It's Hump Day, World Arabic Language Day and International Migrants Day. Birthdays: Paul Klee, Fletcher Henderson, Ossie Davis, Jacques Pépin. What fragrance are you wearing?
I'm in Imaginary Authors Dipped in Chocolate.
Reminder: 12/20 will be the Holiday Special...wear a perfume inspired by or based on a holiday — any holiday! — or wear a perfume that seems perfectly suited to the holiday of your choice. Suggested by therabbitsflower.
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 December 2021 Winter Storm [cropped] by Grand Canyon National Park at flickr; some rights reserved.
Hello.
Sotd is LushxWicked Glinda Upland. Fruity and floral Lush soaps galore with an undertone of something buttery. Not what I imagined Glinda the Good to smell like but it’s kinda fun.
I also have Elphaba Thropp on the back of my hand. It opens with the bright, tangy citrus that Lush does so well and commonly found in their products. There is also some woodiness. Likeable, just like Elphaba should be. Nothing evil about this one!
Talking about evil, Lush also recommends layering both Glinda and Elphaba. It’s definitely “wicked”. Smells like wayyyy over-proofed hot cross bun dough. Boozey, raisin mess gone bad. Somebody pour some water on her! (Couldn’t resist another Wicked reference. 😛 )
you are giving me a gift idea for my daughter who loves wicked
Sounds like I want the Elphaba. Thanks for the reviews!
Hello!
SOTD is again-eau d’Hadrien. It’s like wearing a hug. Also one spray of Heure Exquise on my hand, cause it’s gorgeous. Thank you, Gail, if you’re reading-I appreciate your kindness so very much 🙂
Hi carole, you’re so welcome! I’m glad you’re enjoying them. Hope you’re having some good weather out your way!
I chose Costes this morning because, in my imagination, this is what Christmas smells like in Paris. Or at least in the luxurious Paris hotel that I’m staying at over Christmas, again in my imagination. Someday … 🎄
SheriG that is perfectly imagined! I want to be there too! We could share a cozy drink at the bar and we would smell marvelous and so would our artfully draped scarves.
That sounds perfect! Hermes scarves, no doubt. 😉
Oh, I will join you for a quick fantasy pre-holiday stay at the Hotel Costes 🙂
The more the merrier! 🙂
Gathering together my Christmas shopping list so I can have it completely finished by tomorrow. It is just the list part today since groceries take precedence in terms of money. Wearing the original Lolita Lempicka today.
Hello Dawn,
Lolita used to be my favorite perfume when it came out back in 1997. I wore it for years. I still have a few bottles. It’s the perfume that made me switched from my old classics (L’heure bleue and Vol de nuit).
I totally missed the period where the license didn’t allow the perfume and original bottle to be together. I vaguely remember a more cubic bottle. I think it’s back to its former grandeur, right ?!
Cheers.
Smelling great, Dawn. I’m a big fan of that original LL. So innovative in its time as well.
Smelling great today. I never get such of that one and love a couple of its flankers too.
Hello there,
Robin, I am curious about Dipped in chocolate ! How does it compare to other chocolate perfumes please ? I have I’m home (Lush), Corpse Reviver (Fzotic), Borneo 1834 and Coromandel.
Enjoying my morning coffee. Going to work in the afternoon.
Cheers
If you liked the Whiff of Waffle Cone I would think you would like this too, it is a bit warmer and spicier, but it is less chocolate-y than I would have made it if I’d been in charge 🙂
So it is still more about the smell of the cone than the chocolate.
That said I liked Whiff to begin with and will have no trouble using up my decant.
Lush Posh Chocolate is my favorite, I wish they’d do it in a body lotion to layer under everything. I have never smelled I’m home!
Robin, one of the loveliest photos ever! Really stunning. 😍
As for SOTD, I accidentally on purpose found a HUGE Lush store yesterday that had the largest fragrance counter I’ve seen at any location I’ve ever been to. What’s even more amazing is that the sales associates were not perched around like vultures around a carcass, waiting to descend on me as soon as I stepped foot over the door jam. I spent a good while in there and was blissfully left alone but when I questions, the staff were very friendly and informative. I had quite a bit of difficulty narrowing things down to one purchase. So many to sample! I ended up getting Cinders body spray, which is an absolute delight. According to the label, it’s a limited edition mash-up of cinnamon, orange, and almond (does it get anymore Christmassy?!) but what I get is incense from start to finish. It’s light, has minimal sillage, and lasts quite a few hours. I think it will do double duty because I can imagine a spritz of two on linens for the cozy factor or as a camper air refresher/scent.
