It's Hump Day, International Children’s Book Day (aka Hans Christian Andersen’s birthday) and World Autism Awareness Day. Donatella will be stopping by tomorrow! What fragrance are you wearing?
I'm doing haze, in Diptyque Volutes.
Reminder: On 4/4, 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. Suggested by Glannys.
And for those of you who like to plan ahead, see Scent of the day ~ Friday community projects 2025, where I'll try (but usually fail) to have the next five or six weeks mapped out in advance.
Note: top image is The living leaves [cropped] by Nick Kenrick at flickr; some rights reserved.
Good morning Robin,
You smell divine. I love Volutes and I have both the eau de toilette and eau de parfum in my collection. The eau de toilette has been discontinued, I think.
It’s already spring here in Austin so I love my florals. Unfortunately, the one I really like has once again been discontinued : A drop by Issey Miyake (the original one). Lilac and almond milk do wonders on my skin and I get compliments every day wearing it. I still lament the loss of the Feu and I can’t stand l’Eau. I guess I am part of a minority.
Have a lovely day,
Rebecca
I have the EdT…it was a hand me down from Angie, IIRC, who bought it and did not love it. I have gotten good use out of it!
Hello.
Sotd is oud in soft-focus – Ex Nihilo Oud Vendome.
Making my mum a pot of chicken soup so she has something to sip on for dinner after her visit to the dentist this afternoon. She will need multiple visits, for a molar extraction, bone graft and finally implant.
Dental work, ugh! We just need to remember to be grateful for modern medicine, as painful in the short run as it might be. In the 1500th century it is estimated that 40% of all deaths were related to dental problems, infected teeth, etc. I wish your mom a swift and complete recovery. Just think how nice it will be to have working teeth!
Thank you so much.
Oh my, 40% is mind-blowing!
We don’t know how lucky we are to go to a dentist! I had a really great dentist once who told me all sorts of things. He once had a patient totally freaking out, saying, “I remember, I remember, last time I died!” when he told him he had a bad abscess., and needed to have a tooth pulled right away. Seems pretty woo-woo, but the dentist was a very science based guy. Dental trauma lasts a long time, apparently.
How thoughtful to prepare chicken soup.
Wow, that’s a whole lotta dental work for your Mom to undergo. Best of luck to her!
Raining, chances of major weather, although the epicenter of the powerful winds looks like it will be further south. Good day to stay inside drink hot coffee, eat poppyseed cake, work on taxes until I can’t stand it any more, and then do a little knitting or watch mindless TV.
Watched some of Corey Booker’s epic speech, which was good and inspiring. “Go get into some good trouble.”
Moving on from politics, I have found several interesting documentaries of people doing travel stuff. We have watched two German guys ride big motorcycles from Cologne, down through Turkey, then across the steppe countries of Central Asia, north of Iran, through Pakistan and down into India. 6 months of fabulous scenery of the high mountain passes, they had a little drone with them that would fly over them and take video of them traversing the Karakoram highway and other challenges. Several episodes, free on Netflix, or Amazon Prime, can’t remember which one, very entertaining. Middle aged German professionals, one of them is an architect, doing the middle aged guy walkabout thing. It is called Himalaya Crossing.
Also watching one about a middle aged divorced guy who bought a narrowboat and has been puttering around the narrowboat canals of England. He calls himself CountryGent, and the series is Narrowboat Adventures or something like that. He has several guitars with him and sings little bits of blues songs, and steers his boat along on mild little adventures, which canal to choose, when to moor for a night, near the interesting looking pug, or closer to the next lock series? There is a whole narrowboat culture there, lots of pretty decorated boats, friendly people, soothing footage of puttering along at about 5 miles an hour through patches of lovely unspoiled English countryside, with frequent stops for a cup of tea or whatnot. He never mentions his ex wife, but after 6 or 7 episodes, he is starting to talk about being lonely, and his videos are spending more time on the women jogging on the canal paths with their dogs, so there is a little story line developing there that he himself seems unaware of! Soothing watching, worst sorts of friction is when the narrowboat coming the other way gets too close. His boat is names Aslan, and kids cheer as he goes by.
My husband loves watching the Wheel of Time, Rosamund Pike’s fantasy series based on Robert Jordan’s books. It is very well done, with high production values and some very good, and attractive actors, but some of the special effects give me nightmares so I can’t watch it with him any longer.
Stay warm and dry on this blustering second day of April. Also, French verbs are impossible. Who knew? LOL!
Oh, I forgot, SOTD is Bukhara. I have noticed I have a lot of iris perfumes, all of a sudden. 🙂
Great fragrance.
