It's the first weekend of spring — or fall, depending on where you are — at last. (And, the swapmeet is open through Tuesday. Coming soonish, the next damage poll, on 3 April, followed by the splitmeet on 26 April.)
Meanwhile, 4 questions. As always, answer as many or as few as you like, or just talk about something else.
1. What fragrance are you wearing today?
2. What's blooming near you this week?
3. If you have a great idea for a Friday community project, do speak up!
4. Share something wonderful with us! It can be anything — something delicious you ate, anything fun you did recently, a great tv show you're streaming — really, anything.
Note: top image is SunShine [cropped] by M's photography at flickr; some rights reserved.
I’m awash in lilac making decants of my lilac fragrances for the swap meet. I’d love to do a week of lilacs for the cp. nothing blooming yet.
Another cp maybe wear something you acquired in a swap meet/freebie meet
Two more CP ideas one of which I did last week- signature scent( or close to signature scent) and decade scent- pick a decade and wear a scent you associate with that decade or wore the most in that decade ( I kinda did that too last week 😂)
And something wonderful I’m home alone all day with the three fireballs keeping me company 😻😻😻
Fireballs??? I wrote “ FUR balls” lol 😂
I know *who* you meant, and did not think it was a mistake! 😀 You smell wonderful – I need to visit my lilacs, too.
Well you’ve seen all three of them “ in action” so maybe fireball is a more appropriate word 😆
I knew who the fireballs were too! Lol.
Yes you do!!!! You’ve also seen them in action 😝
My furball is saying “hello” to your fireballs! 😸
Sounds like everyone comes over to see the “fireballs” in action. I’ll be over🤣
You are welcome too! Come on over!!!!!
1) Wearing Delhi. Again. Sorry, not sorry! 😎
2) Amazingly, there are some blooming trees here but I’m not sure what they are. They have a delicate very pale pink flower and are lovely. The things that “bloom” here all the dang time are the miserable goat heads (we called them sand spurs in Florida) which are all over the place and bane of T-Rex’s walks.
3) Maybe a trifle macabre, but in what perfume would you choose to be buried/cremated (whatever your ritual might be)? This would be a real testament to your favorite perfume, imo. I think some funerary rights across cultures include scents. I may have to take a deep dive and research this…🤓
I like you cp!!!!!
Very interesting community project, Deva. You are making me think about that perfume now. An iris one for sure. I really love that idea!
What I really like about most iris centric perfumes that I’ve enjoyed is that they’re very uplifting, light, diaphanous, hopeful kind of scents, so iris seems like and excellent choice to carry you into your next adventure.
I grew up in a family funeral home, so I can fully endorse Anubis by Papillion as the frontrunner.
Anubis – the god of embalming.
That was the my first thought except I’m not a fan of the perfume itself. But yes, probably the most fitting scent for a wake and burial/cremation.
An interesting idea – fragrant sendoff. My mind went to smoke and ashes in perfumery.
I’m sure many would agree!
Your #3 sounds a bit morbid, but hey, why not?
Only morbid if you think death is the end, rather than a transition. It’s a very Western concept to see a natural death as the “enemy.” We are mostly products of our culture and rarely look beyond that which we know and are comfortable with. 🤷🏻♀️
Oh, I fully believe it is a transition to a better life. I just don’t really associate death with perfume😉
Your #3 has crossed my mind. I thought of having several bottles with me. Probably cremation, so the fragrances would permeate the air as a final send-off! I haven’t pondered it any more than that though.
Right?! Why pick just one?😀
1. Mugler Aura EDT, because it’s trying so hard to be spring and u figured something dramatically green would help it along.
2. Nothing will be blooming for a couple of months, I expect, except the crocuses, and I think they’re a few weeks out.
3. Wear something that reminds you of a favourite meal, however abstractly, even if it isn’t a gourmand. Wear something that makes you think of your favourite colour (bonus points if the colour is in the name). Wear something that reminds you of one of the four elements. I could do this all day.
4. I’m finishing a sweater that might actually be the nicest I’ve ever made, and I’ve been knitting for forty years: the buttonband is knit as a long strip and sewed in place, and it gives such a polished, finished look. I had no idea. It’s worth the tedium. I’m also nearing the end of making the blocks for my third quilt, which contains a garment that I bought in Japan years ago but never wear: I cut it into pieces to incorporate into the blocks and it’s going really well. I might actually pay to get it professionally quilted even though that’s going to set me back $200 or so: this one has history and it means a lot to me.
My sister does a lot of quilting, and for a piece that came out really well, the professional quilting will make it even nicer, more “finished” and sturdier, so more useable. It’s worth it!
I like your project ideas!
Great projects! I used to knit and I hope to get back to it when I retire, if I still have the skill and vision for it. I grew up in a cold climate and here in southern USA, I have had to adapt to using more cotton and linen.
I don’t quilt but admire others who do it. I especially like the reuse of garments or other items, as you are doing.
Yay for your most beautiful sweater yet! I am very impressed by those who knit and quilt. My best friend and her mom both quilt.
1. Wearing Chanel Bel Respiro for a beautiful spring day in the 60s.
2. In my neighborhood, only crocuses, snowdrops, and daffodils are in bloom right now. We will see hyacinths and tulips soon.
3. Recent releases that might become wonderful classic in the future.
4. I have been making satisfactory progress on my health. Tomorrow, I will dare to have my first activity outside with my twin nieces and my brother-in-law. (My sister is on a business trip). We are going to a flower show out of town. It will be at a very slow pace since I am still using a walker, but I am looking forward to a nice time outside for at least a couple of hours.
Happy weekend! 🌻🌷🌞
Enjoy your outing tomorrow!