Apropos of nothing, I’ve been using Uber quite a bit for the last few weeks and have had very interesting conversations with the drivers. At the top of the list of subjects is the driverless cars all over Phoenix. The story behind Waygo is interesting and all the cabbies (I guess I can’t really call them that nowadays) like to spill the tea. Anyway, just one more job taken away from real people who need to earn a paycheck and given to machines with the ultimate payout going to the CEOs. Also, another monopoly and yes, there have been accidents culminating in human death due to these cars. I’ve never seen so many of them anywhere else, but will admit I’m not in big cities very frequently. Also was told they are not allowed on freeways, which I don’t understand. Because if they’re “safe” on surface streets, why wouldn’t they be safe on freeways? There is a possibility that I’m just an old grinch about this, but it makes me nervous on many levels. 🫠
Thanks for the description of Cinders spray, Deva!
And for braving the giant Lush counter.
It’s a tough job but someone’s got to do it 😉
Please ignore my IG inquiry because now I know!
Will do 🙂
So glad you had knowledgeable people at Lush! I went into one in Paris, hoping to find Ginger, which I didn’t get to sniff in Munich because my nose was overwhelmed and I didn’t have time to return in the afternoon. When I went in and asked in Paris, I was told that no scent called “Ginger” existed. I persisted and called up Luca Turin on my phone, explaining it was a black label like Sappho and Confetti, which they had, and I was yet again assured that they’d never heard of Ginger. Well, their sale lost, I guess, as I won’t be back in Munich any time soon.
Oh no! That’s a bummer but I’m not surprised. No one seems to know anything at any kind of counter anymore, Lush or otherwise. I went into a JM store looking for scented body oil spray (which to be fair they don’t make anymore although I didn’t realize it) and the sales associate swore there was no such thing and never had been…I did sample Ginger but by the time I did, my nose had clocked out from overwork! 🙃 Hope you can get Ginger soon!
Isn’t that gorgeous? Go National Park Service!!
And sounds like I need Cinders.
NPS has an absolutely rib cracking funny IG channel. Whoever’s in charge of that is genius. 🐻
All the LUSH body sprays I ever tested were Gojira-like on me! A well behaved one sounds like a great chance of pace.
And whoo hoo on getting that mystery extrait!!
I had to go look up gojira. I thought it was one of those Japanese monsters from the old black and white films from the 50’s. But nope, I’m wrong again…🙃
“Gojira” is actually the Japanese name for Godzilla. So you were right.
Oh, no way? A French goth rock band popped up when I googled it. So funny!
I’m wearing Bogue Maai today. I haven’t heard anything about Bogue for a while, I wonder if they are still in business. Dinner tonight is a lamb shank in the slow cooker with herbs, potatoes, carrots, onions, and mushrooms. I haven’t decided if it will be a soup or a stew.
Your dinner sounds delicious!
I second that!
Thirding!
So yum!
Bogue’s still around (got a bottle of Mem a year or so ago), but it doesn’t look like they’ve released anything since 2022. I don’t hold that against them, actually. 🙂
Interesting article you posted on POAL and coincidentally what I am wearing today.
Oh good! I thought it was interesting too. They probably said all this same stuff when it came out but I’ve long since forgotten 🙂
We had Christmas drinks after work yesterday, and I really shouldn’t have had that last half glass of wine! I drink very little these days and it takes nothing to leave me feeling a bit less lively the next day.
I’m wearing Encens Mythique d’Orient, a duty free purchase from 2015.
Wow, you smell so so great!!
My bottle still has about 1/3 left.
Gaynor, when I proposed the CP, I totally forgot that in many other countries outside of the US vacations are called holidays. While I meant the theme to cover observed holidays like Christmas, New Year’s, etc., I love that you’re wearing perfumes from your holiday travels! Such a fun way to remember the trips.
You smell great
A few sprays of IA City on Fire today.
It’s kind of warm today in LA, but I need some burnt match in my day.
13 hours total to speak to someone from Soc. Sec. The drama is over.
Kudos to you for managing to stay on hold that entire time. That’s truly insane and makes me think of Kafka with the nightmare that is bureaucracy.
