only switching the Wi-Fi router off and back on brings internet back. After trying to solve the issue remotely, the ISP’s tech support told me to place a repair order – they will install a test router and take ours to check it at their office. And yes, I will have to pay for the technician’s visit.
To make things worse, on Saturday we had a power outtage and found out that the UPS (uninterrupted power supply) for the router is no longer working. Which means no Internet during power outtages. And although we bought the UPS from the ISP less than a year ago (along with the router), it is no longer under warranty. So I will have to buy a new one. 😫😤
I am very frustrated and disappointed.
Oh no, I’m really sorry. That does sound extremely frustrating!
So sorry to hear this, Glannys. I’d be quite annoyed too.
I’m so sorry for your router troubles, things like that are so annoying.
I wore Cristalle on Saturday. It’s great isn’t it?
Oh dear, and of course you need them for work, hope it won’t be very expensive.
I feel for you, Glannys. Technical difficulties with electronic stuff is beyond frustrating for me.
That’s horrible, Glannys. I hope the fixes are permanent. In hindsight, own experience without the slightest specter of war was quite minor even though at the time it was happening, I thought the world was going to end!
wow! Sorry for you
Geez, what a pain about your router and UPS.
Hello.
Sotd is J’adore edp. This is my mum’s bestie’s signature scent. I don’t believe she’s worn anything else since the day it launched!
My finger tips also smell of garlic. Minced a whole heapful yesterday night. Nothing seems to get rid of it. It’s driving me nuts!
You could try an oily eye makeup remover on the garlic smell. Sometimes that works to get bleach smell off my fingers — worth a try anyway.
I’ve never heard of this method before! 😲
Yes, garlic and onions are potent. This may sound strange, but if I’ve chopped onions the night before, I can smell them again on my hands in my morning shower.
Mine lasted through a hair wash and body scrub session.
In one of Jhumpa Lahiri’s stories in Interpreter of Maladies, a character rubs her fingers with a cut lemon to remove the smell of garlic after chopping. Not sure it works but I throw it out there. Great book!
She is coming to my library for a lunch time talk in May
I did that but didn’t work… Too much garlic this time I think.
The smell of garlic or onions can permeate everything. Can’t tell you how many towels that I have had to wash the next day because of the smell.
Their deliciousness is worth it. 😀
Vinegar or lemon juice do help some, but it’s tenacious! As someone who cooks Italian every day, I’ve just accepted that garlicky/oniony fingertips are a permanent part of my life experience.
I was tempted to steep my fingers in some alcohol/wine to extract the smell..
Oil-based make-up remover first. If this does not work, Technu poison ivy wash.
Trying the makeup remover! 💪
Sometimes I find that rubbing my hands on a stainless steel faucet gets rid of the garlic smell.
Agreed. I think they used to sell bars of stainless steel to rub on your hands to get rid of garlic smell?
Yep! It’s been a while since I’ve seen one of those.
I used to have a stainless steel egg that is for that purpose. I got rid of it many moons ago though. I vaguely remember it to only work for faint smells.
Ha, I made meatballs today, so we are garlic fingertip twins. It lasted through doing dishes, too.
I’m in “Dans Tes Bras,” by Marcel Roucel for Frederic Malle. What a compelling and beautiful scent. This one doesn’t seem to get a lot of attention in the online world of perfume, but I’d put it in my top 10 Malle’s. Nothing overtly dirty about it, but it’s warm and incredibly intimate, which (I think) gives it its own kind of sexiness.😊
That’s on my never ending list to try. Sounds great.
Perfume evangelist that I am, I’m happy to send you a sample!
Oh that is nice of you but I just ordered some samples this weekend so have new things on the way! Thank you anyway though.😊
Perfume evangelist..lol👍
A personal favorite of mine. You smell great!
Dan Tes Brad is one of my favorite Malle as well. It’s always welcome. You smell divine!
It’s a wonderful one! Intimate perfectly describes it.
There has been tons of furniture moving in my bedroom. Apparently I am supposed to get new dressers and since they are in other places (spare bedroom), I don’t have access to about 99% of my perfume. I did manage to grab a few bottles. One of those bottles is Mitsouko. Since I am not working on Friday, I can wear copious amounts of Mitsouko. Will be wearing Courtesan after my shower.
“Copious amounts” seems like a pretty good way to wear Mitsouko.
House twin with Robin, I’m in Jour d’Hermes.