Thank you, dear! 🌻
Have a fabulous time. 🌹Slow and steady wins the race! I think your fortitude, endurance, and continual progress is an inspiration! ❤️
Thank you for your very kind words, Deva! ❤️
Have a great time tomorrow!
I second what Deva said.
Thank you, Lillyjo! 💕
Enjoy your day tomorrow! It sounds lovely. When I’d go to the garden centers with my good friend, we’d take our time and wander through. Just breathing in the “good” air, we’d often comment how much better we feel.
Thank you, Gail! So true what you said. I hope to have a relaxing and comforting day. 🌷
Great to hear that you feel that you are making progress. Hope you have a lovely time tomorrow 🌷🌸🌼🌹
Thank you, NinaV! 🌹
Have a wonderful time tomorrow! There’s nothing like a flower show in the Spring to brighten one’s heart and soul!
Thank you, Laila! Spring flowers are always very uplifting! 🌻🌷🌸🌹
So glad you are progressing in your recovery. It has been a long process for you.
Enjoy your time at the flower show.
Thank you, Kris! 🌷
Hope you have a wonderful trip to the flower show today! So happy you are feeling better. Sending you strength and hugs. 🌞🌷♥️
Thank you, She-ra! I had a very nice time. Sending hugs backs 🤗
I hope your day out goes really well. I love your idea for a CP!
Thank you, Oakland Fresca! Good to see you posting again! 🌷
💞
Glad to hear that you had a wonderful time at the flower show!
Thank you, Jalapeno!
1. Maria Candida Gentile Hanbury/
3. Have we done that already? I have not found it in the past challenges:
Wear a perfume that makes you think of clouds, fog, mist or haze. It could be anything that feels soft-focus, silvery, or a little ethereal. Or maybe it’s the perfume that wraps around you like a thick, scented cloud.
Oh, I like this idea! 😀
That’s a good one!
This is a lovely idea Glannys! And you inspired another CP idea for me: You layered some perfumes earlier this year then had an AI program name the combination. Does that sound familiar? You inspired me to use Co-pilot to solve a creativity problem.
Nice! AI can be quite helpful in creative tasks, especially when you are stuck.
Hanbury! Such a cheerful perfume.
The cloud/fog/haze/mist CP idea is pretty cool!
1. I’m in SL Fleurs d’oranger with a few sprays of Kiehl’s Musk on the side.
2. There isn’t anything blooming in my world yet. But the seeds from the columbines I scattered in my garden last fall are coming up. They’re pinks and purples, so I’m thrilled to see them pop up! The seeds came from the dried flower pods so they should be true colors.
3. 2nd chance fragrances. Wear the fragrance that you’ve put in a swap box.
4. I made a delicious hummus yesterday! Instead of canned beans, I recently got a bag of dried chickpeas; cooked them up yesterday with garlic, onions and bay leaves. I think I’m a convert to dried beans now. It’s a bit more work but the result is worth it.
I recently picked up some dried black eyed peas. I’m not sure what I am going to do with them yet.
They would be a great add-in for salads. I also make a quinoa salad with fresh vegetables, feta and a lemony olive oil dressing (which I usually use chickpeas). Beans are so neutral that they’re interchangeable. I also use different beans (whatever is on hand) in soups.
Also I wish I could move to Canada just to swap with you! You have some great stuff over at the swapmeet!
Aww, thanks lillyjo! If you ever get up here, let me know.
Dried chickpeas are light years ahead of the canned ones as far as taste in most recipes! But if I am putting them in chili, I will use the canned ones.
Apologies in advance for being inattentive and distracted, but someone sent me some small decants of Ditpyque scents,Moon Bloom and Olene and one other, and there was a larger glass decant that broke, and smells fabulous, but the juice totally destroyed the label, so I don’t know what it is, and I have looked back through conversations here and emails and can’t find the discussion that resulted in this lovely sharing, and the packing went out to trash immediately and I just do not know who sent this to me! So embarrassing! Can you please email me with the probable name of the one that broke? Here’s an object lesson in why to record stuff! NSTers are the best.
Hi meredifay! It was me who sent you the samples and I sent you an email with a list of them. I’m sorry one of them broke but am glad it smells good😊
I’m guessing from your description that it was either L’Artisan Parfumeur The Pour Un Ete or Grandiflora Madagascan Jasmine.
Thanks for the update-I can’t believe my record keeping failed so completely! The Pour Un Ete is the broken one, but the bubble wrap perfumed the entire house for several days! I am thinking about getting a bottle of that now. NSTers are so generous! What a great community.
I say Ditto! Ditto! Ditto!
SOTD will be Box of Eels.
I am watching The Pitt and Dark Winds. Also Sing, Sing with Coleman Domingo is streaming free!
Got Ina Gartens’ book for car.
I have to move all sorts of things in the house for the plumber/contractor to work on replacing shower upstairs.
Good news – starting yoga again on Tuesday evening, its’ been 40 years, so I guess now is as good as anytime.
Just started Dark Winds last night. 😀
In your neck of the woods!
I really liked Dark Winds (the first season). Need to catch up.
You sound like me. This week we have a new shower being installed and next week we have new floors going in, so we have to get everything off the floors. My stepdaughter brought me over a few tubs today so I can start putting things in them. Our pantry is pretty full and I have to get everything off the shelves and into the containers. Will be so glad when it is done.
So…damn…glad.
Dark Winds looks good…may start that soon…and yay for your return to yoga!
Congratulations on restarting yoga! Bravo! Dark Winds is a addictive pleasure for me. If you’re a Zahn McClarnon fan, be sure to see him in Westworld S2E8 Kiksuya. One of the best eps in the series imho, and I found his work riveting.
ps…I will try to add my answers tomorrow, but meanwhile wanted to mention that I am behind on reading comments (yet again!), have not yet read all of Friday, and have to do a quick out of town trip to help a family member…might not catch up until Monday or Tuesday night! But I will catch up.