Yes. So awful. And so sorry, Apsara. What I especially hate is that they keep interrupting the hold every minute with a recording about how much they care about you and please stay on the line, then play inane music, so you can’t even focus on doing anything else while they waste your time.
Good to hear you got a resolution!
Thank goodness!
All I can say is that I hope the resolution was in your favor. What an incredible waste of your time.
I was watching a video about getting hospital charity service, which is mandated by law because non-profit hospitals are tax exempt. It was nothing more than pressing buttons, getting recorded messages, not given ANY information on applying or how to access application, being transferred to a representative that wasn’t available, and then being cut off by the automated program. He tried everything on multiple calls and the bottom line is that this process in absolutely a corporate tactic to prevent people from accessing financial assistance that BY LAW should be available. Just disgusting. And while I’m not associated in any way with the company this person represented, they offer FREE help to those trying to get charity care and have saved consumers many millions in hospital costs. Website is dollorfor.org for anyone who may be struggling. Robin, feel free to delete this if you think it’s outside of your guidelines. We are all one paycheck away from being in medical debt, and about 60% of medical debt are people who HAVE insurance. Rant over! 🙃
I found the best way to get half-way decent “service” is to classify yourself as using special equipment…
Thanks for the info Deva. I’m going to look them up.
I hope they have some ideas and/or ways to assist!
I’m gonna try going in to our local office for my questions. I’ll bring a book.
Make it a long book!
I really think this depends a LOT on where you are. I have never waited more than 20 minutes on the phone OR in the local office. They’re really quite efficient.
Clearly, in some places they do not have anything like adequate staff.
You smelled great today, and I salute you for hanging in there and getting it done!
Gadzooks! Glad that torture is over for you.
I pressed repeat on the two perfumes I wore yesterday except I switched up which goes on which arm. 😂. So it’s A Scent Called Home on the left arm and Mandala on the right arm today.
Ha, that’s plenty of change for one day.
I should have saved it for Friday, but my curiosity about this bottle-from-the-second-drawer-of-the-third-cabinet got the better of me. From Annick Menardo, creator of personal favorites Bois d’Armenie, Hypnotic Poison and Lolita Lempicka: Giorgio Holiday! In a frosted bottle with bright peach juice! Just now boldly spritzed, and I am not going to scrub, so there’s that. It is not like the OG Giorgio; it is a fruity floral but not like any other I’ve smelled. I’m going to go read for a while and let it settle in. 🙂
Giorgio Holiday! I don’t think I’ve heard of it, good for you for giving it an outing.
So how did Giorgio Holiday turn out?
SOTD Finally got my mitts (thank you swapper!) on a bit of the much praised on here YSL Babycat and oh boy is that a yummy cozy scent. Dominique Ropion hits another home run. Also it has nuclear staying power. I dabbed the tiniest bit on the back of my hand yesterday afternoon and woke up to delicious wafts drifting under my nose all night and I can still smell it on skin this morning if I press my nose up close. So I don’t want to break the spell by putting on anything else.
I never did get that much vanilla from it except near the drydown and then dry and not overly sweet (good), it was mostly ambery peppery incense and spice on me, and it reminded me quite a bit of SL Ambre Sultan. I’m sure if I sprayed it or dabbed on more, I might have a different experience. But I’m saving my scant remains for two friends I’m meeting up with on Friday.
I would definitely go in on a split of this, as it’s sure to get d/c soon, as everything good always seems to, but I probably couldn’t justify an entire bottle, as much as I’d like to clutch it to my chest, cradle it like a baby, and hiss about my precioussssss
Also, one gripe: I intensely dislike the bifurcation of the fragrance industry today — how all the high-end brands like Dior, Guerlain, Chanel etc now have their very expensive ‘exclusives” line with excellent raw materials created by top perfumers that are sold only in the high-end department stores and their own flagship stores making them impossible for most folks to ever even try, while their cheaper lines blanket the Sephoras and lower end stores. It makes it more difficult for the average perfume customers who don’t know about buying samples online to gain exposure to the higher end creations and see the universe of scent out there and possibly move beyond mass market scents. Don’t get me wrong, I love and wear many mm (long live Kenzo Flower) and drugstore scents too, but I know that a larger universe exists.
