June is flying by, as it often does. A quick PSA: vacation plans mean Donatella will be stopping by a little later than usual next month...expect her on Thursday, July 9.
Meanwhile, we're whiling away the weekend with our standard open thread poll. Talk about anything you like — the fragrance you’re wearing today, the fragrance you bought on your last vacation or that you're thinking of buying on your next vacation, whatever.
Or, ask a question about fragrance, then see if anyone else has asked a question that you can answer…
Note: top image is Technicolor Dreams [cropped] by Joel Olives at flickr; some rights reserved.
Good morning, I will be the first one to comment. I wore Chanel Chance vintage yesterday and it is oh-so-lovely. I have been very good with my shopping this past month or two.
Good for you, congrats!
I’m in Devotion for a day of camper cleaning and decluttering. Luckily, there’s a bit of shade in the parking lot because it’s supposed to be mid 90’s for the next several days. 🥵
I’ve been doing a little research regarding my current contract because it’s one of the best hospitals I’ve ever worked at, and I’ve worked at a LOT. Lo and behold, it’s an independently owned facility, meaning it’s not owned by a Private Equity group like Blackrock or Vanguard. I’m very happy to be here because patients get great care and the staffing isn’t cut to the bone in any department. Hospitalists are super responsive and reachable. So, if you have a choice of hospitals for care, do yourself a favor and look for independently owned facilities. It makes a difference. That’s my .02 cents for the day. 🙃
Hope everyone has a great weekend. Lots of terrible news out there, but I’m done doom scrolling for the day. Time to get busy. 🧼🧽🧹
Without really saying where you are specifically, are you in the Dakotas? To have a privately owned hospital, my guess is you are in a rural area. Seems like all the big hospitals are tied to some big corporation. Glad you like it.
Yes, I’m in South Dakota. I recently came across a website that has been developed by a physician to track private equity hospital and clinic acquisitions, so that’s how I found out this is an independently owned facility. I saw the absolute devolution of a hospital in NC that I worked at in the summer of 2020. It had just been purchased by the infamous HCA and I’ve been following along as it crumbles because I used to live there and have friends there. CMS, for the last several years, has flagged it in “Immediate Jeopardy” and it’s just such a shame. Used to be a very good hospital. Really, so disturbing what’s happening in US Healthcare, among many other things happening here…
Sadly, the hospital in my home town in Michigan has just closed in this past week. It’s where I was born, and even my parents were born there. It used to be pretty good. I’m a little unclear about why it closed as there are rumors of bad financial fraud by the city managers. But if I had ever thought of returning there to live out my days, I no longer would even consider it, given that you have to drive 50 miles to get to a halfway decent source of medical care now.
It was closed because it wasn’t profitable to keep it open. They can dress it up any way they like, but if it was part of, or bought by, a large hospital corporation, they strip it to the bone, extract any value from it, then kick it to the curb. And the people in the community who relied on it for care or employment are left out in the cold. Sad but true.
I was a surveyor for 8 years in South Dakota. As you know, IJ is not good. I believe I know which hospital you mean in NC as my stepson lives there. It’s sad as there are some very good hospitals in that state too.
I remember you saying that but dot remember how long ago it was?
So glad you’re enjoying your current location! I’d recently read how PE is so destructive to hospitals in local communities, especially in rural areas. As I have a rare liver disease (PSC and Crohn’s), I hope I’ll have relatively good options in retirement.
Gosh, I’m sorry you’re dealing with that. Autoimmune issues are ☹️.
Thank you, bile duct infections between ERCP procedures are currently the bane of my existence. I try to keep positive though, I can see the good folks at UCSF, and I adore my hepatobiliary team and nurses.
Private equity never helps any company. Sigh. My sister works in healthcare and has been through multiple mergers in the last 10 years. I’ve never gotten the impression any of those have helped patients.
Terrible. Outpatient healthcare will be the next victim. My own practice, as well as many other outpatient practices, is part owned by private equity. Medicine is harder and harder to stay afloat when reimbursement just goes down every year and everything else (rent, employee salaries, etc) just goes up. The only solution the company ever makes is for all of us to work more. I think there will eventually be an implosion of private practice, leaving only large health systems, which are allowed to charge more by virtue by adding “facility fees”. I think the buyers were used to taking on businesses and making them more profitable but they are not used to a situation in which one cannot increase the fees.