Safe travels!
Family First! May trip go smoothly Robin!
False alarm! Plans are made to be changed, right? Not leaving town. Just read all of Friday’s comments. Will catch up here either tonight or tomorrow 🙂
Hope you have a relaxing Sunday after all the hullabaloo! 🫖☕️
Well, chores & errands, but still more relaxing than it could have been, and I’m nearly done with chores so it should be a very chill Sunday evening 🙂
Thanks Deva!
🧡
I’m in Bel Ami this morning. It was so cold when I got up that I wanted something warming … but now we almost have sunshine (it’s trying to be sunny, and nearly getting there) so I might switch later on.
The only things blooming right now are the daffodils, but most of the deciduous trees in our yard have tiny leaf buds that look a little bit like tiny blooms. I love this part of spring when things are juuuuuust about to wake up.
No cp ideas — I’m just not creative that way. I love a lot of you guys’s ideas though.
For something wonderful, I beat Mr. G at Wordle today! 😆
I like your n.4! 😉
Good for you. It took me several tries today.
In Wordle is what I meant.
I’ll come back later for the poll questions, but I’ve been wanting to ask: where is everyone buying their decant bottles from these days for splits and swaps?
I have something I’d like to offer at the splitmeet, but my decant bottle stash is finally almost gone. Just curious to see where folks are finding good bottles these days.
I still have Elfenstall which are mostly just fine. I would be happy to have other ideas, too. I used to use Pilotvials. I think they are gone now.
Thanks, sp!
I actually bought mine on Amazon.
Oh, and Elfanstall is on Amazon too and those are the ones that I bought.
Thanks, Kris. I believe I’ve bought Elfanstall in the past so I’ll check it out again.
I’ve been using Riverrun atomizers for a long time. They make several sizes, they’re glass not plastic, they offer either metal or plastic sprayer housings, and they seem to sell via a variety of outlets.
Thanks, SheriG.
Happy Saturday!!!
Sotd Garja Jasmine Attar. It’s a gift from a generous NSTer, and fits its description of intoxicating and seductive. I’ve been waiting a week to wear, and I just said to myself im not waiting for the perfect moment, I’ll make this moment perfect.
Blooming near me: Flame trees (yes I know the irony with our fire disaster but LA STRONG) in all their gorgeous deep-hued glory.
Will work on other 2 questions this weekend (a welcome respite from family issues).
Oh, I’m so glad you found a moment to try it! I’m not sure there ever is a PERFECT moment, so it was wise to create it yourself. (And that garland of jasmine is heady stuff, right?)
Hoping your aunt is on the mend, my LA friend.
I keep thinking when at the hospital that the journey of a 1,000 miles starts with 1 step. After almost 3 mos in this community, I would add …. and a fragrance with excellent sillage.
Have been catching up on comments from the last couple days and sending best wishes for aunt. ♥️
She-ra it’s never too late for a kindness! I’m still spending every day at the hospital.
Good morning. I haven’t decided on today’s perfume yet, possibly something classic like Madame Rochas.
I can still smell last night’s Oriental Express on my clothes. It’s one of the Thierry Mugler exclusive line, none of them have really appealed to me except Chyprissime. Oriental Express is quite nice to start, but there is something a bit sweetish in the drydown.
There is not much flowering here as we head into autumn, but my mother has been telling me about some lovely autumn crocuses in her garden.
Something wonderful – my trip to Europe is only a couple of weeks away!
I’ve been noticing the crocuses too.
It’s a damp foggy morning, very still and quiet, and a bit bleak. I’m wearing Barenia. All around the neighbourhood jasmine is in flower and it is highly scented and pretty. I think it’s star jasmine. There are also some “ autumn crocuses” which I think aren’t true crocuses, though they look the same.
CP idea: imagine you are one of the astronauts who has just returned to earth after nine months in space. What scent did you miss most, and what perfume would you reach for?
Something wonderful: there is a native beech tree growing at the edge of the supermarket car park that smelled amazing yesterday just as the sun was rising and the dew was lifting. They smell of petrichor mixed with mulch and sweetness, like liquid honey.
So interesting, I do not notice smell from my beech trees and maybe I am not paying enough attention. Or ours are different than yours? But you would be way more likely to notice than I would.
Different beech trees. These trees have very small round leaves, about the size of a flattened pea. They don’t lose their leaves though some drop to the forest floor. They also ‘ weep’ a sticky substance ‘ honey dew’ which smells like honey. They are big and live a long time and fill forests. The smell is earthy and sweet. Probably most similar to oak.
https://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native-plants/beech-forest/
Wow, those are very different from beech trees here, although there are probably many varieties in the US that I am not familiar with.
*sits up excitedly at midnight, trying to unwind* Petrichor? A new found passion! Your CP idea is out-of-this-world! 😉. I would enjoy that a lot.
I luuuv your CP idea Kanuka. Recently read Madness at the End of the Earth about the 1896? Belgian expedition to the magnetic South Pole. (Yeah, of course they didn’t find it.) Anyway, longing and dreaming, and madness of course, and endurance, were all constant themes. There is are descriptions of the lightless and scentless landscape in the arctic winter.
Hi all – I have just added a 50 ml bottle of Diptyque Tam Dao to the swapmeet.
1. What fragrance are you wearing today?
– I’m wearing my Annick Goutal Myrrhe Ardente body creme today. It’s wonderful.
2. What’s blooming near you this week?
– Lots of daffodils, my favorite flower (along with pansies ;).
3. If you have a great idea for a Friday community project, do speak up!
-Let’s do another desert island type – if you had to choose only five fragrances, what would you bring, etc.
4. Share something wonderful with us!
– I just finished a 5k this morning. My time was okay and it felt great. I’m pretty sure I was one of a very small group of women over 65 running. I’m not much of a runner, so I am pleased with myself for doing it.
