Happy Almost-Friday and happy International Day of Charity! It's also Freddie Mercury’s birthday. What fragrance are you wearing?
I'm taking community project points in Frédéric Malle Parfum de Thérèse...hat tip to Angie via Kanuka!
Reminder: on 9/6 we'll do Jolie Laide Friday...wear a jolie laide perfume, howsoever you wish to interpret the term (for help, though, you can see The Unfairest of Them All at The New York Times.) Suggested by austenfan.
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 Thistle [cropped] by Steve Hodgson at flickr; some rights reserved.
Hello.
Sotd is Feve Gourmande. Definitely a feel good hug type of fragrance, done Guerlain style.
I am so ready to wave goodbye to the remaining Summer heat and welcome Fall with my doors wide open. First step to doing this begins with my Fall pumpkin pecan waffle candle and pumpkin spice latte.
That is a beautiful fragrance.
I am SO DONE WITH SUMMER. Away with the heat! Bring on the pumpkins!
I’m done with summer too. I already started burning apple and cinnamon candles. Also, I went and got the Marshmallow Pumpkin Latte body products from BBW so I’m ready!
Demeter Sambucca today. Nothing laide about it, pure jolie — it smells exactly like anisette liqueur (surprisingly different from Demeter Licorice).
and then there is 1000 Flowers Reglisse Noire for another take
I’m going to claim points for Agar Ébène — it is gorgeous, but has just a little bit of off-kilter darkness. I love it.
Points given 🙂
Gabrielle Essence this morning -I have a sample sitting on my dresser so it’s been easy to reach for these days. I also really like the sillage
School is back on for the kiddos and the library is so busy this fall so I am a busy bee. When will I have time to read!? lol
Put those kiddos to bed earlier so you can read 😉
Exactly
Be sure you look at the daily lemming from yesterday. A few of us mentioned you as being someone that would want this.
Ok- going to look..
Nice to have a solid, “no brainer” perfume for times like those!
Since temperature records are supposedly going to be broken in this neck of the woods I am wearing the elegant and cool Vetiver Pour Elle.
Oh dear, stay cool AnnieA!
Still in Tubéreuse Criminelle from last night when I drew inspiration from austenfan and then springpansy.
On deck is Byredo M/Mink. This is a divisive one but I enjoy the challenge. It definitely stands out if a crowd of same old same old and is one of the few fragrances with a marine note that I can abide.
It seems like forever since I have heard M/Mink mentioned. Is it discontinued?
It’s listed on the Byredo site but it says it’s sold out. It’s also on a lot discounter sites, ebay, etc.
I have never even heard of it! What is the M before the mink?
Here’s the description from Byredo’s website. I don’t hear much about it either but once I smelled it years ago, I knew I had to have at least a travel size😊
The fragrance M/Mink is a collaborative effort between BYREDO and creative studio M/M (Paris). The scent is inspired by a block of solid ink purchased in Asia, a photograph showing a Japanese master practicing his daily calligraphy, and a large utopian formula drawn on Korean traditional paper.
Sounds different.
Someone here at NST used to call Tubereuse Criminalle “Tubby Criminal”. I always laughed when I saw that.
TC did NOT work with that poster’s chemistry in the slightest.
You are a braver soul than I, re:M/Mink.
Looking at high of 108 degrees today. Not sure what the heck to wear. Something light and citrusy? Or do I embrace the heat with spice and smoke? I’ll likely have to shower at least twice, so I suppose I can mix it up.
Okay, I’ll start the day with Serge Lutens “Chergui,” which, at the very least, is aptly named.
108? Oh dear.
I was going to vote spice and smoke!
I was going to say citrus.
Wow, 108! Hang in there!
Thanks, folks. Rest assured, I’m staying hydrated, and (more importantly) keeping the pets cool.
I’ve moved on from Chergui, which didn’t really work today, much as I love it.
I’m in my “crazy from the heat” phase, so I’m over-spraying the utterly charming and delightful “Lipstick Rose” from Frederic Malle. It makes no sense, but I love it.🤪
those are two of my faves….although I have not worn them together!!
108?? ACK! I’m not sure I could wear any perfume at all in those temps.
Glad to hear that you and your pets are keeping cool.
