It's the first Friday in April, plus happy National Chocolate Mousse Day! Birthdays: Washington Irving, Doris Day, Jane Goodall, Eddie Murphy. Our community project for today: celebrate anything you like about April (April Fool's Day? the Pink Moon? Easter? Poetry Month or Earth Month? anything you can think of) with your fragrance.
What fragrance did you pick? As always, do chime in with your scent of the day even if you’re not participating in the community project.
My favorite thing about April is that it warms up (usually! hopefully!) and flowers start to bloom. I'm celebrating the flowers even though today's weather is not all that, in Hermès Jour d'Hermès.
Reminder: on 4/10, name your favorite bird, and wear a scent that matches it for whatever reason, no matter how farfetched. Suggested by happy888cat.
And for those of you who like to plan ahead, see Scent of the day ~ Friday community projects 2026, where I'll try (but usually fail) to have the next five or six weeks mapped out in advance.
Note: top image is Fragrance [cropped] by M's photography at flickr; some rights reserved.
Another L’Artisan today – Seville à l’Aube. It’s a gorgeous floral, inspired by a memory of Holy Week in Seville, specifically the night between Holy Thursday and Good Friday.
Most Ukrainians will celebrate Easter next week, but today is Good Friday for most Christians. So here you go – flowers and Easter.
You smell fantastic today Glannys! I forgot the Holy Week connection entirely.
Seeing people quoting poetry in honor of the Poetry Month:
April is the cruellest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain.
Winter kept us warm, covering
Earth in forgetful snow, feeding
A little life with dried tubers.
Summer surprised us, coming over the Starnbergersee
With a shower of rain; we stopped in the colonnade,
And went on in sunlight, into the Hofgarten,
And drank coffee, and talked for an hour.
💚💛
The Waste Land, that’s an extraordinary poem.
April always makes me think of this stanza of the poem.
Seville a la Aube is so pretty!
“Seville a l’Aube”! Whoops!
Sotd April Aromatics Calling All Angels.
Woke up very early this morning and took a long walk in the park. Lots of tree and plants in full bloom, forsythias, bloodroots, early cherry blossoms and some others. Beautiful! We are having a cloudy day with temperatures in the low 60s. No complaints!
Happy Friday! 🌻
We have finally hit 60 after a chilly morning, and hoping for some sun later! We have lots in bloom here too.
I love seeing forsythias in bloom. It always makes me happy. Did you know that the flowers can twirl like miniature helicopters?
I didn’t know. So interesting! I will now pay attention to it! They always put a smile on my face.
For those who observe, a meaningful and moving Passover and Good Friday!
Sotd in honor of my much loved mom, Shalimar L’Essence for her birthday today. She was delighted to hear over wake-up tea and cookies that this is National Chocolate Mousse Day. I’m extremely grateful during a very tough few years to have her with me!
How wonderful that you do have her and can enjoy her presence!
Thank you Calypso! And she still knows who I am!
🥲🥲
🤗
Happy birthday to your mom LesLiesse 🙂
Thank you Robin! She’s living it up in a cloud of Shalimar L’Essence. We’re twinning it up.
Oh lovely!!
Happy Birthday to your mom! 🎂
Thank you PL67! The weather is perfect and we’re letting her eat whatever she wants- special diet be d*mned !
Happy birthday to your mom!
And you smell great!
My Notion notation is full of love today. We definitely smell like a Shalimar event here, between Mom and me. Her two caregivers were so enthused about the scent I sprayed them too! When herbphysical therapist comes at Noon, he’s going to be envelopped in a Guerlain cloud. Thank you Glannys!
Almost wore that today. Maybe tomorrow. Smelling fabulous! Birthday wishes to your mother.
Just picked up her cake! I need a scent that has marzipan notes because she loves it.
Happy Birthday to your mother, you have very close birthdays.
Yes very observant. I was due mid-March but showed up April 1st in time for her to recover for her own birthday.
Happy birthday to you mother!
Gaynor thank you! I’m forwarding everyone’s greetings, which is extra nice since all her friends are predeceased her including my aunt, her kid sister.
Happy birthday to your mom and how fortunate you are to still be able to share these special moments with her. I know you will treasure every one.
Pirates ain’t got nuthin’ on my own treasure chest of memories with Mom!
What a blessing to celebrate with your mom. ♥
Blessed and darn lucky SP !
More Happy Birthday wishes to your Mom. You smell great!
It’s a Shalimar house today with everyone basking and basking! Thss as no you LLJ!
Happy Birthday wishes to your Mom! Enjoy the time you have with her. ✨🎂💐
Aaaa-Men !
Happy Birthday to your mom, LesLiesse! 💐 I hope you both had a wonderful day.