Daffs are so cheery! We’ve had mini-daffs for a couple of weeks, and the regular ones are now here.
Good for you on the 5k!
I like your idea for the cp, I play this game in my head all the time, lol.
Thanks and me, too, on playing the top five perfumes game.
Good for you on the run!
Thank you!
Congrats on your 5k! 👏🏻
Thanks!
That’s inspiring to read! Well done springpansy!
Thanks, LesLiesse. It was a fun day.
Nice going on that 5k!
Another Chanel wearer, in Beige;
I just finshed Season 3 of “My Life is Murder”;
CP maybe: “I wouldn’t want to eat it, but I do want to wear it”. Sometimes people say the opposite when they sniff a gourmand perfume, e.g. something chocolatey;
Forsythia, magnolia, and cherry blossoms are starting to make an appearance.
I love My Life is Murder…Acorn TV in general.
Beige. Such a terrible name for such a fun perfume! I have a small bottle of the parfum and every time I wear it it makes me happy. It’s the only Chanel I own in parfum, and wish for no other😁
Hello everyone 👋
1. AA Ginger Piccante 🫚🌹 My bottle is half empty, such a shame this lovely scent has been discontinued. Has anyone tried the new AA Rosa Verde?
2. I can see some trees blooming from my window but I have no idea what they are.
3. Maybe we could wear ore favorite bed time scents for a week, I guess they don’t get mentioned that often.
4. I finished a 16k run today. I feel very tired now but I am happy I did it.
Wishing everyone a lovely weekend! 🌸
Wow, 16k! That’s awesome!
Thank you! 😊
Congrats on your run! Much longer than mine!
And good idea for the Friday CP!
Every run counts! I am preparing for half-marathon, that’s why I am doing these longer ones on Saturdays 🙂
Good for you on the run!
I have not tried Rosa Verde, but wore AA Rosa Rossa yesterday. It is the only AA I have of the bunch. Although I do like it, I agree with what you or someone else said about these scents being quite light. I guess that is okay with me for spring and summer.
Thanks Kris!
Double wow…congrats on your 16k!
Thank you ☺️
I can’t imagine doing a 16k run!
1. Merit Retrospect. I’ve got just a couple sprays left in my sample. I like that they offer this in a travel spray, I might just get one.
2. I don’t think anything yet, but the days are getting noticeably longer with more sunny days so I’m sure things will be coming up soon.
3. I saw some good ideas this week- a week of signature scents or a week of Shalimars.
4. I shared my good news yesterday, a day early lol. We’ve loved having madtownteen home this week and after dinner we’ve resumed watching Northern Exposure. I love that she loves it.😊 It was a favorite of mine back in the day. “Our friends from Cicely” she likes to call them. It’s got me feeling the 90s nostalgia and I dug out my j crew barn jacket which she wants to take back to school with her. It will be making a reappearance onto the campus that I first wore it on back in 1990.🤯
Oh wow – Northern Exposure AND the JCrew barn jacket! ♥
Ha! I forgot that was me! A week of signature scents. Loved Northern Exposure back in the day. Great memories.
That barn jacket is so classic.
J Crew still sells the barn jacket.
Love that! When my husband and I were dating I picked up a great second-hand leather “pilot jacket” made by Banana Republic (yeah, I know–so okay, not so authentic 😉) at a thrift shop. This was probably about 1996. It was really beautiful and well made. It cost me then I think $150, which was a gob-smacking amount for me. At some point, it was passed on to my son, now 24. He called me the other day all indignant asking if I knew how great that jacket was (gen-Zs!)!
1. My SOTD is Trish McEvoy No. 9 Blackberry & Vanilla Musk, an old favorite, and the first fragrance that introduced blackberry as a scent note that quickly became my favorite berry note.
2. Today from the hot tub I could see the dwarf Iris peeking out amidst the still-blooming snowdrops around the waterfall, and the tiny yellow buds on our Cornelian cherry dogwood beginning to open. The goldfinches visiting our thistle feeder were also beginning to turn their summer yellow. Lots of green shoots coming up everywhere 🌱.
3. No suggestions at the moment.
4. A mild day with bright 🌞 and a relaxing soak in the hot tub have been the highlights of my stay-at-home Saturday thus far. One of the best things we did years ago was install a small hot tub encircled by a deck just outside our bedroom. We use it year-round except for the coldest winter days and the hottest summer days. At the rear of our yard, it’s fairly private with a good view of our bird-feeders and the small waterfall we had installed just a few years ago. Lilac shrubs nearby should bloom around Mother’s Day. My little piece of heaven on earth! 🌤️
Happy Saturday! 🐤🌼
Your hot tub sounds divine!
1. Prada Infusion d’Iris Absolu, dug out from the closet in yesterday’s fragrance rotation. I generally wear the “plain” Prada Infusion d”Iris, but today am enjoying the extra oomph of the Absolu.
2. Crocus, and on my walk today, snowdrops. And then we got flurries and sleet.
3. Nuthin’.
4. My day off yesterday was far more restorative than I had imagined. That is all to the good.
Sleet! Sorry. But so glad you had a good day off.
1) I just bought the new Byredo Blanche Absolu and wearing that today. Blanche Absolu is as if the original Blanche was crossed with LeLabo Another 13 and I think it will be a good workday scent for me.
2) Bluebonnets are blooming. The display seems more sparse this year, after lots of heat and drought over the last few years. We badly need rain. Texas really is “the land of drought and floods”.
3) No original ideas for the CP but I like the other ones presented.
4) Daughter has insisted hubby and I check out Severance so we started watching that. So far I like and I am avoiding all the spoilers from the 2nd season.