I’ll be retiring in late 2027, at least for full time. But I worry about what will happen to all of us in the future. I will have to keep myself as healthy as possible and hope to be lucky.
Happy weekend!
The weather is getting warmer so I am matching it with my sunny Sol de Janeiro Cheirosa 62 edp.
I was today years old when I learnt you can use a block of velveeta cheese to make chocolate fudge!? Gotta love how some people got so resourceful and creative they came up with these whacky combos.
Velveeta fudge is only the beginning of oddball commercial recipes from the past. You should hunt down mock apple pie (with Ritz crackers subbing in for apples), Campbell’s spread-a-burgers (sort of like sloppy joes but with cream soup instead of tomato sauce), and approximately one million gelatin salads. There’s no end to the ingenuity displayed by food manufacturers looking to increase their market share.
And the scary fact is that most, if not all of these recipes are much less healthy than the real deal and takes marginally less amount of work and washing up to make!
I am all for hacks like mayo in chocolate cake or sour cream in scrambled eggs but these are, well, certainly a choice…
The mock apple pie came out of the depression. A box of crackers would have been cheaper than a bag of apples, at a time when so many families struggled to have enough to eat, as well as being non-seasonal, and is something most households would have been able to keep on hand. It is a type of “desperation pie”–a recipe that can be made with cheap, readily available ingredients that serve to mimic other, more expensive or hard-to-get ingredients. Softened with liquid and seasoned with cinnamon, the crackers would have given a reasonable imitation of apples. Other desperation pies include water pie, which uses no milk or eggs, and vinegar pie, which uses vinegar to mimic the acidity of lemon juice.
Such recipes became popular again during WWII, when rationing made many food items hard to obtain. The King Arthur Baking Company has a recipe for what they call their “cake pan cake”, in both vanilla and chocolate versions, that uses no butter, eggs, or milk. It does use sugar, which was rationed, but I assume it was still more economical of ration points to make a recipe that uses one rationed ingredient rather than three or four. I have made both versions of the cake, and can attest that is is really delicious.
That’s really interesting! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Yes. I watched and read about make-do recipes that came about during those tough times. I was suspicious of them tasting palatable but hearing from you and Calypso, I guess they are actually much better!
I don’t know how that Ritz cracker pie worked, but it actually DID taste like apple pie. I remember my mom making it.
My mom and dad, both depression kids, told us about the Ritz cracker pie and lots of ketchup sandwiches.
I remember my mom making it too. It was good.
Extending the CP in LVNEA Holy Oak – gorgeous forest scent. I love trees.
Sounds like such a beautiful scent and I see that LVEA ship to NZ. Will mull it over.
It really is. They make a travel size, if that helps. 😇
This has been an unusual quarter for me and I am going to have such a lot to confess to Donatella in a couple of weeks….
Around this time last year I got a package from a swapper that included a part bottle of the intensely cedary SJP Stash, which I instantly fell in love with. For the last month I’ve been nervously eyeing it as the level dropped (I mean, from frequent use, not evaporation), and finally I bit the bullet and ordered some from a company called Fragrancebuy.ca. Of course I wasn’t going to order just one thing, not when there was free shipping on the line, so I poked around the site for literal weeks and ended up with five things in my cart. The order arrived yesterday, and believe it or not the average price was $30 CAD. 100mL tester of Stash, enough for a lifetime? $34! (No box and no cap, but the cap from the 30mL bottle I have fits perfectly.) 120mL bottle of Demeter Chocolate Milk? $26.95, when a 100mL bottle is $85 USD on their website!
Today I’m wearing Paloma Picasso Minotaure, which I knew perfectly well wasn’t going to be vintage (a batch check says 2023), but I hadn’t smelled it in decades and was interested to see what it had morphed into — the reviews for the most recent reformulation were overall pretty good. And I like it! It doesn’t have the lasting power it would have had back in the day: it’s an herbal citrus cologne, really, with a distinct tarragon note, something I love. And at under $36, well, how could I go wrong? I got the very last bottle, too (I just checked, for no good reason), so clearly I made the right choice.
