It's Tuesday, Let It Go Day and United Nations Public Service Day. Birthdays: Alan Turing, June Carter Cash, Frances McDormand. What fragrance are you wearing?
I am running late and I'm commando for an appointment later; I will pick a fragrance this afternoon from whatever ya'll are wearing. Tea at the moment is Hao Ya Select Keemun + Davidson's Cacao Husk, with a sprinkle of nutmeg.
Reminder: on 6/26, name a favorite "real life" smell — anything, really! a plant, a food, a place, whatever — and wear a perfume that reminds you of it. It does not have to have your chosen smell as an actual note, it can remind you of it for any reason. (Do be as farfetched as you like.)
And for those of you who like to plan ahead, see Scent of the day ~ Friday community projects 2026, where I'll occasionally manage to have the next five or six weeks mapped out in advance.
Note: the Frustum teapot in porcelain ("The Shinzangama Yamatsu Frustum Teapot is a remarkable blend of functionality and artistry. This Mino-yaki teapot features a design inspired by a traditional Japanese iron kettle (Dobin), not just a visual delight but also ensures a stable and ergonomic pour") is shown in grey but comes other colors as well. $170 at Omakase in Japan (you can find some colors cheaper elsewhere).
This post wasn’t out yet when I was commenting this morning so under the 3 day weekend poll I was writing about me receiving my 7.5ml of pure parfum Chance yesterday straight on my birthday.
But I was also writing about Allure Sensuelle pure parfum that I dabbed on this morning to enjoy sniffing while drinking my morning coffee (got a couple of days off for my birthday). Allure Sensuelle pure parfum is just pure bliss. The rich oriental that is so smooth and even fresh at the same time while it packs a punch.
But I came back to add what I forgot to say about it: in the Allure Sensuelle pure parfum the lavender is so clearly prominent that it gives off straight up Jersey vibes. I am never going to give up looking for Allure Sensuelle in pure parfum. Tiny drop lasts ages but it is the absolute favorite perfume of mine, or next to Cuir de Russie and 1932 in my absolute top 3 for life.
The exclusifs pure perfumes are out
I would like to smell 1957 extrait!!
I want to smell a few, I adore so many Chanel scents, probably No. 22 and 19 are at the top of the list!
Happy Birthday + 1 day! Wishing you a wonderful scented year ahead. 🥳
Adding more Belated Birthday wishes here! Hope you continue to find more treasured scents this year.
Happy belated birthday to you! Allure is so soft and cozy, it was love at first sniff for sure.
Right now, I have a dab of Shiseido Saso on one arm, and Koto on the other. Saso is supposed to be a floral aldehyde, but I find the aldehydes to be very subtle, nothing like the aldehyde blast of no. 5. Koto is definitely an old-fashioned chypre, and I am very glad to have it in my collection. I have no idea how old my bottle is (I bought it secondhand), but apparently old enough to still have some oakmoss in it. Both of them are seem to wear very close to the skin with little or no sillage. I would say that if you can readily smell one of them on me, you are standing much too close!
I haven’t been around here much; I very much need to wear what I have and not be buying a bunch of new stuff, and I was finding it hard to do that if I was reading about new perfumes all the time. looking back over my purchases, I realized that until last week, I had not bought any perfume for myself since the 4th quarter of 2023. I did cave and buy one little mini for myself, as I was buying some for my husband, so I do have something to confess, but it is a very small confession.
That is impressive restraint! I wish I could say the same. I bought a Santa Maria Novella sample set purely out of curiosity for NST’s James Bond theme CP, fully intending to just enjoy the samples. Naturally, I fell hard for one of them and ended up buying a full bottle that I absolutely did not need. So my confession is a bit larger than your very small one!
Since I retired, I’ve been trying to cut down or cut out a lot of nonessential expenses, particularly for “things” that will add to the clutter. I don’t need any more jewelry and I don’t need any more perfume. Part of it is the realization that at my age, I already have more than I can use in my lifetime, and part of it is just the logistics of retirement. I don’t want to run out of money too soon, so I am trying to focus my spending on experiences rather than stuff. We are going to more plays and concerts than ever before, as I no longer have to worry about fitting it in around work schedules or days off.
It’s nice to see you posting today!
I think quite a few of us have been wearing what we have too.
It’s been good seeing some familiar names popping up at NST lately.
Impressive restraint for sure! We’re retiring in a few years, I’m slowly weeding clothes and the garage.
I’m saving the perfume for last as I may use up a few bottles. I do not like the thought of moving across the country with several breakables.
FWIW, all of my perfume bottles managed to move from NJ to CO just fine. I used a TON of bubble wrap, though.
Thanks Jalapeno! I imagine I will use a ton of bubble wrap and newspaper. I’ll take the bottles that I treasure most (Fendi, Shiseido Féminité du Bois extrait, and Nikki de st Phalle extrait) with me in the car, (along with the kitty cat).