I am planning to watch Severance the next time I rotate streaming services (do not have Apple atm)
Have so many samples on can’t tell which is which. More disciplined application tomorrow!
I took a huge load of boxes to the recycling center today. My mudroom is looking less like a hoarder’s alleyway now. That’s a relief.
Thinking I should take a solid perfume on my travels in May. Any recommendations? I have ordered sample of some of the Diptyque solids, largely because Of their cute little containers, the swan or the rose would be nice. None of the solid perfumes on offer are ones I already wear.
Congrats on getting rid of the stuff!
Made another Luckyscent order but got the Nicolia sample set. Those free shipping and a percentage off emails always get me. About to take a shower and switch to Coco Mademoiselle Intense but in the original Lolita Lempicka. I just finished the 1st book of the Leiberman Papers series. It’s not a series if you are on a diet. Boatloads of coffee houses and dessert. Nothing is blooming right now.
My suggestions for a CP are something green since spring is here. A Serge Lutens CP or maybe some kind of cheap but cheerful.
Gosh, nothing is blooming??
We have had so much cold weather for so long, everything seems to still be sleeping.
Here too!
Wow. We at least get witch hazel early-ish, say late February or early March. When the witch hazel blooms it means spring is going to arrive eventually 🙂
I think in some places it blooms earlier than that though.
I’m back in AdV Ambre Liquide. Sorry folks, it’s the real deal. True love. Never ending devotion. The “lay down and die for my beloved” kind of emotion. Very BIG feelings! 🥰
Also found an interesting short article about rich folks in ancient Britain importing resins and perfumes from the Romans to bury with their dead. So, if you were wealthy you smelled wealthy as you decomposed. If you were poor, you were straight up stinky. Alas, nothing much has changed! Also, found a 450 page dissertation about the subject but thought that might be overkill…get it? 😉
Link to short article:
https://archaeology.co.uk/articles/features/the-fragrant-dead-how-to-treat-your-dead-the-roman-way.htm
Wishing Super Sunday vibes to all. ☀️
Thank you for the article, Deva.
Here, another interesting one about the aromas of Egyptians mummies.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/discover-the-aromas-of-ancient-egyptian-mummies-from-orange-peels-to-pine-to-incense-180986035/
Thanks for the article! I’m off to check it out. I’m so glad to see you regularly posting again, just in case I didn’t mention that previously. I missed your comments, which are always kind, smart, and on pointe! Your perfume recommendations have never steered me wrong. ✌️
Why, thank you, Deva! 💕
Super Sundays Vibes! Love that Deva! Totally copying it (imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, especially if you’re twinning in the same fragrance) !
Felt kind of achy yesterday after a Covid vaccine on Friday. Since we are over 65, we get the vaccine every 6 months. Anyway, today is a new day and I feel fine.
SOTD is Leather Jardin as it is cool and cloudy. I only wear this during the fall and winter since it is pretty strong on me and the projection is monstrous. I think I can go back to spring scents this week.
Good for you Kris! Do feel better asap!
I wasn’t familiar with Leather Jardin so I looked it up. How fascinating that Zara collaborated with the original OG/CBE Jo Malone! Love all those notes- but don’t think I could have imagined them together before. Hope spring comes to you and Mr K real soon!
Zara has a lot of good ones by Jo Malone and they are pretty inexpensive at $40 or $50 a bottle. On top of it, the bottles are heavy with a magnetic top. I love a bunch of the fragrances there.
I generally get achy for a day or two after a new COVID vaccine. Flu shots do that too. Much better than getting horribly sick! I am a big fan of modern medicine!
Being a retired nurse, I feel it is important to practice what I preached for years plus I was an infection control nurse for a company. It would look pretty bad if I didn’t keep up on my vaccines. However, I have family members, or I should say hubby’s family members, that refuse the Covid and the flu vaccine. I decided I am not arguing with them anymore about it. If they get sick, I don’t want to hear about it.
Yes, they just don’t understand how they are relying on the kindness and good common sense of the rest of us!
I got my first flu shot ever earlier this month. I was expecting it to hurt like Hades, but it didn’t.
I think the last time I had a flu shot that made my arm hurt was four or five years ago. Might as well give the ol’ immune system as much help as possible!
I’m back in Armani Si today. There is nothing blooming here. It’s going to snow tomorrow.
I’m always up for a music CP but I don’t think anyone else likes it.
Something wonderful.. recently my sister and I got back in touch with our Aunt’s down south. My mother’s sisters. There are 3 siblings left out of 8. It’s been nice reminiscing and feeling like a family again.
That’s really wonderful that you have reconnected with your aunts. 🥰
Lillyjo, I would enjoy « grooving on » a music/scent CP. Now before anyone laughs and/or groans, I originally wrote « working on » but that did not convey the joy of CP’s to me. When I used the thesaurus app, it gave me grooving on, which it defined as « to form a pleasing relationship! » 🎉
https://youtu.be/4JIq8Zn0AJE?feature=shared
Here’s a song match for your post.
Lillyjo, that song is perfect for a sunny spring Sunday afternoon! (Especially sitting in a hospital room)
Also, I plead exhaustion ….how did I miss the part of your post about your aunts? 3 of 8 still here! It was WONDERFUL reading your reconnecting!
How nice to be back in touch with your aunts.
Oh yes, a musical CP would be fun.
Nothing blooming here either.
Except in your large kind heart Kris!
You are too sweet.
Another vote for the musical CP.
Enjoy the renewed connection with your Aunts.
Re: your CP idea 👍🤘🤘🎶
I am sampling Bon Parfumeur Iris Cartagena and Myrrh Shadow today and notes are below. Myrrh Shadow is lovely…getting greenish myrrh and patchouli so far. Iris Cartagena is very dry and woody…probably too much vetiver for my liking.
