It's Tuesday and National No Housework Day, plus World Health Day (the theme for 2026: “stand with science”) and Billie Holiday’s birthday. What fragrance are you wearing?
I'm in Hermès Myrrhe Églantine, because SheriG mentioned it over the weekend. Tea at the moment is a blend of cocoa husk tea and a mix of Assams from Upton.
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: the Love Birds Medallion teapot in Emerald-Green ("This green coloured teapot is part of Pip's all-time favourite Love Birds design. The eye catching centre piece is a bright coloured robin within the medallion") is €95 at Pip Studio.
Hello.
Sotd is Kelly Caleche edp.
Tried Hermès Un Jardin Sous la Mer yesterday. I was expecting some strong aquatic notes but it was surprisingly pleasant and fitted in quite well with the rest of the Jardins. If the weather gets warmer I might be tempted to hunt for a small travel spray. But wait! I have still yet to buy Un Jardin Sur La Lagune, which is my favourite of the bunch.
I have to admire Hermes marketing, creativity, and artisanship in developing the “Un Jardin” series. They are coherent and keep the DNA of the original while developing the theme in different ways and they’ve not run out of ideas yet. I have owned several of the original ones and given them as gifts which have been much appreciated by non-perfumistas. To me they read as colognes, but I see it as Hermes extending the cologne vibe into new and interesting territory. They are cheerful and friendly and approachable and pretty, as well as light and simple enough for almost any tastes, even those who claim they don’t care for most perfumes. And really, what’s not to like?
Hiya house twin!
SOTD: Profumum Roma Acqua Viva.
BOTD: great tit.
Great tits are small, cheerful, and agile, with a bright yellow breast. So this bright lemon scent felt just right for this bird – very uplifting.
Perfect fit Glannys! They really are cheerful looking birds.
Skipping the bird/perfume CP this week because I just can’t get my brain past the dusty smell of birds. Don’t get me wrong, I love birds, but out in the wild, not in cages and I don’t associate any “smell” to them at all, other than dusty. I’ve had to care for “domesticated” birds in the past and it’s all just a bunch of dust and chaff to me…
So I’m matching perfumes with favorite songs this week. Today, because the sun is blasting and it’s supposed to be around 80F I’m going with EL Bronze Goddess and Pink Floyd San Tropez. Happy Tuesday!
https://youtu.be/Z7cdxlMnCIw?si=fwJ_heD1NXk1MHAo
Good one!
Yeah, I don’t think I will go with the bird association this week either. I just can’t wrap my head around it.
I missed all their pre 1973 music, had never heard it and would not have known it was Pink Floyd. Thank you!
You’re welcome! Meddle is my favorite album or theirs.
I really like this CP, Robin and Glannys, and my bird scent this morning is Essence of John Galliano Room Spray from Diptyque, an oldie but goodie which is wonderfully wearable as a fragrance on skin. (this is *not* the John Galliano perfume in the femme-y pink purple black bottle).
I am matching this to the crow, because it reads as black to me, with its notes of birch tar, campfire smoke and ashes, camphor, incense, peat, scotch, & woods. I love this one but have to be in the mood for its austerity and also because the sprayer is very wonky and I have to fight to get anything out. I need to clean the spray button and see if that helps. I am loathe to decant it because I love the feel of the oblong/rounded slender bottle so much, it fits nicely in my hand.
We have a lot of crows in our neighborhood and each morning and late afternoon, they fly in droves past our house to and from their roosting place in the nearby hills. We were hiking a trail in those hills one afternoon and saw them settling down for the evening near a reservoir with a drainage pipe, so now the mystery of where they go is solved. I really like watching the twice-daily migration, it bookends the day for me. Also, crows in general are so smart and interesting and have so many different vocalizations. I like hearing their contented half-caw, half drawn-out drawl which they do in trees sometimes when they seem at peace and content. (I could be all wrong about this). Crows are magical to me, and figure prominently in fairy tales as harbingers of both evil but also of helpful clever creatures. They use tools and collect shiny things and have been known to reward people who bring them food. They are adaptive, noisy social creatures that can turn suddenly on one of their own. They perhaps figure so prominently in our mythology because they remind us of…us.