108…stay in a cool bath all day 😉
I’m going to be with a bunch of people this afternoon in a closed space, so I’m wearing a little Cashmere Mist. If I was staying home, I would wear Paloma Picasso for the CP. I love it’s bitter green chypre-ness but it’s not for everyone.
Good call on Paloma Picasso. It’s hard to wear but really is beautiful.
I have read and heard Paloma herself referred to as jolie – laide.
This was my signature scent years ago, when I still had one. You smell marvelous.
That one wears me but it is a masterpiece and you smell great.
A bitter green Chypre sounds great to me!💚
Unfortunately, Cashmere Mist smells like BO on me so it is a no go. Glad others can wear it.
I have the same thing happen with Cashmere Mist! I thought I was the only one.
Nope. It was terrible on me so you are not alone.
SOTD = Guerlain Shalimar MVP
My first jolie laide, maybe?
https://www.instagram.com/p/C_itA0jxuZG/?igsh=MW1vbTF5ZjNoenkycA==
Ch-ch-ch-aaannges 😱. I refused to believe that my beloved WCBS 880 radio was gone, gone, gone as of August 26, 2024. Somehow, I was hoping that if I never changed the station on my clock radio, it will come back miraculously. I finally switched to 1010 WINS at 92 3 FM last night and will have to get used to new voices and new formats. I will live on!
Shalimar almost twins! 🙌
Hooray! 😁
I just looked up that radio station. That’s a shame they were let go.
Actually, I was thinking of Deva’s comment the other day of the equivalent of business is business and this is what happened. I tried listening to the sports radio like talk and I have no affinity for it.
I always wondered what MVP smelled like. Is it like Shalimar with additional vanilla? I probably wouldn’t care for it.
You are correct!
I hear you on losing a favorite terrestrial radio station. It sucks. Sounds like (no pun intended) you’ve found an acceptable alternative.
At least, for now.
Cleaned up the house in Feminite du Bois. Since I have taken my shower, it’s either going to be Jubilation 25 or Diaghilev. I don’t have the money for full bottles of either but have dabbers of both. I will have to turn on some Queen in honor of Freddie Mercury.
I wiped out on those 2 and chose no 5 extrait.
Can’t go wrong with No. 5.
(You’ve reminded me to call my mom.)
Stunning morning here as it slowly warms from the high 40’s last night to mid 60’s currently. Will probably end up in the 70’s and the sun is blasting- I’m in heaven! T-Rex is stretched out belly up in the sunshine keeping one eye open for varmints. Would be perfect if it wasn’t so smoky. Wearing Shalimar MT today so noncompliant with CP because it’s just straight up gorgeous.
House-and-straight up-gorgeous twins! *sends belly rub* to T-Rex.
Hi twin! 👋🏼
Another Shalimar I never tried, but not sure I would like. I am waiting with bated breath for the new one to come out.
I think many others are waiting on pins and needles, too.
I think so and it was the first to middle part of September last year.
Hope you and T-Rex get a break from the smoke soon.
I think, for me, a Jolie Laide perfume has individuality: style and a sense of self that doesn’t rely on outside validation as a measure of worth. So, rather than surface appeal, for example, it goes for depth. It suggest a sense of self respect and a core strength. But, on the other hand, Jolie Laide might just be another label or box, to place people in , based on a reluctance to accept ugliness ( visual appearance not inner character) in its own right , without judgment. Anyway, wearing Magie Noire ( not the good stuff but a new version).
How does the new version compare to the good stuff?
I last tried the good stuff forty years ago so it’s hard to say. It does seem less rich and heady, less dense, not as twisted as the original that I remember.
I went through so many bottles of that one, Kanuka.
That is kind of what I had in mind when I suggested it, beauty with contrast.
Amber Oud which smells lovely, but isn’t quite what it purports to be since apparently there is no actual Oud in it! Does this acount for the CP?
I would say it does.
Wearing Iris 39 today. Fits the CP I think. I read a fragrantica review that said: feels more like a Frederic Malle than a Le Labo. And I would agree.
I had been struggling with low level lower back pain for a couple weeks now and was suspecting it could be endometriosis (which has bothered me in the past but not terribly in a few years). The pain got very acute this weekend and it dawned on me that it could actually be a sciatica flare up. The good news is that once I realized that and started aggressively icing and doing some exercises, the pain improved dramatically in 24 hours. I’m so relieved! Now I just need to figure out how to prevent it from flaring up again.