Lots of stuff blooming in San Diego even with our limited “winter” rain. 😉
My something wonderful will be sister. 🥰 Some of you may remember she had health issues a few years ago and had a Whipple procedure in early 2021. She is doing very well and gets scans every 6 months. I know lots of NSTers and their extended families are dealing or have dealt with medical and health issues too and wanted to share that good news and hope in a world which can often seem short on both. 🤗☀️💪🏻♥️
Myrrh Shadow 403 Fragrance Notes
Bitter orange, grapefruit, blackcurrant, basil, cinnamon, timut pepper, cypress, cedar, akigalawood, patchouli heart, myrrh, benzoin, vanilla, cosmone
Iris Cartagena 502 Fragrance Notes
Rum, cacao, petitgrain mandarin, iris, sandalwood, vanilla, cedar, sugar cane, papyrus, vetiver, coffee
So happy to read about your sister. I do remember the original posts about her procedure–seems so recent in my memory but it was 2021. It is wonderful that she is doing well!
Thank you, SP! ♥️
Very good news for your sister!
Thanks for the update.
Thank you, lillyjo! ♥️
San Diego is always so nice.
Good news about your sister.
Thanks, Kris! ♥️
She-ra, such wonderful news! Thank you for sharing! And for your good wishes for my aunt’s recovery! May good health and recovery be contagious in the best possible way!
Thank you, LesLiesse! ♥️
Glad to hear your sister is doing well.
Thank you, Glannys! ♥️
I’m so pleased to hear news of your sister. You hadn’t mentioned her for a while .
Thanks, Kanuka! ♥️
I also remember the original posts about your sister’s health issues and I am really glad to hear that she is doing well! 💛
Thank you, NinaV! ♥️
I too remember about your sister, wonderful that she is doing well.
Thanks, Aurora! ♥️
Excellent news about your sister! I remember when you were posting about her procedure and the uncertainty afterwards.
Thank you, Jalapeno! ♥️
The days are getting much shorter here, it’s still properly dark when we get up now. I’m wearing the lovely, spicy Tiger By Her Side to brighten up my Monday.
I am so sorry Gaynor. I am thrilled that the days are getting longer here, seems a shame that somebody always has to suffer!
Outremer Vanille this morning and I added some vintage Nirmala this evening, it’s a really good combo, I wear Nirmala more than Angel
There is a white hyacinth blooming across the street, wonderful perfume
Like Lillyjo I vote for a musical CP soon, maybe seventies songs
I am overjoyed by all the daffodils everywhere and some crocus too.
Apparently Angel was inspired by Nirmala.
That’s right, although there was a lawsuit by TM, you know I prefer Nirmala slightly, it is fruitier.
I did not know about a lawsuit. I will look it up.
“Seventies songs” would be loads of fun to scent!
I’ve been busy with travel and appointments for me and the kitties so I have been mostly scentless for a week. But today I have been lazing around, made some date nut bars, and I’m wearing Musc Tonkin. Tomorrow I see my elbow surgeon and I am hoping the X-rays show good healing. I am going to Paris in a month to perfume shop, eat, and drink. I want to be as healthy as I can be to drag my suitcase around and have the stamina to walk a lot.
Glad to hear you didn’t have to cancel/reschedule your trip. Best of luck at your upcoming surgeons appointment. I should have bought a bottle of Musc Tonkin….lovely stuff.
I got Musc Tonkin in a swap here on NST. I could send you some if you like.
Thank you kindly, but I’m good. Still very much enjoying my newest additions. Enjoy MT, it a beaut!
Hope the X-ray looks good. Glad you’ve got a happy trip planned. Sounds so good.
Your trip sounds fantastic!
I also hope that the X-ray looks good 🤞
Fingers crossed that you got good news with your X-rays today!
Sotd in keeping with CP for International I’m in Abel’s Laundry Day.
Something wonderful: our internet friends. I’ve been in some groups for years and have never met the people, but we show up for & support each other online, share joys & sorrows, rejoice in milestones. People I wouldn’t have met otherwise. It makes the world a smaller community in such a wonderful way. And I’m already feel that same feeling with the NST community.
CP idea: I join Lillyjo in her idea for scent and song combo (as I kidded early- two elements groovin’ together).
We have done several music projects and we will definitely do more…but they are not universally popular! Just like the art challenges and color challenges 🙂
Greetings NSTers!
Yesterday would have been my Dad’s 95th birthday. Was thinking about him. I can’t believe that it’s been 37 years since he passed away. Feels like it’s been a lifetime ago.
Poll answers!
1. SOTD = Lancome Hypnose. It’s been at least 10 years since I last wore it. Been enjoying it quite a bit. The juice is no longer the pretty pale blue but the scent smells as good as I remember.
2. What’s blooming? Nada. The grass isn’t even green yet here. But there may be itty bitty leaf buds on some of the trees.
3. CP ideas? “Weird but wearable”; pull out the oddest scent you have that still somehow works. “Scent a favorite cartoon character”; exactly what it says on the box. “Animal, vegetable, or mineral”; pick a perfume that fits one of those categories.
3a. I’d be up for a musical CP!
4. Something good? My brother is making plans to return to his previous job now that most of his health issues seem to be ironed out. He has an upcoming visit with the dentist to take care of another one.
I like weird but wearable.
Good luck to your brother!
And hugs to you.
Thanks lillyjo!
One of your “signature” scents would definitely work for “weird but wearable”.
What lillyjo said💕
Thank you allo!
I especially like Scent a favorite cartoon character and would enjoy a musical CP. Good news about your brother.
I’ve been amusing myself with potential cartoon character + perfume combinations. Some cool ideas if you include anime!
Hugs, he died way too soon.
I like your CP idea a lot.
So glad your brother’s health news are good.
Thanks Aurora!