It’s splendid for hot weather. Here on this cold damp day, it also seems a little cold and not so friendly..
Our landlady in Mainz did something like that — her partner, who was a pastor but experiencing some burn out, renovated a 1959 double decker bus into a cafe and drove the Camino de Santiago serving coffee to pilgrims by donation. Then after that they drove down into Portugal, setting up in various cities for a period of time and serving coffee. The project is Peace, Love and Coffee — there have been a couple of shows on them, but only in German, I think.
That’s a splendid project! Thanks, I will try to find them!
I should have said “Doppellecker”, which they also go by — it’s a play on double decker, obviously, but also means double delicious in German. Probably an easier search term.
I loved reading about these different shows, I need some escapism and I’ll definitely look them up. Thanks!
Today I layered Balenciaga Paris with Heeley Iris de Nuit – muted iris and violet. Paris has always felt like a haze or a veil to me, while Iris de Nuit gives the impression of dimmed lighting and dampness. Together, they make me think of walking through a misty spring garden in a silk gown.
And the weather today is just right, too – while there’s no fog or mist in sight, it’s cool and rainy.
That’s an interesting combo–you smell great and CP-appropriate. I seem to lack imagination in perfume-combining!
Perfect as always!
So blissed out. Sitting in a rocking chair on the screened porch of a friend in South Carolina, a warm breeze, a pond, country music on Spotify, and a baby asleep in my arms.
All this lightly scented in Z’s Deer Musk
Sounds like a perfect day!
Oh that sounds lovely, especially the warm breeze and the baby.
That’s a restful picture.
Nice.
SOTD is a room spray, actually: MCMC Cloud Cover. I needed the lavender today as apparently there some stuff going down at work. I logged in a half hour before work begins and found messages from my manager desperately hoping I could meet at 7:30 a.m. (half an hour before) so he could prep us for announcements. Sigh.
UGH. Sorry and hope it all calms down.
Bletch on early meetings!
Good morning, everyone! Happy Wednesday.
I’m back home in LA after a whirlwind trip to NYC, and I’m exhausted. (The flights alone were enough to knock me out.) These mini-reunions are popular with my classmates – lots of reconnecting and catching up with old friends. Many of us gathered at Carmine’s on the upper West Side for a celebratory dinner on Saturday night – crazy loud, and I’m still a bit hoarse from all the chat.
Photographed thirty-five classmates for the portrait project, which brings the total to about 125; now I’ve got to select and prepare my choices for printing and framing. I think we had about 500 in our class, and I wish I could have photographed a higher percentage of them, but considering the project started just after the pandemic began, (when people were very reluctant to unmask for a camera,) and the fact that my classmates have scattered all over the country (and world,) I suppose 125 is a decent showing. The exhibit will kick off our big 40th reunion in June.
For the all important perfume selections, I chose Neela Vermeire’s Trayee for Saturday’s shoot, and Malle’s Dans Tes Bras for Sunday’s. No one commented on either. Harrumph. However, a classmate was stunned and delighted when I said “You’re wearing Portrait of a Lady, and you smell fantastic!” She couldn’t believe I knew it. (I let her smell the Vermeire, and she swooned, so I guess ONE person was forced to acknowledge my scent.)
This morning, I’m in the discontinued Fendi Uomo, which our very own DeniseH was kind enough to send my way.😊 Italy was a hotbed of wonderfully citrusy, herbal, leathery, aromatic colognes in the 80s, and the Fendi is a terrific example. I smell “molto soave.”
Such a wonderful project! 125 is a good number, I think, given all that’s happened.
When I think back, I was pretty skeptical that we’d get 30 people. It doesn’t help that I’m on the west coast when the majority of my classmates are on the east; I had to be the one to get on a plane.
No one knew how long the pandemic would last, of course, and travel felt risky. Very scary times. On top of that, my years of experience as a photographer have taught me that many/most people have zero desire to sit in front of a camera! And there are many who are willing to sit, but really don’t want to see the results. But my classmates stepped up, and put aside whatever apprehensions they had about being photographed at this time in their lives. I’m with you – I think 125 is a darn good showing.😊
Hope it’s nothing that negatively impacts you directly!It’s wonderful fun to tell someone you know what they are wearing, isn’t it?
I’m volunteering my time, and my classmates who’ve participated are very grateful. It’s all good!
You accomplished a lot while smelling wonderful.
Thanks, Aurora! It’s true – no matter how crazy the weekend got, I smelled fabulous.😎
It’s great hearing about your reunion and the portrait project! And 125 is a great number. Do you enjoy the post-shoot selection process?