Congrats on your successful frag hunt!
I love knowing when I scored the last bottle of something, feels like a huge win.
Donatella can only envy your perfume purchasing skill level!
Fragrancebuy.ca, sometimes called “fragbuy” locally, can have pretty good prices, although I’d be curious to hear how much extra non-Canadian customers might have to pay nowadays.
I have bought from them in the past and didn’t have to pay any extra. I believe they have a site for the US now.
I love Paloma’s scents, you have a nice haul there! I have a few confessions this quarter but not ‘too’ bad.
Hello all! Taking a break from paper writing to check in. I’m in TF Eau de Soleil Blanc from a travel spray. We have absolutely perfect weather today🌞, but sweltering weather is on the way with heat warnings. Related to that, I am debating purchasing a travel spray of TF Neroli Portofino to take with me next weekend on our holiday getaway weekend. I talked mr madtown into traveling and we have (what looks like) an adorable Airbnb rented. If my recollection is correct, it looks like I last bought a bottle of perfume in May 2025. I think I am due.
So glad you managed to organise a holiday. Hope it is stress free and the start of a new holiday trend
Very much enjoying Shalimar MR today.
Oh, I have to add that I finished the book The Correspondent. Excellent book that I think many of you would enjoy.
thanks for mentioning it! I will add it to my reading list…
It has been on the best seller’s list for quite a while. Everyone I have talked to seem to enjoy it.
I have on multiple sprays of Arquiste Flor y Canto because I wanted something that would be pretty and cheerful. It’s a very beautiful white floral that is heavy and rich yet not saccharine. It’s paradoxically light.
Yesterday was a tough day for me, as I learned from a friend who has recently been diagnosed with colon cancer that she has decided not to have any treatment but just to get palliative care. This will be a hard time. She’s long been one of my closest friends, though a few years ago she moved to the west coast to be near her family. As recently as May she was making a plan to visit here in August to see other friends and also to share our annual birthday dinner together. I respect her choice; she’s a health care professional and has thought things through, and she’s older than I am. But this will be the third close female friend of mine with terminal cancer in the last four years, not to mention my brother two years ago. I’m not religious, but some of my philosophical training (as in, Stoicism) does help at times like this.
I’m really sorry about your close friend. I hope she remains comfortable for the rest of her life, and you get to spend time with her either in person or through other means. So sad for you, sending you a big hug
Thank you, Kanuka, I’m having a hard time with it. I will ask her about visiting, but am not sure it will be possible or a good idea.
Oh dear, I am so sorry about your dear friend Calypso. The tough thing about growing old that nobody prepares you for is how sad news and loss will become close acquaintances. We can only cherish what we have while we still can and even when we feel lazy and tired, still make time for things so we regret nothing. (God knows I try but fail sometimes.)
Sending you many hugs!
I am so sorry to read this, Calypso.
I’m so sorry, please take time for yourself Calypso – hearing this news about dear friends is sobering on all levels. I’m wishing her peace and comfort during this time.
So sorry to hear about your friend.
I’m very sorry about your friend. I’m at the stage of life when one has multiple friends battling cancer, and some have recently lost the fight. Sending you, and her, hugs.
Calypso, a big hug to you. I’m very sorry that you have had so much loss in your life recently.
Wow, that is really tough, and 3 in 4 years is a lot to process. Thinking of you! And your friend, of course, that must have been a tough decision.
So sorry you are experiencing so much loss recently. I wasn’t prepared, in my old age, for my friends to get old, too.
Very sorry to hear that. My mother is in her mid 80’s and she says that losing her long term relationships are the most difficult part of aging for her.
Thank you very much to everyone for your heartfelt expressions of sympathy. It means a lot to me. One of the worst things is just not knowing what to say or how to act, what to do, how to respond, in a situation like this. If anyone knows of good advice or a web source with suggestions, please do let me know. I want to show I care but don’t want to poke around in something that is so sensitive.
I’ve started reading the latest David Sedaris collection, The Land and its People. It seems like he is stepping further and further in to his “ David Sedaris” persona ( or character) than in previous books. It’s still entertaining but there is a sense of distance in it, as if he is really observing himself observing events, rather than just him observing ( without that filter). It must be hard having to turn your life into a story all the time, instead of just living it.