Running on two cappuccinos after getting home early this morning from our first world cup match. Norway fans did not disappoint.
My book club met yesterday and picked Bel Canto. I’m pretty sure I read it years ago, but I’m even more excited for Ann Patchett’s newest novel, which is getting wonderful reviews. She also gave a terrific interview on C-SPAN a few weeks ago.
Wearing my usual Santa Maria Novella scent again ( I know I am boring!!!) I seem to be reaching for it constantly lately and trying out a new Chantecaille lipstick.
You’re not boring-wearing the same scent a few days in a row isn’t boring at all 🙂
I think there’s a podcast about Bel Canto-if you look at the BBC Bookclub podcast site, they did a half hour interview with the author. I love that podcast. Hope you have a great day!
I will take a look..
OaklandF turned me on to the LRB, and that is the only podcast I listen too. I will take a look at this one as well! Thank you!
Nothing wrong at all with a bit of perfume monogamy. After all, CM8 did an entire summer of the same scent one year.
It has just been an easy reach and since its a cologne its easy to wear
Last week I was exploring the “downtown” area here (such as it is) and found a little 2oz jar of whipped tallow balm. They had testers and it’s made locally, so I gave it a whirl. It was so lovely on my parched skin that I bought a jar. It’s in a very mild and undemanding scent called “Citrus Grove” which is all I’m wearing at the moment.
Of course I’ve heard of “tallow” in all its iterations and hyperbole, but I’m surprised at how beautiful my skin feels after application. I think it was a little overpriced, but then so is everything.
BTW, the color of the teapot is so soothing and calming, like a 10mg Valium for one’s poor beleaguered eyeballs. Such a relief of a color.
Yes, I agree about that beautiful color. Robin says it’s shown above in grey but it looks like a cool blue-toned grey to me. Or pale blue even.
Yes, I thought it was pale blue too…but maybe it is greyer in person.
Hello-I am in Bigarade Concentree-shower gel, body milk, and EDP. I do love this scent. I get no cumin at all, and I do get a strong hay and rose dry down. I think it’s beautiful and almost any citrus makes me happy.
Can you believe we’re past summer Solstice already?
Carole, you smell amazing. How wonderful to immerse yourself in this extraordinary perfume!
Thank you, Daniel. I thought of you this morning when I read the news-the wild fires are still burning. Hope it gets under control very soon. I bet the air quality is challenging.
I cannot believe-or maybe I refuse to believe we passed Summer Solstice
Same!
Looks like Chanel goofed around with no 5 extrait and it’s still out of my budget and would love to replenish extrait version since I am almost out. I am in Infusion d’iris today while getting ready for work.
How bad is the extrait price?
It is over $400 for a 1 ounce bottle. That is if you don’t get the opener thing or whatever that thing covers it. You have to look on the website to see how stupid it is.
Hello.
Sotd is MAC Turquatic. I remember when this used to be so hyped (so was MAC in general) but now it’s just pretty much off people’s radars. I do wish MAC would bring back their honey scents though. Those were really good.
I didn’t know MAC even made scents! They make my perfect matte taupe-grey eye shadow — am on my second pot of it.
They do! They have another one now called Créme d’Nude which is a warm vanilla musk that’s pretty nice too!
Have you tried Lush Bees Knees, another relatively cheap honey, with hay. It’s not sweet like the old MAC honey scent, and has definite Lush perfume DNA. Honey I washed the kids is sweeter.
Yes, I bought Bees Knees immediately after launch! I enjoy it loads too.
I remember the MAC scents named after various lipstick colors. Those didn’t last that long, did they?
Ruby Woo, Candy Yum-Yum, Velvet Teddy…. they are all gone, only Créme d’Nude left now!
Wearing L’heure bleu to comfort me on this dreary rainy day.
I hope it’s helping.
Thanks, Lilyjo!
Twins! Each time I wear this masterpiece I think that I could **almost** make it my signature scent. But then I realize how fickle I am, too much so to even consider a sig scent.
I have a bit left in an old round “montre” splash bottle and it has evaporated over the decades, long before I bought it at a garage sale, and so the juice is thick and concentrated almost like parfum.
Anyway, you smell marvelous, Jks, and I hope it cheers you up.
L’Heure bleue is so, so lovely!
I woke up feeling the humidity a bit too much, so I spritzed on a lot of Chanel Eau de Cologne to cool down. It’s mostly gone now, of course, so after I go move a pile of yard debris that won’t fit in the recycle bin I’ll be switching to SMN Eva.
Yuck. Humidity is the worst. It makes summer stickier and winter colder.
It’s been a busy start to the week. I spent two days in Auckland, while at the other end of the country my mother ended up in hospital needing surgery on an infected toe.
I’m back home, my mother’s doing well, and I can’t believe it’s only Wednesday!
I’m wearing SHL 777’s Taklamakan. I can’t claim that it reminds me of a place that I’ve never been to, but I was excited that my plane flew over the Taklamakan Desert when I was coming back from Europe.