You are right! They are like us.
I’m more superstitious of Ravens than crows.
I really love this post about crows…a bird we don’t get down here as there are just a few places in the country where they are found. But I also mark my day with birds flying home to roost, watching the large black backed gulls fly up the valley past my window to the area of paddocks and trees at the top of the hill. It provides a very settling feeling, and I watch for them daily just as you do.
I too love the sight of crows going home to roost. Ours recently moved roosts and it would be so interesting to know what spurred them to change.
We used to have a lot of crows in my neighborhood but their numbers were diminished greatly a few years ago due to disease. They have just started returning and I’m happy to have them back. Loved reading your post!
Corvids are scary smart.
Like Deva, I do not associate any smell to birds, despite loving them. So, I will wear whatever I am in the mood for this week.
Sotd Jo Malone Bitter Orange & Chocolate. I saw my bottle this morning and I realized I had not worn it in a long time. I am enjoying it greatly on this bright, sunny, but cold, windy day.
On my second cup of coffee and girls scouts Tagalongs cookies.
Happy Tuesday! ☕️
It’s cold and sunny here too. I’ll take it!
Me too!
I am eating thin mints
I like those cookies too!
I tried the Thin Mints PopTarts earlier this year. Don’t bother with them. The cookies are much better.
Good to know!
I don’t think I have a favorite bird, but I know I have a least favorite at this time of year — the flickers that rat-a-tat on our chimney flue. They’re as effective as a rooster at waking me up. I DO have a favorite bird call, though. It’s the coo-COOO-coo-coo of the mourning dove, and I’ll come up with a fragrance to complement it later. This morning I’m trying to continue the “it’s summer!” ambience we had here yesterday with Eau Sauvage. We actually had dinner out on the deck last night!
Love the call of mourning doves. I grew up with that sound, but don’t hear it where I live now–mostly seagulls in my neighborhood!
Coincidentally, I looked outside my window a few minutes ago and noticed there were 10 mourning doves in my yard. I have been feeding the birds since the very harsh winter here. But I never saw that many mourning doves at one time. I love their call too.
I have been thinking about peace a lot today with the headlines. So, hopefully seeing them is a good sign since doves are considered a sign of peace.
We have a lot of mourning doves, too (and, yes, we feed them, too) and I’ve always found their soft coo-Ing very comforting and peace-inducing.
I spotted a couple of mourning doves in my neighborhood last week. Don’t seem them very often.
It’s hard for me to pick a favorite bird. I really enjoy watching them, especially out in the wild. However, the last time I was at the Seattle zoo, a bird much like this one in the link below (helmeted guinea fowl from S. Africa) caught my eye. She was quite large and had the most amazing polka dot pattern. I watched her for quite a while. She looked all dressed up for a formal event, so I went with Theorema in her honor.
https://www.worldbirdphotos.com/photo/guineafowl-helmeted-numida-meleagris-cape-west-south-africa/
You smell wonderful. I wore Theorema last night!
I’m in good company!
What beautiful plumage . Great match.
🙂
Chanel No. 19 Poudré to match with a bird called “torogoz” aka Turquoise-browed motmot
Twins with you today in Poudre.
LTSG, you and Gail smell great today!
Wish I’d known it was No Housework Day before I got up at 6 am to clean before company comes early afternoon to celebrate belatedly Moms birthday since it fell on Good Friday this year.
Sotd YSL Libre L’Absolu Platine full of orange blossom and lavender.
BOTD (inspired by Glanny’s posting yesterday) Goldfinch, which are apparently extra fond of lavender.
Omg, the screen froze. So sorry Robin to have so many times!
Hope you all had a nice late birthday event!
My cousin brought over homemade key lime pie. She even grew the limes. It was luscious! I wish I had had some JM Lime Blossom to wear.