🎉 for your brother’s improving health and return to work!!!
Oh, my brother is currently working a part time job. His previous profession was very physical and often required 14-hour days outside in the elements.
Jalapeño, I plead interrupted concentration because I was reading & posting at the hospital. I somehow missed your opening about your beloved father. Thank you for sharing about what would have been your father’s 95th birthday. If my math is correct, he passed quite young -age 58? I’m sorry for your loss. May his memory be a blessing to you!
No worries.
Some of the people on my Dad’s side of the family died young. One of my uncles passed away at 42. Your math is correct.
Sometimes math sucks. Wish it were 52 and 68 and you’d had another decade.
I love that late posting on a Sunday can be akin to very early posting on a Monday😊
1. Sotd is another one on the FM path, Noir Epices from a generous NSTer.
2. Daphne Ordora is blooming and smelling wonderful!
3.
a. Wear a fragrance and tell us what you’d like people to think of you when they smell it on you.
b. Wear a fragrance and connect it with an NSTer who “enabled” you to get it or who you know likes it/has mentioned wearing it.
c. I like that Reverse Swap idea.
4. Birdies singing this time of year always bring good news🌸
Birdies! 🌸🌸🌸
These wonderful items are such a joy to read!
I’ve heard sparrows chirping in the early morning hours now!
On Monday I decided to test a new scent – Lattafa Eclaire.
I came up with another CP idea (would not be surprised if we did something like that before).
Mystery and crime
Interpret the theme any way you like: maybe the name of your perfume contains a reference to a crime, a criminal, or a crime fighter. Maybe it’s a scent you imagine your favorite detective (or villain) would wear. Or maybe it simply brings to mind a favorite mystery novel (film) or genre.
And speaking of mysteries. Would anyone like another round of Guessing Game Friday? “Describe your perfume to us, OR, give your perfume the name it ought to have had, and we’ll see if we can guess what it is.”
Both of those CPs sound fun. I enjoyed Guessing Game Friday.
I like your CP ideas very much.
I’ll add to the chorus- those CP ideas sound like great fun!
Great ideas, Glannys! I once wrote a perfume column for the L.A Times about ‘femme fatale’ and ‘noir’ perfumes and that was fun to research. But I’ve noticed that many new releases in recent years have ‘noir’ appended to them, which in most cases is misleading as the fragrances are quite average rather than daring/edgy.
Thank you. Well, “noir” sounds elegant and mysterious, so it is an easy way to draw attention to a perfume. As you said, it’s a pity that a lot of these scents do not live up to their names.
Is your article free to read or behind a paywall? I would love to read it.
“Guessing Game Friday” was fun!
Hi, everyone. I was out of town over the weekend so I’ll answer the poll now.
Sotd is Stash, lotion and perfume.
I saw a few jonquils blooming on our drive yesterday. The grass is still brown.
I always like Cheap and Cheerful for a CP but I think we do that often in the summer. I like the idea of a musical CP, maybe a music genre? I’m always hoping for an Incense CP, or maybe a CP based on favorite spices in the fall. Fruit or fruity florals CP, gender bending CP (wear a perfume marketed to the opposite sex and why you like it.) And I like other’s suggestions too.
Saw a lot of dear old friends over the weekend and got nice compliments about the weight loss. Then seeing the aforementioned jonquils blooming was wonderful, too.
They’r all very good ideas ringthing, and I love incense too.
Sounds like you had an idyllic weekend- jonquils, compliments on weight loss, being with friends! I like all you ideas, especially gender-bending.
I’d be up for an Incense CP!
Good morning NST!
1 – Wearing my L’Occitane Immortelle del Corse decant from a generous NSTer (thank you H!). I wish this one was still available in the shops. The immortelle, which can really overwhelm a fragrance IMHO, is blended lightly and superbly into the mix.
3 – Spring in Los Angeles bring loads of blooming jasmine and orange blossom. Walking outside is like spritzing the air and walking through a veil of fragrance.
3 – CP ideas. I too love the idea of a reverse swapmeet week. Other ideas are: A – what’s your fave vintage fragrance and why, what memories does it conjure. B – What’s a fragrance you used to actively dislike that you’ve come around to love.
4 – Something wonderful is my perfume friend who I had a tiny sniffa with on Friday brought me a blooming hyacinth. I don’t think I’ve ever properly smelled this flower before. The first day, it only had the most faint odor but something happened over the weekend and now it is sending out the most wonderful scent tentacles. The color and shape of the flowers is also gorgeous. I will plant it next to my daffodils and narcissus when the flowers are gone and next spring I will be happily surprised when it blooms!
Have a great day everyone!
Thank you DeniseH for reminding anew about the widespread jasmine and orange blossom here in LA! It can be easy to take your home for granted. Enjoy your hyacinth!
Thank you LesLiesse. Now if only the beautiful purple jacaranda blossoms that come later this spring had a smell. They are so lush and tropical looking that it seems they should, so I am always slightly perplexed that they don’t.
Oh gosh, see what I mean about taking nature’s magnificence for granted? Our jacarandas – in their lavender & purple glory. ITA how do they not have scent?
Wafting in Jo Malone Nectarine Blossom and Honey. I recently received this from a wonderful NSTer and it happened to be one of the first scents that sent me down the rabbit hole years ago. Oh, the memories!
Happy Monday Kris! I don’t know many fragrances but I know the one you’re wearing and you smell divine!
Jo Malone really was my start in the serious perfume obsession. I have always liked perfume, but this brand really got me going and learning about layering and combining scents. After that, I was hooked.
I love your background story Kris!
Nectarine Blossom and Honey is really pretty!
Wearing Guerlain Meteorites today.