I totally agree with you about the “bifurcation” in the perfume industry. I have never had access to these exclusive scents. It’s really frustrating, and now has become so cost prohibitive. If not for people here on NST sending/swapping samples and decants, I would have no idea what the majority of these exclusive perfumes smelled like. I was watching an interesting video review of Chanel Comete yesterday and the reviewer mentioned that in previous times, Comete would have been more suitably placed alongside other easily accessed Chanel fragrances. While he thinks it’s “pretty,” it didn’t seem to be the quality and unique fragrance style and structure of many of the others in the exclusifs line. To me, it seemed he was intimating the bar was being lowered for these “exclusive” perfumes (while the price is being jacked up) that possibly in years past would have been available at major department store counters. I did get, in hajusuuri’s words, a “large sample” of one of these when I was shopping yesterday but this probably will be my last time shopping from that “exclusifs” line. And I got an extrait which feels, to me anyway, money better spent because the quality is superior to edp’s.
I was given a decant of Babycat by a lovely NST perfumista a while ago, and I love it, too. Also agree with the bifurcation frustration.
In fact, Babycat is available for ~$293 on jomashop (4.2 oz) which is quite a discount — anyone interested? Great split material.
https://www.jomashop.com/yves-saint-laurent-unisex-babycat-edp-4-2-oz-fragrances-3614273355568.html
If you host the split I will get in on it for 10-20 mLs depending upon your split requirements.
Thanks – I don’t think I can host. Was just hinting to see if anyone else wanted to. But I’d also be interested in a split!
Glad you are enjoying Babycat, I love it too. The coincidence is that I am wearing Kenzo Flower.
I agree with your kvetch about perfume bifurcation. Even worse is when formerly affordable scents get moved into an “exclusive” and hard to find collection. (Not naming names, but we probably can think of some offenders…)
PG Indochine 25 again. It’s a gorgeous day after buckets of rain last night.
Today I am making Peanut Butter Blossoms, the cookies with the Hershey’s kiss on top. I’ve already worked out and mopped the floor. And I am still working on presents. Be well, all.
You are smelling good again😊
Two days in a row! 😀
I love those cookies!
They are tasty *and* cute!
I picked Kenzo Flower today, my old 100ml bottle is almost empty which means that I must have frequently worn it in the past. I still like it and have an almost full 30ml bottle, much more realistic to have 30ml given the size of my perfume collection. Tonight it’s Réminiscence Heliotrope, gourmand but elegant.
I agree 30ml is much more practical. That said… if there is minimal price difference, I tend to go with 50ml. I just like the look more.
Yes, I understand, if I see a larger better deal it makes me hesitate.
The 100mL bottle of Kenzo Flower must be huge!!
It’s very tall, I can’t wait to finish it.
SOTD = 4160 Tuesdays House of Burlesque Smoked Sugar
… from the quartet of what makes Tempest Rose what it is, I think. Nevertheless, while it did not last long, it was wonderful!
https://www.instagram.com/p/DDu_g1Ixr7w/?igsh=MmM2MHcwZmp1aWdj
Yesterday’s (my) reunion in NYC was everything I had hoped for. I did not “promise” myself anything but managed to do most of them; I am only mentioning the highlights. I deliberately went in early so I can stop by Starbucks Reserve. I opted for the Espresso Martini ✅ which was plenty and, yes, I imbibed before 11AM (tee hee). I met up with my friends at Macy’s, then stopped at Bryant Park where I had a lobster roll ✅, yummy as intended! We stopped by the Rockefeller Center and saw the tree ✅. It wasn’t as crowded as usual but perhaps it’s the day of the week and time of day; no complaints! My friend had their pictures taken at a hotel and will be sending them on to loved ones. We plowed ahead and had an afternoon liquid adventure at the Pennsylvania Hotel (had an Amaretto Sour ✅) and saw the Bergdorf windows ✅. We split up and then I walked down and had dinner at Ai Fiori ✅. I never realized how much I missed the city but going in occasionally made it so much better!
I think NYC at Christmas must be spectacular! Sounds like a good time was had by all. 🎄
Sounds like a wonderful time!
I saw some NYC shops Christmas decorations on TV. Pretty fancy!
I’m so glad you had such a wonderful day in the city!
Sounds like you had a great time!
You are such a New Yorker! Thanks for sharing all the fun to be had. Have you ever seen the movie “Bell Book and Candle” with Kim Novak and Jimmy Stewart? It has New York at Christmas time scenes that fascinated me as a child in the South. And it has a Siamese cat…and Jack Lemon, Hermione Gingold and Elsa Lanchester, so there is a lot to enjoy!