So glad you figured what it was and got on top of the pain.
Glad you are feeling better, tulipani!! Sciatica once visited me out of the blue – I think I was getting up from a chair.
Glad you feel better. Those shooting pains are so awful and it’s impossible to get comfortable.
I’m very glad you are feeling better!
Glad you’re feeling better. My BIL is going in for surgery for sciatica-like pain which is apparently genetic. I am dreading having to be alone with their dog (at their place) so will have to practice the ingress and egress.
Yuck, back pain is not fun at all. Good thing you figured out how to get rid of it!
I think post shower I will go with Ingenious Ginger.
It is hot out, yep.
Looks like your whole weekend is hot!
I have a CP perfume in mind for tomorrow. Today, I just went with “jolie.” I recently got my mitts on a micro mini of Samsara extrait, in a 1990’s Guerlain sampler. I already love the vintage edt, but this one is like all the best parts just going on and on. Tree (that 70++ foot tree between our and our neighbor’s house) removal drama has lingered, but the current delay left the tree in a stable form. I think the company we chose is stretched a bit thin on staff and equipment, but when they are here, they work carefully and do a good job.
I hope the tree work can be wrapped up soon, but sounds like you chose the right company for the job!
Thanks; the price was right, so as long as it comes down safely, I try not to complain about how long it is taking.
Oooooooh, trying so hard not to lemm on that Samsara extrait!
I wonder if the parfum is still made in some reformulation? I will add: the red “shoulder” bottles of the delightful vintage edt often pop up on Ebay at very reasonable prices and, well, Christmas is coming.
Frederick Malle Iris Poudre today.
The days are getting cooler, so I am going to switch out my spring/summer for fall fragrances. That means I will also clean out my closet, which I am not looking forward to. But the idea of having my fall fragrance friends back will be worth it!
I was thinking of switching out fragrances too. Iris Poudre is one of my top 5 for sure and may even be number one. I absolutely love that fragrance so know you smell amazing!
I’ve started putting away my summer perfumes for the year, even though summer is definitely not done here. Time for some transitional perfumes.
Today was grey and dismal so I pulled out Devotion and it worked its magic on my mood. Tonight for the CP it’s Grès vintage Cabochard with its assertive leather, I picked the EDT, I also have the vintage EDP in an all glass bottle including the cap, it’s a dabber, and a glass bow.
A new and an old favorite!
Your Cabochard bottle sounds so pretty. The one I have is a glass splash bottle but the cap is a metal screw top. Better than plastic though.
I have been looking to try the new Devotion flanker but my stores don’t have it out yet.
Oh yes, one of my best bottles definitely, so glad you have a vintage splash, oh yes metal is better than plastic, more durable.
Me too, I’d like to try the flanker, I would have to go to the West End, but this pillar is already perfection so not sure how it could be improved upon.
Cabochard is wonderful, you smell great!
Thank you Gaynor, it’s so distinctive.
Jolie Madame for me today, more jolie than laide, though I know that the leather note isn’t for everyone. Balmain’s sister fragrance Bandit is probably more jolie laide. Another one is Tatiana, the Diane Von Furstenburg 1970s/80s fragrance. That had a very sharp white floral note. I probably used to spray too much of it back then. Once I walked into a guy’s office and he wrinkled his nose and said, did a cat just pee? I was shocked that he could not see its green floral beauty. But I never wore it to work again.
I bought a small bath oil some time ago for nostalgia’s sake and was reminded of how hauntingly beautiful it was. It had those vintage nitromusks too. But now it’s gone and I haven’t replaced it, though I could probably find it cheap online.
And extra points for the name!
Tatiana. Oh how I loved you.
Yes!!
My perfume today is just jolie, but its existence is partly due to jolie laide It Girl, Chloe Sevigny. I’m in her collab with Regime des Fleurs, Little Flower. It’s my first time giving my sample a full wearing on its own, and yes, it’s very pretty. Maybe a little rich and musky for a hot day, but we’ll see how the heat amplifies it when I go on my walk after work.
Good call!
Had to do an Alzheimer’s presentation today so decided to go with No 5 L’Eau. It is good for almost any event or season.