Choosing is a fun process, if I feel I’ve captured at least a few good shots of each subject. It gets tough if I’m not certain I have even one – I want everyone to be happy with their portrait! So far, so good, but I’ve had my moments of “photographer doubt.” People are brave enough to sit, so I want to reward them with something special.
I don’t mean to complain about the number of subjects – 125 is really great. I just wish we’d had more. The college itself is thrilled, and they’re paying for the printing and framing, which will easily top $5,000.
Welcome back! I’d say that 125/400 is quite a good ratio. Bonus points for IDing POAL in the wild!
PS. I’ve only ever heard about Carmine’s. Never knew anyone who has dined there.
It’s fun – very good family-style Italian. Mighty noisy, though, on a Saturday night!
Cold and rainy/snowy here so didn’t feel like doing the CP today. Leather Jardin for SOTD. It still feels like winter here.
We are House twins!
Because of Carole post yesterday I tried Galop today and that is my SOTD. I almost walked out with a FB but stopped myself. Bloomingdales was very quiet 🤫 and a lot of promotion of MFK new fragrance which I sniffed.
Plans for spring cleaning and reading with a cup of tea or coffee.
I missing the Arizona sunshine ☀️ it’s frigid here 🥶
Ah, I’m so glad you had time to try it! And good for you for waiting before buying a FB-best to test and wait, don’t you think? If you can find the refill the cost per ml is decent. Lasting power is excellent!
yes-but how is the refill-does it have a nozzle that only attaches to that bottle like By Killian
I’ll look when I get home. If it’s like Voyage’s refill (and I think it is) it will work with any bottle. You open the spigot, turn it upside down, and the liquid should flow out. But I’ll check and let you know.
Thanks! Do report back! I love it!
Galop is wearing very soft on my skin now that it’s been several hours. I do like it, silage and projection is low. A quiet fragrance.
Really love the dance between the leather and the florals
Hello, I checked and you could use the refill for any bottle! I happen to have quite a few pretty Annick Goutal bottles-any of those would work. Or any bottle at all. The refill is much more reasonably priced, so that may influence your decision whether or not to purchase. I’m glad you enjoyed wearing it.
I even smelled it this morning
What did you think of the new MFK scent?
Loved
Stopping by to offer up this article on the scent of ancient Egyptian mummification practices, with apologies if it’s already been put out there:
https://hyperallergic.com/998360/archaeologists-reconstruct-the-scents-of-ancient-mummification/
No.19 edt today.
You smell wonderful!
I concur!
https://youtu.be/e6K6VRFpA-k?feature=shared
R.I.P Val Kilmer
Thanks to a generous Nster I am wearing Zara Fleur de Patchouli. It’s feeling pretty cozy on this blustery rainy day.
I’m about to spend half the day on hold with AT&T. Wish me luck. Lol.
I find such episodes good for touching up manicures and working on abandoned knitting and crocheting projects. Hope you get some resolution to the issues that make the call necessary!
Goodness, making lemonade out of the lemons of call waiting purgatory.
Best wishes on your lengthy and possibly irritating phone call. Your sotd sounds nice.
Good🍀
He was so young, too!
I hope the call went well. I’ve taken to choosing the hearing impaired line if I had an unacceptable waiting (or dropping) experience…
I saw the news last night about Val Kilmer. What a downer.
Hope your call went better than you anticipated!
How do you like this Fleur de Patchouli?
I think there are still traces of Galop on my skin from yesterday, so today I wore Rose and Cuir. It’s spring here but it’s a blast of icy artic air whipping things around-I have to get over a causeway to get to work and the waves were over the truck. Drivers are fueling fishing boats and they’re frozen, even under all their gear, and their faces get dark from windburn. Rose and Cuir sparkles in this icy air and I find it very pleasing.
You smell elegant.
Thank you, Aurora 🙂
Rose and Cuir is such a great scent!
Severe storms on and off all day today, I really had to force myself to get out of bed this morning. A brief respite now from the storms, getting ready to go to a yoga class at my local library just a few blocks away, then tucking in the rest of the day. Homemade Cabbage Patch soup and Irish soda bread for dinner. Yum!
SOTD is a favorite comforting, yoga skin scent, Barbara Bui Le Parfum – very soft ambery woods with just a bit of incense. Stays close to the skin. ❤️. Post yoga I’ll be spritzing Dame’s Monsoon for this week’s cp and all the storm clouds today!💨
My forsythias are in bloom and all the neighborhood magnolias are just beginning to open. Hope 🤞the storms don’t ruin them.