I hope your mother is okay and gets home soon.
Oh no, sorry about your mom Gaynor! Glad she is doing well, and hope the rest of your week is uneventful 🙂
Best of health wishes to your Mom.
The gorse growing on our hillside has begun to flower, adding a bold sunshine yellow to the rather sombre winter landscape. I’m not a big fan of the smell of gorse ( furze) as it can be quite overpowering and a bit sickly, like too much toasted coconut but I do like broom, which is a bit cleaner with a touch of spearmint ( and flowers around now, too). I’m wearing Furze though as I’m very appreciative of any plant that flowers in winter
Oh, and another beautiful teapot Robin, thanks!
You have a lot of plant knowledge, Kanuka. I would love for someone to lead me around by the nose and say, ok, this is the smell of gorse, and this is broom. I don’t even know if they grow in Los Angeles.
I am quite good with honeysuckle, jasmine, gardenia, and orange/lemon blossom, but not so much with the rest.
And you smelled great today Kanuka!
SOTD = Lvnea Vanitas EDP
Delish! It is a fairly new perfume from 2025. It is a kitchen sink perfume with pretty much everything non-floral. Love it!
Father’s Day on Sunday was great. My sister, BIL and I went to the asian food place at the nearby outdoor mall. It was my 2nd time there and the food was pretty good!
Free standing food courts seem to have become A Thing in recent years. One opened up close to where I live late last year. I should check it out one of these days/weeks/months…
Glad you had a good time on Sunday!
And a special shout-out to SmokeyToes and wishes for a full recovery and renewed health. Sending hugs from an old buddy in the MUA universe.
Hi Denise!
Thank you so much! I’m missing my perfume buddies. This blog and MUA were responsible for my wallet being so much lighter but what fun! Loads of grand memories.
Happy Tuesday, everyone. I’m wearing SL Fleurs d’Oranger today.
You are smelling beautiful today, foxbins.
Treated myself to a dip in the hot tub this morning, probably the last one for awhile. Though temps were in the mid-50’s during the night and it barely made it past 70 today, next week will be a scorcher of 90+ degree days most of the week.🥵
But it was a beautiful one today with blue skies and 🌞. Did my volunteer stint at the library, now home for the rest of the evening. SOTD is Garden Botanika Heart layered over BBW’s Country Chic body products. Fantastic combo resulting in a light, airy citrussy floral, one I could wear all summer. I discovered Heart years ago on another now d/c fragrance blog when someone posted it was their favorite scent (perhaps that ‘someone’ is now posting on NST?). Heart dates back to the 80’s and I thought it was long d/c but it’s apparently currently available on Amazon at a very modest cost. It’s described there as a ‘Powder-soft blend of gardenias, jasmine and roses blended with orange, cedar and cardamom and deepened with a hint of warm musk.’ I haven’t worn it in a long while but I need to wear it more often, especially over the Country Chic.
Happy evening to all!❤️
I had to look up your sotd. I thought I might recognize it if I saw the bottle. It didn’t jog my memory though.
It looks like Country Chic is available again for the semi annual sale.
I’ve never heard of Heart and only know it (and bought it years ago) because that one person long ago loved it so much, and it really is very nice! And, yes, I saw that Country Chic is at the BBW sale. I haven’t been there yet but may stop later this week.
Egads, looks like a super quiet day here at NST.
Robin, you weren’t the only person running late today. I am also in the same boat.
Hazy skies here. The mountains have disappeared behind the haze and clouds. It’s less warm today, with temps right around 80 degrees. Rather nice, actually.
SOTD = back in Prescriptives Calyx. As I figured, it is much happier in these temperatures than it was in the near 90-degrees temps of yesterday. So I will keep that in mind.
It got up to almost 80 here. The humidity is creeping up too.
I love Calyx. I once had the gift set with the body products. The shower gel was so uplifting.
Oh, I bet a Calyx showergel would be amazing. Never came across it, though.
I think you and I had the same set of Calyx! I had the lotion and shower gel too.
I remember this one! You smell great
Thank you!
It was a busy Tuesday! You smelled great though, love Calyx.
Thank you Robin!
It’s been a long day, with a lot on my mind.
I was running late today too. My sotd is Libre Platine from the purse stash.
I hope you have a good rest for your mind this evening.
Thanks ltsg.
Maybe there’s something in the air? Besides humidity?
Could be.
I was in Guerlain Pampelune this morning. Spent a couple hours at the beach this afternoon so now I’m in Vitabath Spring Green lotion after my shower. Every time I use the lotion, it reminds me of a slightly toned down version of Wrappings.
Pamplelune is a classic for good reason. So refreshing and bright!
It’s so good!
Spring Green is such a happy scent.
It sure is.
Lucky you, having time at the beach!
It was nice to go. We have 2 more days of heat then it’s supposed to cool down.