Hello and tgif!
I love Easter so I am honouring the Easter bunny in Zoologist Rabbit.
I bought the newly launched Chanel Rouge Coco. Lovely satin finish. I got shade #126 Venise. It’s a warm soft red with a generous amount of fine pink shimmer pearls. It is so so pretty in real life.
https://www.chanel.com/us/makeup/p/153178/rouge-coco-longwear-satin-lipstick-hydrating-and-smoothing-lip-care/
That’s a gorgeous color!
I am following your lead and am wearing Coromandel for its (white) chocolate note. To be honest, I am pretty terrible at picking out individual notes, so most perfumes I have are a beautiful blur.
I can relate to the blur.
That colour looks gorgeous, I got the 120 Gabrielle. It’s a red with some shimmer.
I will go and check yours too since I have Pharmacy points that I can use for Chanel makeup.
Rainy spring here and trying Meo Fusciuni Viole Nere, which I’m liking very much.
The flowers are blooming here, Robin! You just have to like seeing them through the rain. Even the daffodils in my cave of a tiny backyard are up. 🙂
I have lots of daffs too…still waiting for the late ones (they are the smelliest so my favorites) but I am keeping a vase full inside 🙂
I’m celebrating spring’s arrival, and some anticipated beautiful weather this weekend, in L’Artisan Bucoliques de Provence.
Perfect SheriG!
Today’s SOTD will be Infusion d’iris. Ii find it to be a really good spring perfume. And iris blooms from early spring to mid summer.
It is a great spring perfume, good choice Dawn.
I’m feeling dapper and springy in Boutonnière No. 7, from Arquiste.
There’s much to love about April, but one of my favorite things about the month is a terribly sad song. It’s from Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields, who managed to write a heartbreaking song about spring.
Once April fooled me –
With an afternoon so gold, so warm, so beguiling,
That I thought the drowsy Earth would wake up smiling.
But April fooled me then.
The night was cold.
Once someone fooled me,
With a kiss that touched my heart beyond all believing.
But like April, that sweet moment was deceiving.
It was not really spring, nor really love.
You were alike, you two.
Restless April fooled me, darling,
So did you.
Oooh, that’s a good song. And so true.
Wow, that IS sad.
I did not know that song! Here is Dorothy Fields singing it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E17_3MVCWNY
That’s such a lovely version, Robin. When I first heard it, I thought “what a beautiful voice she has!” But I think it’s actually sung by Bobbi Baird – the album is (misleadingly) named, “An Evening With Dorothy Fields,” which was a celebration of Fields’ lyrics, recorded in 1998 or thereabouts.
Oh thank you for the correction!!
I am surprised none of my usual Jerome Kern peeps (Ella, Tony or Frank, etc etc) have a version of this.
Thank you for tracking this down. Gorgeous but oh so bittersweet.
Ok so now I’m tearing up it’s so poignant. RFR -another masterpiece by him.
Wow. Those lyrics are a punch to the gut. Powerful, and so melancholy.
I know! I can’t read them aloud without tearing up.
I love the flowers that bloom in April, especially (Southern) magnolia and jasmine, which grows rampant on vines along fences everywhere here. Spring in Houston is the smell of having your windows open and taking in the intoxicating combination of jasmine and BBQ. (Try it, it’s nice!). Since I don’t have a perfume with those two notes, I am wearing Parfums DelRae again, this time Panache, which does feature jasmine and magnolia, along with a bunch of other notes. What I notice most aside from the florals is the cardamom.
Somehow or other I woke up at 6:30 today, I think from a weird dream, and having been up for hours I feel very accomplished. I did some laundry, sorted out three more giant boxes of books (I’m downsizing), and unloaded and re-loaded the dishwasher–oh, and cleaned up all the cat dishes. I will be a blob for the rest of the day!
I would LOVE to open my window and smell jasmine and bbq, but no such luck 😉
Get a good rest this afternoon!
We badly need rain and today we are getting the April showers. What better way to bring in the spring weather than Diptyque Do Son.
Yay, enjoy your rain, and you can have any of mine that you like 🙂
Parched here as well. Hoping for rain in a lot of places this Spring!
Another chilly night here, so in honor of the weather and Poetry Month here’s a short poem by one of my favorite poets. It’s not my favorite of his, but it’s top 10. Yes, it’s spring and all have been waiting with bated breath for sun and warmth, but there something so still and calm about winter- a sort of regrouping, a settling in, a time of self-reflection where the eye turns inward in its continuous assessment of the world, looking and evaluating one’s place within the larger landscape. There’s a short analysis for any interested linked below.