🌹🌸🌱🌳🪺🪻
Barbara Bui is good stuff. Twice I’ve had bottles and I swapped them both because I didn’t wear it much, but I think it’s CP compliant, it does feel like a veil of fragrance, to my nose anyway.
Oh, good call! I wasn’t thinking about the cp when I chose to wear it, just needed a comfort scent and one soft enough to be appropriate for yoga. But, yes, it is definitely like a soft veil on one’s skin.
Oh, I am participating wihtout having planned it! Love that. I just got a Luckyscent samples delivered, and after sniffing all the little vials I decided to try Ex Nihilo Santal Calling on skin.
I find it hazy. It is soft focused, and i find it difficult to decipher. I don’t know if I enjoy it, or if I just want to enjoy it. I think it is missing something on my skin.
I used to think i loved sandalwood, but lately I think I love specific sandalwoods – the one in Guerlain Samsara, the one in Elizabeth & James Nirvana Black. The ones that smell rich, almost chocolatey. Or Tam Dao, which is comforting and reminds me of the sauna my great-uncle built in the 1940s behind his lake house. Comfy, safe and dry.
Santal Calling is closer to Santal 33, which i find thin, and I get a lot of dill from and do not enjoy much at all. Santal Calling leans slightly more rich than 33, but on my skin does not fulfill its sandalwood promise.
I can see how people could love it, it is nicely made and avoids full dill territory, as well as avoiding pencil shavings.
I did panic buy enough Nirvana Black to get me through this lifetime, so I could allow myself to stop exploring sandalwoods anytime now. But I probably won;t.
I find Santal 33 unsatisfactory too. And not that sandalwood-y.
That said, I just LOVE the smell of pencil shavings, even in perfume.
Ooh! I found Tom Ford Santal Blush to be all pencil shavings! I assume you’ve tried it 🙂
Yes, but had to go look up my review to remember, ha. Apparently I did a good job of forgetting all about it.
https://nstperfume.com/2011/10/25/tom-ford-santal-blush-perfume-review/
Elizabeth and James Nirvana Black was surprisingly good!
Hi all 🌹
It’s been cold and raining buckets all day. The high temperature today was supposed to be in the 60s F, but it’s still 45F, I don’t think it will make it. I was out all morning and it felt like November.
So, it’s a good day for the gorgeous White Cube. I’m claiming points because it has a gauzy cloud like vibe to me that I catch whiffs of throughout the day and enjoy.
Oh, very good choice.
I’m wearing Akro Bake and dashing out for a walk before the rain starts again. I’m not really a fan of the hot dry summers here but I am so tired of rain…
Wishing you better weather in the coming days.
You smell great!
Frozen mango and yogurt smoothie
Decided on Ciara this morning. It kept me entertained with its resinous aspect and its surprising slightly animalic leather, it’s not a vintage bottle but I also have the extrait, 15ml in its full presentation box which I acquired last year and really I should open it. Tonight it’s VW Boudoir, also slightly animalic but from musk.
I had fainted yesterday while reaching for a cotton ball, the culprit I think is my new blood pressure medication, even though it’s a low dose. that my doctor gave me it proved too much of a good thing so I cut my tablet in two this morning and felt fine.
Cotton ball–hope you didn’t land on a tile floor! Glad you’re better today. Tried Ciara ages ago, seems it was one of those great kitchen-sink animalics. There are some vintage bottles on ebay in the $30 range, may have to order one the next time I feel like experimenting.
Thank you very much for your concern, it was in the bathroom butI wasn’t injured in anyway, just stunned.
Ciara punches way over its weight for a comparative cheapie, do go for the 100% concentration, mine is, there is also a 80% which I haven’t tried and for all I know it might be good.
I just recently tried Ciara. I think I have the 80% version. For some reason I never wore it before; I was probably thinking was something completely different. The extract must be something else!
Glad you’re feeling better today. Using 1/2 a pill seems like a smart move.
Thank you so much Gail, definitely a better day, I feel 100% on a half tablet. Do try your Ciara. As usual, I’m shy about opening my extrait but will eventually.
Aurora I am so glad you are ok!
When I first started blood pressure medicine I had to do tiny amounts and slowly increase due to dizziness.
Thank you so much Lillyjo for confirming you’ve been through the same phenomenon, I’m just glad it didn’t happen outside.
I’m glad you’re better today, very smart iof you to go to 1/2 pill. Still, a scary moment, thank goodness you’re not hurt.🤗
Thank you so much Laila, I had that typical moment of wondering why I was on the floor suddenly😀
So glad you are ok, Aurora. I think it’s challenging to adjust to blood pressure medication, it took a while to get the dosage right iirc.