We had the crummiest weather yesterday. It rained, drizzled or misted all. day. long. As a result I was very cranky. The kind of cranky where I could hardly stand to be around myself lol. Luckily I ended my day with an episode of Northern Exposure, which is like warm honey on my brain. Makes me laugh and leaves me feeling all warm and fuzzy every time.
I remember that show some! It was fun from what I remember. Hopefully, better weather for you soon:)
The characters are all so fun. It’s like revisiting old friends from the nineties.😅
I binged Northern Exposure! It was such a good show!
Such a good show!! We have several series in rotation so we are not binging that one.
Glad you found something to perk you up!
I am rewatching it too, although very slowly because I am watching too many things at once.
Hello!
Chanel 1957
Hello!
Le parfum de Thérèse which is both beautiful and cp compliant.
In whatever form NST continues, I’m sure we will still love it.
You smell fabulous!
So glad to see Therese! I fear it is too warm for it here but we’ll see how the week goes.
Happy Monday, all! I may switch to something more properly perfumey later today, but starting off with my own personal vanquish-the-PMS-monsters essential oil blend. I’m working from home today, which means frequent garden breaks — got some lettuce and cosmos starts set out after breakfast. And friends, I can drive again! I’m so thrilled to have reached this stage, and to not be trapped in the house any longer!
This is good news, Isabella! Hit the highway!
Great news, Isabella! Restoration of freedom 😊
Such a milestone.
Great news! So glad!
Awesome news! Beep beep yeah!
Yay! Have fun driving the open (or not so open) road!
Happy Monday all,
I can report I was turned down for my most recent job interview.
Although it was made clear a Masters was not needed, they changed their minds.
HAHAHAAHAHAHAHA what a joke.
I finished Ripley last night on Netflix. It was great, I loved it.
Post shower, something from Chanel – see where my hand lands.
It does feel springlike here today and the sun on the water is beautiful.
We had such a mild April and I hope the same for May.
My agapanthus usually bloom before my May birthday and they are still furled due to the cool.
Not complaining at all.
Ugh, sorry to hear about the interview disappointment! Hopefully the right opportunity will fall into place for you soon.
I really enjoyed Ripley. Especially the way the camera picked up every crumbling detail in the buildings and stonework — showing the flaws and senescense of a historic place rather than an idealized beauty.
I know. It’s got me thinking about relocation to Sicily for retirement.
Don’t lose courage, something will turn up.
Thank you, Aurora!
That’s really too bad and it sounds kind of illegal too, to change the requirements? I am sorry.
A lot of my friends have been recommending Ripley, so I think that will be my next show now that the VERY involving k-drama Queen of Tears has been brought to its dramatic conclusion. I need a change of pace and scenery. So thanks.
Not illegal, just stupid.
Lots of stupid out there.
Longest I have ever been unemployed except for the Saudi Arabia years where of course, I couldn’t do anything.
Wearing Le Plus Beau Jour de Ma Vie. This has been Guerlain month over on Basenotes so I’ve been wearing one house for a month. No problem for me as it’s the house I own the most of, but looking forward to branching out May 1st.
Wow, that is a long time to wear one brand! Did lots of people manage it?
Quite a number did, we had a running thread on it and discussed our sotd.
That’s great!
Hi NST!
I chose Boucheron today. Not sure if it is classified as a chypre but it has a kitchen sink full of notes and I used hajusuuri levels of sprays since I’m working at home today. Go big or go home!
You smell great, yes, it’s a powerhouse.
It’s sort of a floral oriental chypre, a little of everything, something for everyone. “Kitchen sink” is exactly what it is, and it’s so gorgeous.
Loved the bottle design for the OG Boucheron.
Pear, the juice of a lemon and yogurt
I picked Noa today, sunny but fresh, the second part of April has been rather cool. Tonight it’s Berdoues Vanira Moorea, it’s not talked about much but I find it a very good citrus vailla with petitgrain.
I bet you will be having fun with this week’s cp!
I’ll take some decisions tomorrow and make a line-up 😀
Looking forward to seeing what rarities you have for chypres.
Now I’ll have to make things exciting to not disappoint 😀
Chypre is probably my favorite category of fragrance, so I might join the CP every day. Today it’s Ruth de Mastenbroek, since I haven’t worn it in ages.
Oh good, glad we hit your favorite category 🙂
I’ve gone full force today in Aromatics Elixir, simply because I had to wear it this week and I think the weather will be too warm for it after today.
Smelling SO good today!
I love chypre but i went to try the new Chanel Comète this morning so that’s the one i am wearing right now . I have to admit i am not smelling anything.. Why would i pay 300 to 500$ for something that doesn’t smell anything!! While i was there the SA showed me the new Chanel body oils, Coromandel, Gardenia, 1957 and Beige. I loved the Gardenia one the most.