Oh yay. I do love key lime pie.
That is way too early to clean!
Hope you can sleep a little later tomorrow.
It was a crazy weekend and this is the first time I have a little time to post. Easter’s SOTD was no 5 body products layered with the edp and yesterday was vintage Miss Dior cologne. Today is Jicky. I don’t have anything that springs to mind with this week’s CP.
Doesn’t matter, Jicky works for anything 🙂
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzqGuFWE2Gs
I’m going with the native kakapo which is a large (4kg) flightless parrot that almost went extinct as they were such easy prey for humans and introduced pests ( stoats). They are in the news this year because it has been a good breeding season for them: they only breed when it is a good year for rimu tree seeds, their favourite food source, so only once every four or five years. When breeding the male makes a deep booming noise. They have a distinctive smell ( which some studies suggest may attract predators). Some people have described them as smelling of kiwi fruit, others as old violin cases …the smell made by their preening oils . There’s about 200 in the world now, mostly on NZ offshore islands where they get more protection from predators. The Stephen Fry clip shows them. They are very sleepy-puppyish when you see them, but green. They’re nocturnal and I’m matching with Twilly tutti.
Thank you (and Stephen Fry, yay) for the video, otherwise really I would not have fully taken in what a weird bird that is!
I had to laugh when I saw “National No Housework Day” as my husband and I had initially thought we would clean today. We had our Covid vaccine yesterday and were a little tired today so decided not to clean today.
Still pretty cool today at 32 degrees so decided on Encens Mythique.
Perfect for cool weather!
Yes, it is.
Great timing on those shots. And if you have a spouse who actually helps clean, I’m totally envious.
He used to do all of it when I was still working and he wasn’t, but now that we are both retired, I decided I better help😉
Bravo on your shots! The cicada variant sounds rough. And you smell oh so beautiful.
We get them twice a year since we are over 65. Many people don’t, but the CDC is ok with it, so we don’t take chances. As far as I know, I have not ever had Covid. I have had all the vaccines available.
I am also impressed that your spouse helps clean!
Like I said above, he used to do all of it when I was still working. I figured I better help now that I am retired too.
😍🥰
I know very little about birds and the only kind I have smelled is a gray parrot who lives with my best friend. His cage usually needs to be cleaned so not a really good association there. But there is a little bird I see in Waikiki that Google says is a red-crested cardinal that isn’t really a cardinal but a tanager. It forages for seeds and so I see it on the ground in the greenery. I paired it with Heeley Chypre 21, not a chypre but kind of a green, ozonic, salty scent that I think goes with a Hawaiian bird (not native, introduced from South America about 100 years ago).
Western Tanagers are beautiful in their breeding colors.
Revisiting my sample of Spoturno 1921 Extrait today and notes from the brand website are below. Persolaise did a great interview with Sheldrake for this one. 😍
OLFACTORY FAMILY | ORIENTAL FLORAL
TOP NOTES : Lemon, Damascus Rose, Bergamot, Mandarin, Orange Blossom
HEART NOTES : Lavender flowers, Ambergris accord (1) , Ylang-ylang, Jasmine grandiflorum
BASE NOTES : Sandalwood, Vetiver, Civet accord (2) , Musks, Tonka bean, Myrrh, Vanilla
(1) Accord composed of notes of algae, calone, cistus labdanum and benzoin
(2) Accord of animal notes bringing roundness and sensuality.
Adding that while lovely, this has very low sillage and is fleeting to boot. 😬 This is my 2nd or 3rd time trying so I’ve given it a fair shake but performance is just not good. 🤷♀️ There is an EDP version I haven’t tried yet so that may be better. The Extrait price is also fairly nuts. 😉 ehaeheh
It really sounds lovely! But too rich for my blood 🙂
It’s a beautifully sunny day so I am wearing the equally sunny Cartier Zeste de Soleil
Lovely, you smell great today!
I’m in Chanel #18 – day off and had been gone to the tax office smelling’ great but not too much. Chanel #18 = perfect for office stuff.