I wore Ciara on dates when I was in high school, wonder if smelling it now would bring back any interesting memories lol.
Yes it’s definitely something to get adjusted to. What good taste you had already in high school. My EDP bottle is a current one and definitely smells good, it would take you down memory lane for sure.
Take care and glad you are ok!
Thank you so much🙏💙ltsg.
Glad you’re OK, Aurora. Fainting spells are no bueno … I had a colleague (in another state) who fainted in the restroom and it was because of unfortunately, a stroke. She was young at that time and I have not kept in touch with her.
Thank you so much Hajusuuri🙏, no harm came to me, just disoriented to find myself on the floor😀 a stroke is a life-changing event + a restroom is a minefield.
I’m thankful you are ok, and were able to easily identify why you fainted! Could have been bad!
Thank you so much Tulipani🙏💙
Yikes! Fainting spells can be something serious at times. Glad that you are OK now.
Thank you so much Jalapeno, I tried to remember when was the last time I fainted and it was fourteen years ago after giving blood.
Today for the CP I’m wearing Carnival of Souls from Marissa Zappas. It feels silvery, ethereal, and maybe foggy to me. This has been one of my most worn since I first tried it in early November.
I may have a sample of this from LuckyScent. If not, it will be on my next order!
I hope you like it! There’s just something about it that speaks to me.
I pulled out Hermes Hiris today. Our weather can’t decide between sun or rain showers. Tomorrow I’ll have to wear Both Sides of Clouds to try to be more in sync.
House Twins
Hi house twin! We smelled great today!
I wore Both Sides of Clouds yesterday, thanks to you! 🙂
😊
Joining the Iris crowd in DSH L’ Or(ris), a rooty but also ethereal iris.
She has some lovely iris scents but I do get the names confused.
I am also joining the iris crowd in VC&A Bois d’Iris. Earlier today I sampled Byredo Blanche, but I wasn’t impressed with it and decided to layer it with something I liked better.
Hope BdI did the trick!
I love your scent and wear it quite often.
SOTD = Ensar Oud Thai Tabac
This is one that came from the perfume bag of plenty … and a good one at that. It’s a decant and there’s nothing much to the teeny tiny bottle. I may just finish it this year since there isn’t much left.
I went to Loew’s yesterday (reconnaissance) and today to see availability of an inside kitchen ceiling floodlight, not that I really need any but 2 of the 4 are probably on their last legs. I stopped by customer service and asked if someone can help me look for it, having brought a package of the last good one I have. I was told it was in aisle 10 and there should be someone there to help me. Upon reaching the aisle, I was happy to see a worker there and I asked if she can help me. She looked confused and I asked the same thing again. She then said she doesn’t speak English (she said in [foreign language]) but I knew enough of that language to understand what she was saying. What am I supposed to do? Anyway, after a wait of ~ 4 minutes, someone came and helped me. I don’t think the bulbs are right but I need to try at least one to see if it fits. So bottom line for me is either hire someone who understands English or place the person in a position where it is clear she is Inventory Only.
For another cleanse the palate:
https://www.instagram.com/p/DH9Ng3wRYJ_/?igsh=MTI3d204OXJoOWptbQ==
Oy! It seems to be the season of light fixture annoyances. My brother just finished dealing with his kitchen lighting, and it was more complicated than it needed to be. Old fluorescent fixtures are a PITA to deal with.
Actually, I just realized that I need to factor in home maintenance costs other than the deck. I have no clue how much that costs as yet.
First day in a while where I am able to see the sun! But it’s a chilly and windy day. Storms are coming back really soon, so I guess enjoy the daylight while it’s here.
Posting late, since I had an unexpected phone call from my high school bestie. We gabbed for a couple of hours, minus the minutes where the call dropped. Typical cell phone behavior.
SOTD = Josie Maran Vanilla Vibezzz lotion on my shins. Couldn’t decide what perfume to wear, and nothing jumped out at me today. A very rare moment of scented indecision.
Darned chilly here too.
How nice to hear from your high school friend 🙂
Feels like February! 🥶🥶🥶
So glad you had a nice chat with your friend.
High school friends are the best! If I have an unopened version of the Josie Maran, Imwill send to you although methinks mine is of a different type.
I got slammed with a last minute project at work today, so no CP participation. But tonight, I think I’ll wear Clinique Aromatics in White, it’s so fluffy and musk-y.
Drat, hope it goes well!