Wearing Devotion today. ⛄️
The Snow Man
– Wallace Stevens
One must have a mind of winter
To regard the frost and the boughs
Of the pine-trees crusted with snow;
And have been cold a long time
To behold the junipers shagged with ice,
The spruces rough in the distant glitter
Of the January sun; and not to think
Of any misery in the sound of the wind,
In the sound of a few leaves,
Which is the sound of the land
Full of the same wind
That is blowing in the same bare place
For the listener, who listens in the snow,
And, nothing himself, beholds
Nothing that is not there and the nothing that is.
https://www.npr.org/2005/11/29/5031535/wallace-stevens-the-snow-man
That last line is a killer!
Moving north piece that makes the poem come alive. I totally skipped over until I heard the commenter say that the poem is one long sentence bound together with “and.” 🤯
🩵🩵
Really enjoyed the analysis via the link. Thx!
Wearing Theorema Uomo (2001). I’m going with April as earth month and choosing fragrances that represent that to me. Theorema Uomo is fresh, peppery, woody with not a hint of the horrible screechy amber-wood often found in current fragrances for men. It is nothing like its female counterpart which I also love and may wear for Sunday. Avignon tomorrow as I prepare to celebrate Easter.
Happy Friday, all!
Happy Friday springpansy! I don’t think I ever tried the Uomo version.
Sounds like you have a pair of Perfume Unicorns!
I am almost-twins with Robin in Jour d’Hermes, but I am in Absolu, which strikes me as more “rounded” than the original. I’m seeing Springsteen tonight so I had to wear something that would be gone by this evening.
Enjoy the concert, foxbins!
The Absolu is better for sure! Would buy it but cannot finish both bottles, in fact will probably never finish OG.
Have fun seeing Springsteen! I have not seen him in YEARS.
Oh, lucky you! Enjoy! I saw him years ago.
Wow! Have a great time!
I am in agreement with Robin. The Jour d’Hermes Absolu is so much better than the original!
Have a great time tonight! 🎶
Frozen red fruits, clementines and yogurt smoothie
Back to mimosa this morning, YR Pur désir de mimosa, green at the top and it seems it contains mimosa absolu, very pleasant soliflore and tonight Magie Noire which I don’t wear as much as Magie.
I like the YR Desir de Mimosa too. The Desir line was one of their nicest, I have several.
ITA, very nice line, like you I have a few, Lilac, Pivoine and Fleur d’oranger which has turned a year or two ago.
I just love Magie Noire. About 10 year’s ago, I worked with a lady who wore it. She had an old-style dabber bottle. It was divine. Is your’s vintage?
So glad it evokes a colleague for you, yes vintage.
I have a small dabber bottle of Magie which would be perfect as a springtime scent. Wonder where I have it stashed? 🤔
The eternal question with samples.
Thinking of Easter chocolate, I’ll wear Iris Ganache today. I’ve got a travel spray that a perfume friend brought back from Paris for me a few years ago. He has since died, so I think of him when I wear it.
That’s too bad you have that sad association, but I’m sure the perfume’s beauty helps lift your mood, too.
That’s a bittersweet memory Gaynor, wear it in peace.
When March arrives, I begin to imagine the earth stirring beneath and I’m fond of scents with a strong patchouli note. But when April arrives and new life begins to literally burst into view my tastes change to chypres and greens along with the patchouli.
To celebrate this burst of new life I can’t think of a more appropriate fragrance than Ted Lapidus Creation for today’s cp. So aptly named, it’s a powerful scent that literally bursts into the air. Originally created in 1984, I’m wearing the early 1990’s edt that’s so reminiscent of the strong 80’s perfumes; there’s a whole slew of notes including an initial burst of galbanum with some fruit, a blend of many florals in the middle, and my favorite part, oakmoss, vetiver, sandalwood and patchouli at the bottom. I waited til I got home from grocery shopping this morning to put this on; it’s way too potent and I only wear it at home but I ❤️ it!
Today is the first official annual Jane Goodall Day! Be kind to animals; all creatures are connected!🐱🐶🐰🐭🦊🐻🐧🐦
How cool! I didn’t know that Jane Goodall Day was A Thing!
That’s what my daily Mutts newsletter said today.
I’m in Jolie Madame today.
I usually wear this in winter, but I can see how it would also be perfect for this time of year. Maybe I will wear it tomorrow! 💜
I’m wearing BBW Fresh Cut Lilacs. Late April is when you usually start seeing and smelling flowers around here.
I had a dentist appointment today. I can no longer ignore that I have to get a crown.
We have more rain and storms tonight and tomorrow, then back to snow on Sunday.
Last time I looked, the lilac bushes here had tight little buds on them. No flowers and no smell yet.
Good luck getting that crown taken care of. It beats the alternative!