But now I am back home and will take a nap soon – I deserve it. I work so hard Mon – Fri in hot sun. Sometimes I do get a sweet lil day off during the week to do things I wouldn’t be able to on the weekend. As soon as I get off work I run to get my child outta school and rest is history of me being the best Mom I can: cooking dinner, children’s parks, bike for the child, dog walks ex cetera. So my lil nap while child is in school and I happen to be home – perfect!!
I was just going through all my Chanel treasures – and pulled out a mini of Le Lion I got some 8 months ago. I remember when I first got it my very first impression was undeniably – Shalimar.
I remember when I first tried Shalimar 20 years ago and I hated it. Hated it. Shalimar did not smell like an ambery/”oriental” fragrance I thought it to be. It smelled like the harshest lemon-chemical cleaning product. I hated it so much like I rarely ever hate any perfume especially from a renowned perfume house like Guerlain. It was a shocker.
Well but Le Lion is a Chanel product, meaning it would be *impossible* to smell bad to my nose. And I did think it is a great perfume. I didn’t fall in some great love with it instantly but I definitely strongly at least liked it – even if it wasn’t something I jumped the gun to order right away.
Testing it today and it’s definitely a gorgeous perfume. The lemon-bergamot top note is very delicious. I smell labdanum and an ambery heart – it’s beautifully done. It would be a pleasure to own a bottle one day, I wouldn’t have had just tested it because now I’m adding it to my wishlist.
Oh by the way – why I’m talking about Le Lion – I’m going to make a bird: African Grey parrot. The large, standard size (because apparently there are two types: the smaller and one a little bigger. Mine, that’s right, the one that’s sitting next to me right now – He is the bigger of the two. They don’t get as huge as Macows – but are extremely intelligent. Ours talks like talks like a human and responds. He is 19 years old and we had Him since He hatched – from our local pet store. He is our family member and we treat Him as such.
Where is the connection? Well African Greys come from Congo in Africa. Lions are also from Africa.
Therefore I have a dab of an “African” perfume – Chanel Le Lion and that’s for the African Grey parrot as the bird I’m choosing for the CP. I hope my logic is enough in order to have me be CP compliant.
We are nap twins today. I had a similar convergence of completed and postponed activities that gave a guilt-free window. Kudos for your family’s wonderful care of your African Grey. Parrots are a huge commitment and are very affectionate. I had a ringneck parakeet who lived to 25, on the low end of his species’ potential lifespan. I got him when I was young and unsettled and he spent too much time in his cage, which at least was large and had toys. As you say, they need to be part of the family, and yet we always felt that he had an avian wildness that as “domestic” mammals we could not fully appreciate. You smell wonderful, and give your boy a favorite fruit piece or a nut from me.
My good friend who has gone to Antartica twice (different areas) swears that the areas with penguins smell unbelievably awful, and I can imagine that from the smell inside some habitats at the aviaries in zoos. I can sympathize with those unable to make good CP associations with birds. On the other hand, I come from a family of bird-watchers, and enjoy doing it myself but not in any dedicated way–I don’t have a life list or anything. It’s also interesting that Zoologist has already made quite a few bird scents, and so someone else has imagined various kinds of links and expressive aspects of bird, based on their colors, shapes or sizes, habitat, behavior, lore, etc. I can think of several, and have them (mostly in samples): Hummingbird, Snowy Owl, Cardinal, and the latest one, Love Bird. Isn’t there also a Cockatoo? But it would seem like cheating to choose one of them for the CP! I am like others above who love the cooing of doves (we get white-winged doves here, but they make the same sound as mourning doves). I am still commando since I had PT in the late morning and then ran errands and now I’m too tired to get up out of my chair. I don’t know that I have a favorite bird but I do love the brightly colored ones, like indigo bunting, roseate spoonbill, goldfinch, hummingbirds, cardinals, etc. I don’t have synesthesia linking colors to smells but I do sort of make associations (yellow vs. red smells, etc.). I’ll have to ponder this some more. It’s a bit hard to top a robin when you’re living in the cold nothing and see the very first ones in spring–so joyous. I also really loved the birds in Australia, riots of colors, and so cheeky and loud!