Off to look up the body oils…
Let me know what you think.
Do you think you are anosmic or is it just that faint? I may have a sample on the way.😬
I really don’t know, maybe it’s me who doesn’t smell it. In the beginning for a minute or so i smelt almonds, powder, some flowers.
LTSG said that Comete was very faint on her when she tried it.
oooh a Coromandel body oil sounds heavenly!
I am going to smell it tomorrow, my expectations are very low, but the body oils sound interesting.
I’m another who can do a chypre week! I’m starting with a classic, Scherrer. It’s a green chypre, which are two of my favourite perfume words. Although I have a lot of favourite perfume words, when I think about it 🙂 .
That’s a beauty!
I’m with you in being a green chypre lover. Will you wear more green ones this week?
I’m just opting for a beautiful and very spring-time scent by wearing Parfums DelRae Debut today, with its delightful combination of notes featuring lily of the valley and linden blossom. The latter goes just up to the edge for me of a scent that I just can’t take too much of–in perfume or in nature herself. But it’s tempered by the other notes and so I love it. I am excitedly checking our outdoor big gardenia bush every morning in anticipation of the buds on it popping open. It’s really a community bush but there are usually enough flowers on it that I can swipe one or two in order to enjoy them inside in tiny little vases.
I won’t become political here, but as a former professor and a student who was in college during the Vietnam era campus protests, I am certainly worried about the various situations happening now across our country, and hoping people do not get hurt.
Calypso, re your last paragraph. I hear you! I was just texting with my grad girl today and she said buildings had to be closed on her campus today (she is in the twin cities). I can’t wait to get her home and safe!! Only 10 more days.
Crazy things happening out here on some of the college campuses, too.
In Heeley Chypre 21 for the CP. A nice, soft, modern floral chypre. Very office friendly. The almost full sample is going to the goodbye pile. It didn’t move my heart at all.
Busy weekend working on Saturday, and then meeting my sister’s in-laws, who are visiting from Italy, for early dinner yesterday. We had a great time!
The weather is fantastic. We have 85 degrees right now and partly cloudy skies. We will be back to the 60s tomorrow.
On my third cup of coffee and a handful of plantain chips.
Happy Monday!
Roast-y weather for you today! 🥵
Very warm, but windy and pleasant!
That’s so nice you got to see family!
It is always very uplifting!
I’m having something of a “Honey, do I like the chicken?” moment, aka I am not sure what I have that would qualify as a chypre. Since many NSTers like following the CP during the week with luck there will be a couple of Aha! moments. Since it’s a sunny day am currently in Chanel Paris-Venise.
You can probably steal a few ideas from the 2016 chypre poll
https://nstperfume.com/2016/05/13/friday-scent-of-the-day-513/
Thanks for posting that, chypre is one of my least favorite genres and I will be digging to find scents this week.
I’ve got two similar LVNEA perfumes on my arms to compare. They’re both fruity chypre. One is called La Serpentine and the other is Pêche Obscene. Notes for La Serpentine: peach · osmanthus · ginger lily · patchouli · black tea · honey · sandalwood · oakmoss. And notes for Pêche Obscene: ripe peach · osmanthus · patchouli · jasmine · vetiver · oakmoss · sandalwood. As you can see, a good deal of overlap but some definite divergences. It’s hard to pick a favorite, but they are similar enough that I don’t feel like I’d be missing out too much if I just had one. I do love the indolic jasmine in Pêche Obscene, but I also like the brighter fruitiness of La Serpentine. I’ll probably end up with a travel spray of La Serpentine because I’ve found it on sale somewhere. In the meantime, I can enjoy both my samples.
Oh those do both sound good!
BoE EDT today. Here’s home for the next few months for those interested:
https://www.instagram.com/p/C6W_8Y4uIOo/?igsh=MXBuaXc4cnIzcXpnbg==
Nice–setting has a zen vibe, which will be a welcome change of pace, I bet.
You have no idea. 🙃
Gorgeous, still in Utah?
Yes, northeastern corner tucked right under Wyoming.
That’s going to be amazing!!
I’m pretty sure you’re right!
Wow!!
Yeah, I came around a curve in the road and whole thing opened up so panoramically I said the same thing! Just beautiful!
Breathtaking!
When do you lose phone service?