Ours don’t bloom til May but I think I see the faintest beginnings of buds. I have the Fresh Cut Lilacs waiting for me to enjoy next month.
Snow?!? Aargh….🤨
Lilac in bloom is such a treat. Hope the crown treatment will go smoothly.
Posting late again. Windy weather here, with Wind Chills this morning! April is proving to be wilder than March so far. Got yet another Red Flag Warning in effect.
SOTD = Demeter Hyacinth. I’m hanging out in the crowd who chose Spring florals for the CP. I still can’t believe how good this particular Demeter scent is.
I feel like none of us can catch a good weather break lately.
The entire state of Colorado is now under some kind of drought. 😓🫤😞
So unfortunately, you are right lillyjo.
Enjoy your Demeter, sorry for the red flag warning.
I am in a beautiful veil of Chanel 5 Premiere. My SO loves: Chanel #5 but now He just stopped me and said I smell lonely. I told Him it’s also #5 but a different variation.
I mentioned it before but He despises 99% of my perfumes..
I absolutely love love love aldehydes. Except for my favorite things like #18, 1932, Boy, Venise, Sensuelle, Beige and Cuir de Russie (o-oh the list can go on, so nevermind) but I realized generally I feel like a great perfume just needs aldehydes. Idk I just love the aldehydes. I’m thinking of Comete. It was a miss at first, well made but a miss and with these notes I expected to love it. But it grew on me. And the aldehydes are beautiful ❤️ but I bought too much already.
You smell lonely? Or lovely?
Hahaha lonely… May just very well be, how many times I have seen people say they cannot spend aldehydic scents.
So late, but I had to post my love for TF Jonquille de Nuit, which I’ve been wafting today. Got my hair cut not too long after I spritzed, oops. I hope my stylist didn’t mind. 😁
I never smelled it but Jonquille sounds good. I smelled a couple of rare TF fragrances – Plum Japonais and Shanghai Lily and loved them both. This one sounds lovely too. But isn’t it discontinued?
It was in that same collection. It is discontinued, but I bought a vat of it when it was still available. Let me know if you would like to try it!
This wonderful NSTer sent me a package full of Chanel treasures for our swap. I have been savoring everything, I didn’t open and try everything at once.
This small (definitely very old looking but in great condition) bottle of Chanel 5 parfum had been carefully unwrapped by me the other day. Clearly I can tell it’s a parfum. I don’t like to call them”minis” at this point because it looked at least like a 6 or a 7ml bottle, rectangular and with a long dabber – that’s how old it is, but since it’s an extrait, not an EdP – it’s not a “mini” but more of a “normal* size for it. It has the most amber-y, beautiful color one can imagine. You can’t just have any orange-ambery liquid and match it to that bottle. The hue of this juice is just magnificent!!
Side note: sometimes I like to take all my Allures: the EdT, EdP and Sensuelle EdP and put them side by side and just enjoy the colors of their juice next to each other, illuminated by light.
I have numerous #5s in my collection. EdPs, Extrait bottles, old, new.
But this little bottle from this amazing NSTer had the color of the juice on another level. Level of vintage perfection.
I carefully dabbed a bit on my wrist and was shocked that I have never smelled anything like it before. What hit me first was the fattest, fullest aldehyde note I have ever smelled. Wind, snow, aldehydes. Full and round. Perfect. Not for faint hearted. Fur coats. Crystal chandeliers, champagne glasses clinking, diamonds everywhere and splendor. The most “old fashioned” #5 I have ever smelled and I absolutely love it. This is what smelled “perfume” some 100-50 years ago. I have old bottles of #5 parfum but nothing like this bottle. I read articles where someone was trying to describe aldehydes notes to people who aren’t able to identify them: this little bottle has a blast of them. All the other notes were buried under this thick, fur-coat of aldehydes. Snow, snow and the smell of snow. Smell of snow falling on a fur coat…
The only thing that ever made that impression was NOT any of the other old #5 Parfums that I have in my collection but the elusive #46 I smelled some 18 or 19 years ago in a small perfume shop.
Was it Luca Turin that said #22 is the strongest blast of aldehydes a man can ever take?
No this #5 old bottle that I was gifted by a super-generous NSTer surely is the biggest blast of aldehydes a man can possibly take and… Love. #22 smells of Tuberose and incense, surely there are aldehydes but not the the extent where You smell: snow. I know that if I search the internet fervently chances are I will never find another #5 parfum bottle like this. Not this splendor. I will try to research how old this bottle may be. Could be 100 could be 80 years old – it’s from the 20s or 30s or 40s. Not anything past the 40s. There is not a single note that went “bad” in it!! Immortal stuff for a hardcore Chanel fan.