Ugh, “Antarctica.” Antartica might be the name of a kind of sketchy art space though! And I think that Zoologist perfume is “Cockatiel.”
Doves as a symbol of peace could work well at this moment!
The penguin habitat at the Bronx Zoo is incredibly bad smelling. I’ve driven past feed lots that have reeked less.
Not so much a fragrance association with birds, so I went w/ Bal d’ Afrique today for a hearing test later. I have never had one, but I have tinnitus that even wakes me up at night, so we shall see.
My bird loves are owls. Big ones, tiny ones, all they have to do is swivel their heads around and their faces stun me with their beauty.
Owls are woven into the culture and mythology of Greece. When I lived there families had small hand painted tiles of them hung by their front doors. I still have one from 1980? hung by my courtyard door.
Stay safe and sane all, crazy times.
I love owls too. We have two that I hear at night : the ruru ( morepork) and the little ( German) owl.
The head-swivel is soooo adorable.
It’s been a long time since I have seen any owls flying where I live. I think they might prefer more open spaces.
I should ask my brother if he ever sees any on his job sites.
Not so much a fragrance association with birds, so I went w/ Bal d’ Afrique today for a hearing test later. I have never had one, but I have tinnitus that even wakes me up at night, so we shall see.
My bird loves are owls. Big ones, tiny ones, all they have to do is swivel their heads around and their faces stun me with their beauty.
Owls are woven into the culture and mythology of Greece. When I lived there families had small hand painted tiles of them hung by their front doors. I still have one from 1980? hung by my courtyard door.
Stay safe and sane all, crazy times.
I love the sound Barred Owls make, probably because it’s one I can identify. “Who, who, who, who cooks for YOU!” 🦉
This is a CP for New Zealanders, we’re famous for our fascination with our native birds!
I’m wearing Scherrer for its green notes, for all the birds flying among the trees near here.
Oh good!
You have the adorable kiwi! As a child, I was fascinated with my father’s shoe box, and the Kiwi Shoe Polish tins, which in those distant times had a more naturalistic depiction of the bird. I learned all about them because of that. Where I live now, we have woodcocks, which are similar and also elusive. I have yet to see one in the wild.
A ripe pear today instead of a smoothie. This morning I chose SD Valkyrie which smells terrific, it’s a vanilla but very orangey and a little bit herbal, I have a little 30ml bottle very compact and practical, I used to have another SD from a swap but in the end parted with it. Tonight it’s Angel Muse EDP but I usually wear the EDT which I really prefer.
Not really seeing many pears at the grocery stores here. But I did get some kumquats recently.
Kumquats are delicious, in my family we used to eat them at Xmas time.
Guerlain La Petite Robe Noire Eau de Toilette
Yum.
SOTD = April Aromatics Bohemian Spice
Perfect for today. We’re back to being on the cold side.
I had lunch Easter lunch at Seasons 52with sis, BIL and friend. I don’t go often but whenever I do, I enjoy myself!
In other news, here’s a gift article discussing how kitchens can be a good place to work for people on the spectrum:
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/05/dining/autism-chefs-restaurants.html?unlocked_article_code=1.YlA.kwjN.aETkT8nqg76k&smid=nytcore-ios-share
Sounds like you had a good time at your Easter lunch!
I came to see what the cp is, and by coincidence I saw a bluebird this morning. It perched on a tree right outside the window. Mainly he was showing his orange and white breast but every time he moved, there was a beautiful flash of electric blue wings.
I’m wearing DSH Inner Sanctum. Doesn’t really have anything to do with the bluebird but it’s what I was in the mood for.
I’ve seen a bluebird only once, many years ago in MD. It was a beautiful little thing, gone in a flash.
Bluebirds are so pretty.