That is, Jack Lemmon.
That sounds like a very fun movie!
I can heartily also recommend Bell Book and Candle. My partner and I watched it last year during the holidays and found it delightful. Jimmy Stewart 😻
Glad to hear that you had a fantastic time in NYC yesterday!
I was lucky enough to see the Christmas decorations in Manhattan twice. Definitely saw the Macy’s windows and the tree at 30 Rock.
Today was Kormann Eau de Fröhliche No. 2 and then later Hiram Green Shangri-La. I’m CP-compliant in Eau de Fröhliche. I’ve got just a tiny bit left in the decant and I suspect I’ll thunk it before I fly home (thank heavens…any weight lost is a plus at this point).
Do thunk that decant then!
Today’s picture reminded me of the fact that there was snow when I first visited the Grand Canyon. (In 1991).
Today’s scent is Puredistance M, from a now finished sample that I remember winning at some point on one of the blogs.
It’s a really beautiful scent, bu t ridiculously expensive.
I have never been there past frost, it must be gorgeous in snow.
Another chilly day here. It definitely did NOT feel like it was 54 here! There is new snow on the higher mountain peaks, but the foothills are still bare.
On the plus side, I “fixed” the Christmas lights! All I did was plug one of the extension cords into a different string, and Voila! Everything is lighted up tonight. Very happy that it wasn’t a burned out bulb after all, since finding those can be a huge PITA.
SOTD = still in Iris Underground perfume oil.
Yay for fixing the lights!
Thank you!
Double yay!
Thanks! Glad it was an easy fix.
Glad you got your lights working!
Thank you Gail! The deck railing looks a lot better now that everything is working. 😉
Good for you for persisting!!
Thanks Robin! Happy that I didn’t have to re-string the darned things! I was prepared to do that if necessary. 😱
Triple yay😀
I had today off and I have not done anything much at all. I did talk with my cousin. She is a hoarder and I tried to address it with her nicely. She didn’t want to discuss it though and changed the subject.
I wasn’t in the mood for real perfume, so I am wearing BBW Blueberry Bundt Cake body spray. I smell like the Boo Berry cereal from my childhood.
https://youtu.be/ZF_Dhgisbys?feature=shared
Count Chocula was my favorite when I was around 7 years old. And Cap’n Crunch. Pure sugar for breakfast all across America. 🤪
Thanks for a blast from the past, lillyjo! My cousin loved Boo Berry; I liked the commercials, but for crunchy marshmallows, I turned to Lucky Charms. And Deva, I would love to see how many walls in my house could be covered with all the boxes of Cap’n Crunch I ate! Probably the roof, too!
I think my Mom allowed us to have one of the monster cereals maybe a couple of times at most. I liked Frankenberry.
You smell delicious!
Yuck on the hoarding. That is hard to deal with.
I remember having Count Chocula and Frankenberry! Great memories. I’m glad that as kids we got to experience such pleasures as a sugary, fun cereal. Simpler times back then.
Did you get any BBW things when they had the big sale this past weekend?
I love these videos you post of Americana, it’s good for my general culture.
I keep forgetting to post my cp fragrances this week but today I grabbed SL Fille En Aiguilles.
you smell great!
Fille En Aiguilles is a wonderful choice for Christmas and the Winter Solstice.
SOTD =Grimoire from Anatole Lebreton. Fantastic dense churchy incense scent, perfect for this cold weather. I have had a day. Started the dishwasher, it ran 5 minutes and then started whining and clicking. Found a repairman able to come out today. Fill pump is shot. $400 for the fix, new pump ordered , scheduled installation on December 30. Ugh. The poor repairman called me 4 times before my phone actually rang. So after he left, I bit the bullet and called Verizon Tech Support. 2 hours later, my phone, and adorable hubbies are now supposed to let all calls ring through instead of sending them direct to voice mail. Stupid crap app of some sort. Should have done it months ago, as this has been going on for some time. The tech person clearly knew about this, and knew exactly what he was going to do to fix it. Anyone whose phone does this to them, call Trch Support and they will fix it for you. They will try to sell you a $4000 insurance policy on “all other electronic objects” in your house, but the guy was not persistent about it. Glad I am not having 11 people over for Christmas dinner! 🙂 Happy holidays, one and all!