Probably next week…they changed the campground I will be staying at, although it’s still a campground that I would have been in charge of anyway. The big kahuna thought the host site was nicer and location quieter. Anyway, I haven’t been there yet, but my phone coverage map says no go. However, it also said that about my location in Dinosaur NM and I had great connectivity, so I’m not sure. Currently in a HUGE campground in Flaming Gorge with others in the company as we get organized and get set to clean and open many campgrounds in and around the gorge. We are hosting in quite a large radius, including many different types of campgrounds, some quite large and some very small. Anyway, no one seems to know anything about anything so I feel right at home! 🤣
Wow! I hope its beauty makes up for its inconveniences.
Not many inconveniences in my book. I do wish there was a closer Walmart for prescriptions and a pet smart for dog food. And a vet would be nice since the closest in about a hour away, but it’s a very rugged and remote area. Just said hello to a couple of pronghorns. 😍
Not bad! 🙂
Beautiful!
Gosh Deva, that is amazing.
That looks lovely, hope you have a great season!
Trying a sample of Philtre, which is nice, but I prefer Vivacious, so money saved.
I love Vivacious! I hope when I get the chance to sniff Philtre, I have the same thought. 🙂
Byredo Bal d’Afrique Roll-on Perfumed Oil today. Plus Annick Goutal Myrrhe Ardente Body Cream on hands. Smelling good.
I’ve heard that the AG Body Creams are really good!
SOTD = Love by Kilian don’t be shy EXTREME
Seriously, what a gorgeous perfume! 🤍🤍🤍
https://www.instagram.com/p/C6XECtOxRrq/?igsh=YWtiMWhvNndqejhq
Guess what? I got my NY State Tax Refund in < 20 days for the exact same amount that TurboTax calculated it to be! Miracle? I think so! It came a little late for me to deposit it today but I will do so tomorrow.
And for the cat lovers, here’s a great story:
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/29/us/amazon-package-cat-utah-california.html?unlocked_article_code=1.oE0.7fNM.MGi-69vN10TH&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
Aww little Galena, 🐈 glad she was able to be reunited with the family. Yay on tax return 🥳
Hurray for a speedy and accurate Turbo Tax refund!
Woo-hoo on the refund!
I unpacked a lot of my Soivohle perfumes today. Most of them had been stashed in bubble wrap for the move, since most of the boxes they had arrived in had been long recycled.
Purely by chance, I picked out the wee vial of Vintage Chypre perfume oil from Soivohle, and set it on my dresser after opening the box and giving it an experimental sniff. I was quite pleased to see that it synced up perfectly with this week’s CP. I have chypres aplenty!
I sniffed some lilacs in bloom earlier today and was rather bummed out when I didn’t smell much of anything. Are there now scentless lilac bushes/varieties? I’m smelling lots of other things perfectly fine.
SOTD = commando, except for Dionis’ Peaches & Cream lotion on my shins. I’m experiencing a bit of skin irritation where I usually wear perfume, so I am giving things a bit of a break.
I love the smell of peaches and cream. Hopefully the skin irritation doesn’t last long.
If you can find the Dionis lotions, they really are nice.
There are definitely some bogus lilac cultivars — some of the newer ones are very low on scent. I love lilacs and only just recently learned that they’re edible! I’d like to candy some for cupcake toppings, or bury some in sugar to make magic scented sugar for… something.
Thanks for the info on the bogus cultivars. I was wondering if something was wrong with my sense of smell, or if my memory of lilacs was skewed.
I would TOTALLY eat a cupcake with candied lilac blooms on it!
How about macarons with the magical lilac sugar?
I don’t want to be unsympathetic to people with allergies, but cultivating a scentless/low scent lilac seems like a really bad idea.
Hope you recover from skin rash quickly.
Thanks Aurora. It’s looking much better than it was yesterday. Hopefully in another day or so it will be gone.
I’ve been busy all day. I started with the school meeting which went better than last week. Then errands until I had to come to work for a late night. I am wearing Chance eau Vive to help me feel optimistic.
Happy to hear today’s meeting was better than the other one!
Glad your school meeting was better. Hope it’s a quiet evening at the store.
I’m so glad your meeting was better than you expected.
Stopping by late to waft some Carnal Flower. I pick up a 10ml spray of it and Une Fleur de Cassie because the departure of M. Malle from Editions de Parfum make me think changes were on the way. I’ve had so many lovely samples from NST’ers and I decided to make some purchases on Ebay.
Nice, enjoy your new bottles! (And always happy to have CF wafted my way)
You smell great!
Ridiculously late but looking forward to a week of Chypres.
But tonight I’m in FM Noir Epices thanks to a generous NSTer swap💕