My parents had a birdbath in their front lawn in the summers (in Northern Indiana) and it attracted lots of bluebirds. There were other birds too but the bluebirds were regular visitors at around 5 p.m. every afternoon. They also had a small, but dead, tree in the front yard. My father refused to cut it down because after the bluebirds bathed, they would fly up to the little tree and sit in its branches to dry off. In fact, they got kind of scruffy in the summer, but were still very blue and pretty.
Mr. allo and I are birders so it makes me happy to think of my favorites. I name our birds because I can’t handle losing pets. As far as I’m concerned, there is only one Stellar’s Jay and his name is Scrappy. I could watch him watch him splash in our birdbath and listen to him proudly announcing his presence all day.
In honor of Scrappy, I’m wearing Ganymede.
Aww.. I love Scrappy!
😊
Aw, I matched my scents to the Stellar’s jay yesterday too! And I am very original and call every single one of them Jay. 😂
Temps were below freezing this morning but the 🌞 was shining brightly all day so it was a beautiful one. An online mountain dulcimer class for me this morning, then home all day slowly putting the rest of Easter away.
I, too, am an avid bird-lover and watcher but am saving my bird/scent associations for later this week. Today I just wanted something soft and warm and comforting, and I always find that in my SOTD, Barbara Bui Le Parfum worn over Tauer’s Amber Flush body oil.
Looking forward to reading about all your favorite birds!🐧🐤🐦
It was a nippy morning here as well. But today was the last of that weather.
Lots of laundry on my “To Do” list today, so I am ignoring National No Housework Day. Gorgeous blue skies here this afternoon, and moderate temperatures.
Will have to do some pondering on this CP theme. I am joining the Hermes crowd today, just for grins.
SOTD = Jour d’Hermes Absolu EdP.
Song of the Day: “Dark Side of the Moon” from Pink Floyd. Decided not to link it because that song is a long one!
Laundry twins!
Yay?? 🤔
Wish somebody’d told me it was No Housework Day before I said ‘Yes’ to housework.😕
I was overdue on household tasks. And Teflon kitty had sneezed on my comforter. Yuck.
Jour d’Hermes is so pretty; perfect time of year for it! I think I may have a wear or two left in my bottle.
I have considered getting a small bottle of the Jd’H Absolu, especially if I find a great price on it. The grapefruit topnote is lovely.
We just had a hummingbird stop by for a drink. I read that they’re about a month earlier than last year so I made up in the mix to be fridge-ready. I did put out 2 feeder (one in the front yard and one the back yard) about a week ago. As soon as our visitor was finished, I filled the other 2 feeders. They’re back!
Last year I learned that finches also drink the same mix out if the hummingbird feeders. I figure 4 should be good!
Earlier today I reported my sotd, Chanel No. 19 Poudre. Twinning with LTSG!
House triplets!
Hi triplet! Chanel is perfect for the season.
We have hummingbird (and Oriole) feeders and find that other birds come to our hummer feeders as well. But that won’t happen here til at least mid-May.
They’re quite entertaining to watch.
I thought finches were strictly seed eaters! Learned something new today b/c of your post. Thanks!
Last year I noticed the feeder was mostly drained overnight plus a big mess underneath it. Then I saw one drinking from it not too long after. I was surprised they could get anything out of it. Quite hilarious to watch.
I had the day off, but I had plenty to do. I think I spent half the day in my car running around. The sun was beautiful here today and kept me going.
I wore Cristalle to match the cool temperatures and sun combination.
Yay for Cristalle!
Glad that you had lovely weather on your day off, even if you were super busy!
I love every kind of bird, and for the locals keep a suet feeder up year-round. Due to deer issues, I only occasionally put out seeds. I also have regular visitors to a hummingbird feed which is going up soon. I recently counted 31 different birds that are seen regularly in my yard or heard at night. But, no CP for me today; I will think about it tomorrow. SotD came up as I was gleaning some samples for Swapmeet surprises and came across SL L’innommable. I’d worn it before and it is most interesting and respectable, but I will not seek more than samples or decants after this sample “tinks.”