I hope it went well. You sure smelled good🌸
It did go well. About 80 interested people at a local college.
I am in a blind study right now for Alz & LBD.
Smell testing.
Oh, wow! That is interesting.
Glad to hear that your presentation went well today.
Thanks. I just love educating people on the subject.
Good morning! It’s Friday and we’ve woken up to a clear blue sky – it doesn’t get much better than that!
I’ve been trying to decide between notes of leather or smoke, two notes that can be very laide, but can make jolie perfumes.
I thought about Jolie Madame or Cabochard, which others have mentioned, but I’ve decided on smoke, and I’m wearing Arquiste’s Indigo Smoke.
Oh perfect, I will consider that one for tomorrow if I can find it.
It’s my day off today and I have been cleaning and running errands. I always plan to reorganize my perfumes on my day off, but haven’t done it in awhile. My problem is not keeping up with putting them back in their proper spot.
My sotd is LVEB Crystal Soliel.
Glad you have a day off! What is the proper spot?
I organize my perfume bottles first by brand and then by height or shape. After awhile I start randomly putting them back out of order. So they look messy and I can’t find what I am looking for easily. In general, I am not very organized but I like my perfumes to look nice.
Yay for day off, even errands are not bad when done on a day off.
A day of errands beats a day of work every time!
Whoo hoo, a day off!
I notice you’ve been really enjoying LVEB Crystal Soleil this summer.
I have been. It’s mostly a coconut scent and matches great with my summer lotions.
Will you be wearing it a lot this Fall? Or switching to something else?
I will switch. I bought the Extrait LVEB this summer and it’s much better suited for fall/winter.
I wore Une Fleur de Cassie today, but as it is evening and I’ve just showered I’m currently wearing my Eau dynamisante huile satinante, which is the best version of ED.
Rodin Bis today and cp points for me. Anise, violet, ambergris. Unique and interesting. I am off to explore Whidbey Island with Mr. SP today.
Have a great time on Whidbey! Mr. allo and I are spending a weekend there in October and I’m looking forward to the spectacular Ebey’s Landing walk/hike.
I’d like to hear a recap of your experience on Whidbey Island!
I was twins with Aurora wearing Cabochard earlier for the CP. But that was in the morning. Now it is midnight, I showered and will stay up, so I need to decide on a new scent. 🤔
Not fragrance related. For the last coouple of weeks, I participated in another LocJAM, this time translating a detective story. And I had four teammates. We submitted our translation on Sunday night. It was a lot of fun!
The blackouts and air raid alerts continue, although blackouts have become much shorter (I wish I could say the same about the attacks). Today we had no electricity only for three hours. However, blackout forecasts for winter are scary. I am seriously considering buying a charging station by instalments.
It’s always good to hear from you! I had to look up what LocJAM meant, and am still not really sure. It seems like it is some kind of contest?
Translating a detective story sounds like great fun!
LocJAM is technically a contest, but it’s more about collaboration than competition. People come together, form teams, and practice translation and localization, usually working on video game texts. However, this time, it was a piece of literature. After submitting our work, we check out other teams’ submissions, rate them or leave a comment. While winners are announced, there’s no prize—it’s all about networking, learning from fellow professionals, and honing our skills.
For us, being the only Ukrainian team, we don’t expect much visibility because not many people know the language at that level, but that’s okay. We really enjoyed working together, and it was a reward in its own.
It sounds great fun!
I work as a translator as well, but in a totally different setting (I work for one of the EU institutions), one of the reasons I wanted this particular translation job was that it offers me the possibility to work in a team, which is quite rare as a translator. As we review most of each other’s work it’s a great way to hone your skills, particularly if it’s a second career as it was in my case.
Again, I’m very sorry for what you, and your fellow citizens, are dealing with. I send my best wishes to you, your mother, cat, and neighbors.
Thank you!
Hoping you will know only peace and quiet ASAP. Is it possible to get away even for a couple of days just for some short term respite? I’m glad you have work to keep you somewhat occupied. I love a good detective/mystery and I bet you did a bang-up job of translation. 😀
It was an Arsene Lupin story! We did fine for people with no experience in literary translation, but not on the level of a published commercial work.
Let’s hope for some peace and quiet, but I fear things will escalate. Ukraine needs help both with weapons and with power solutions.