1. Wearing Anatole Lebreton Bois Lumiere today, trying to decide if I want to go for a well-priced bottle on eBay or if my travel spray is all I need. Still haven’t made up my mind. Immortelle is a tricky note for me, and this is probably my favorite take on it so that’s saying something. But also trying to be more discerning about purchases…
2. Like allo said, Daphne odora is the most exciting and prominent thing blooming in Seattle right now. It’s so wonderful to smell it half a block before you actually see it. We’ve also got daffodils already started blooming and crocuses. Oh and some early magnolias. Our magnolias seem to get two blooms a year.
3. I always enjoy the CPs where we pick a favorite show, movie, or book and scent it or the characters. And there have been lots of other good suggestions in this poll that I’d be happy to participate in.
4. A couple weekends ago, I attended my first opera and loved it. We saw The Magic Flute but a very modern production with beautiful animation projected on a screen rather than traditional sets on stage. And just a week later, I got an email with a deal I couldn’t pass up – buy one ticket, get a second ticket free for select seats to their upcoming production of Tosca. So we’ll be sitting front row of the second tier balcony for Tosca in May!
We have early magnolias too, my neighbor’s tree is gorgeous! My variety won’t bloom for a bit yet.
Sounds like you are on the way to being an opera buff!
1. Pulled blind from a decant box Mizensir’s Tres Chere. This perfume. Yeah. I smell good, but it is definitely a department store neroli. A high-end department store frag (I own plenty of perfumes you can buy in department stores!) that could be from YSL or Armani.
2. Magnolias! I don’t know or understand all the variety of magnolias. Our trees bloom early. The flowers are not as full of petals as some magnolias. They are white and pale pink/purple, and very pretty. Maybe Jane Magnolias?
3. So many great ideas already proposed. Maybe– what would you wish your movie star crush were wearing when you bumped into him/her/them? What perfumes would you imagine your favorite characters from novels wearing?
4. Next week I am heading to South Carolina to visit a really lovely former colleague who has just had a baby!!
I hope you have a happy trip and visit.
I like the characters from novels CP. Even a week by author? Like Jane Austen or William Shakespeare. Or Steven King.
Have a great time with your friend! Any other trips in your near future?
Yezzzzz. I will email you🧡
Autumn really seems to have set in with leaves falling from the chestnuts and oaks, and the maples and poplars beginning to glow yellow-orange. There’s a beautiful liquid amber in the gardens that is bright yellow, like a beacon of light. Wearing Kelly Caleche and about to put on my puffer jacket and beanie to walk the dog.
Greetings to you in the Southern Hemisphere Kanuka! Hope you enjoy your walk with your dog, taking in your gorgeous colors of the leaves, wafting Kelly Calèche!
Kanuka, you smell very pretty.
Sotd YSL Libre L’Absolu Platine.
Living vicariously through everyone’s “wonderful” postings! Thank you for the joy!
Philosophical question: if the corporate color of Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf is purple, why don’t they ever offer an lavender beverages?
They do right now at Starbucks.
Yes! But there corporate color is dark green. CB&TL is purple -seems like a natural tie-in. (Already had almost a daily tall iced lavender blonde oat milk latte w lavender cold foam, while the promotion lasts thru spring.)
Got it! Thanks.
Goutal Tenue de Soiree for a Monday evening, after a long working day.
Hope tomorrow is better 🤞
🤞for a better tomorrow.
Good luck tomorrow…
Vintage Dune. Love this stuff!
The tulip tree have their little dry flowers out on their limbs, looking dried out, like remnants of last year’s flowers. Been too cold for anything else to be even putting out buds here…
I always like the pick Five scents for your desert island CP’s. People narrow it down to their most fave perfumes, and there are always ones I need to explore from those best of the best lists.
I feel like I have turned a corner on my decluttering journey. More of the house is staying mess free for longer periods of time. This gives me mental bandwidth to tackle the really recalcitrant piles of books and papers….
My local bank is having a shredding day next month. I need to start sorting out paper’s to bring that day. The last time I went through the basement I found pay stubs from the 80s.
Since I have only lived in this house since 2002, I don’t think my piles go back that far! You get a sticker! LOL!
I’m very very late on this, but then, I just got back from London late yesterday. (Thankfully, things got back to normal at Heathrow before our flight.)
1. Hiram Green Shangri-la. Still very happy with this one, after getting it for Christmas. He is also a master at making naturals last.
2. We’re past snowdrops and crocuses and now on to daffodils. Also some rhododendrons are blooming. Anything for some colour, as it’s raining raining raining.
3. Lots of great ideas here; I’m not sure I have anything terribly creative to add. Maybe something on perfumes to wear in the rain? (Note what I said above…)
4. I just spent three days in London and came back without significant jet lag! At my age, that’s an achievement. (It also helps that they haven’t gone on daylight savings yet, so they’re closer to our time.) Also, it was warm and I could walk without a jacket. The trees were blooming! Sadly, though, no perfume purchases were made — Liberty said they had Astier de Villatte, but they only had the ceramics, and everything else they had could be gotten at home, but, I’d never been to Liberty before so it was fun to visit. Dover Street Market only had CdG perfumes, which, ditto. Bloom didn’t open until 1 p.m. on Saturday and we had tickets to a matinee, so it didn’t work out.
Sorry you did not find any wonderful perfume, but hope it was a great trip otherwise, and hey, no jet lag! I think I *always* get jet lag now, even if it’s only a 2 hour difference.
Listening to the wind making its presence felt. I’m kind of surprised there aren’t any Red Flag Warnings today. Hoping for some rain to wash the air clean and scent the sidewalks with petrichor sometime soon.
SOTD = back in Hypnose again. My bottle is almost 20 years old!
I know March is supposed to be windy, but I feel like it’s especially so this year.
March is notoriously windy here. I am shocked at the temperatures: I do not remember March being this warm! Wearing a coat is the exception rather than the rule.