As for leaving… The blackouts and attacks are all over Ukraine. And again, what about Kora? But maybe, if the weather continues to be fine, I will go and spend an afternoon in the national botanical garden next week. Attacks usually take place at night and mornings.
I sprayed some Durga Coriander. Not a jolie laide scent – very green and fresh, smells like a cup of a herbal tea. A well-done aromatic perfume.
I think of you often and pray that you stay safe.
Sending you lots of hugs and fortitude for the winter ahead!
You, your loved ones, and Ukraine are always in my thoughts. Hugs. I hope that your winter weather is mild this year.
Thinking of you and your family Glannys. I am glad you still able to do and enjoy your work.
Hello twin.
Coromandel EDP from a sample for the CP today. Something I can appreciate, but would not likely buy for myself.
A sad day. Watched workers take down the rest of my neighbor’s very large tree. Half of it had cracked off in a bad storm and the other half was at risk of falling on our fence. Big change in the view out our kitchen window. 😢
I’m sorry. I have one outside my second story porch and window that is dying and has been marked by the city to be taken out. I feel sad too, both for the tree itself and the delightful shade it offered me for nearly 25 years, and for the creatures who made their homes there.
Sorry that big tree had to come down, but I am glad it’s coming down safely.
You smell wonderful, and I have a similar view of Coromandel. Tree goodbye twin. See above, but our big oak that shaded our house for almost 30 years (and is as old as our 60+ year old house) had to come down after a big storm in June. Its loss will really change our back yard. Squirrels and woodpeckers will be at a loss. On the bright side, those sassy hummingbirds, that loved to sit on the end of dead oak branches and dive bomb their rivals, have totally adjusted. When the workers had all their equipment roaring, and a storm of sawdust was raining down, the hummers were visiting the feeder like nothing doing, and perching in a nearby yew bush. 🙂
Like several others above, I just went with the “Jolie” part of the CP today by wearing one of my fun Saudi perfume purchases, Reef 36. This one highlights ylang-ylang and it says it also has pear flowers. Not a note you often see mentioned. Plus an amber base. It seems I’ve been stuck on some writing projects that I committed myself to awhile ago, and so I just go on and suffer guilt but still don’t do anything…. I used to be pretty good about deadlines and motivation. I still want to write about these various topics, but sometimes I feel that if I just think them out for myself, that’ll be fine. It’s odd perhaps feeling like you have a good idea but don’t feel you care enough to communicate it.
Tomorrow I’ll need to put some thought into this because I’m not immediately coming up with a good choice for the CP, even though I am quite sure I must have some great candidates. I have often thought about certain men as being “Jolie laide,” I confess, although then term isn’t used for men (I take it). I am thinking of someone now, a fairly famous British philosopher who has the most extraordinary big long hooked nose, but manages to be quite dashing, who is one of those fascinatingly ugly men.
John Locke?
Wishing I could send some of the coolth I am enjoying today to the West Coast. Snow fell in the highest mountain peaks here overnight. We’re talking elevations of 13,000 feet and above. Doubt it stuck around as the sun came up/out, but there it is.
No snow for me, but temps right around 75 or so. It was rainy this morning, which is rather weird for September. But we need the moisture. Overnight temps are in the upper 40’s and low 50’s, so Teflon kitty has been especially snuggly in the evenings.
SOTD = Fzotic Vetiverissimo EdP, from The Sample Stash. Oh! OH MY! This is good enough that I am seriously considering the travel spray.
I’m getting the rain with a cold front tonight. Saturday will be a high of only in the 60’s.
This is a very short lived blip of cool weather for me. Next week I will be back in the low 90’s again.
Enjoy the cool down while you can.
Oh, believe me, I am!
Oh, does he do travel sprays? I had no idea..!
Yep! I have Au Dela Narcisse and Unsettled in those. Might have a third travel spray soon, depending on what I discover in my Fzotic sample set….
I love ADN!
I hope you get the travel spray!
Giving it some serious thought!
But I’ve had to pay some big bills recently. 😞 Might have to postpone it a bit.
I also fell in love with Vetiverissimo, especially as I worked through a 5ml decant. I just loved it more each time I wore it. I did buy a travel spray last fall. If I were you, I’d wait until he has his Black Friday sale. I believe he usually offers 15% off at that time or some kind of deal at least.