Thanks for all the Hermes Terre information yesterday. So interesting. I do like ISO E Super so that was good to link to to the flinty notes in Terre.
And Roger Deakin. Yes!! Read and loved his books and was sad when he died.
Wearing Breath of God today, as I found it when I was looking for something else. Keep warm!
Yes, Kanuka. He became a bit too snarky so didn’t pick it up this time.
I just finished it last week…at least, all of it that wasn’t already in the New Yorker. I have struggled to decide if my humor has changed — I can’t take Larry David anymore either and I used to find him hysterically funny — or if he is less hopeful and kind than he used to be? I like snark, but his snark has taken on a meaner edge. He does not seem like he is having fun with the writing and it shows.
His apartment was in the NYT recently, and now I picture him in that very expensive apartment with its uber expensive furnishings, forcing himself to write another 500 words. Might be too sad an image to pick up the next book.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/05/30/realestate/david-sedaris-home-tour-new-york.html
Two other thoughts: the NYer seems to get the best of his writing. And maybe it is better to just read him in the NYer, one article at a time every so often, than to try to read this much of him at once.
He seems bored and irritated a lot of the time, as if the writing is a chore. I think he should stop for a while. But, I guess it still sells and provides a good lifestyle so it would hard to stop. But some of the pieces leave a sour taste, like being at a dinner party where witty people are slagging off a friend
I have been going through my collection and wearing some of my overlooked perfumes. This morning I had on a few dabs of Germaine Monteil Champagne extrait, from a bottle I picked up second hand. That seemed to have worn off after several hours, so now I have on some Dana Bridal Bouquet (another second hand acquisition). I can find very little info about this perfume beyond that it seems to have been a 1971 release. It is one of a handful of such vintage scents I have that are sort of reverse unicorns: easy and relatively inexpensive to find, but almost impossible to get info about.
Just as well, right? If anybody was writing about them they’d become unaffordable.
Hi all, my SOTD is Sikkim by Lancôme, today’s slightly cool and sunny weather calls for a leather chypre and it fits the bill. This is an everything and the kitchen sink scent.
Notes from fragrantica: Galbanum, Aldehydes, Caraway, Gardenia and Bergamot, Carnation, Rose, Narcissus, Iris and Jasmine, Oakmoss, Leather, Vetiver, Patchouli, Amber and Coconut.
I had a nice swim at the gym, our pool is outdoors, I enjoyed a bit of sun, saw an eagle, and caught up on my vitamin D for the day.
Now I’m making supper, maple bourbon marinated salmon filets, I’ll cook them on cedar planks to get that nice smokey flavor.
Love your description! I think I have a mini of Sikkim, must investigate.
It was widely available on fragrancenet in the 1/2 oz size and for cheap, but sadly those days are gone. I still have a good amount left, thankfully!
Busy here preparing for my trip; laundry, selecting clothes for hot, humid weather, wishing I had a nicer sun hat. I’m wearing Narciso (the white cube one). There was a magnificent thunderstorm this afternoon, rain coming down in buckets and the sky rumbling away. We hardly ever get them here, big thunderstorms are more common on the other side of the Rockies.
have a fun trip! I miss thunderstorms, they were so relaxing!
Lucky you to get so much rain. We’re parched here. Hope you have a great trip! Are you doing carry on only? I’m hoping to do some international travel next year with a backpack only again so if you have any new packing hacks, do tell!
Yes, carryon only! I’ve been using packing cubes for organization but recently discovered compression packing cubes. They help with organization but then have a zipper that compresses the clothes down about two inches. I’m limited to 22 lbs for the overseas flights but I bet with the compression cubes I could fit 30+ lbs if needed. I also bought an ultralight spinner bag, the rollaboard just got harder to pull as my shoulders have gotten stiffer over the years and it’s easier to push the spinner.
Nice! How long is your trip? I may invest in some compression cubes. My concern is exactly as you state: because you can fit more, it might be over the allowed weight limit. I did take a pretty generous personal bag in 2024 and that’s where I put all my heavier items. I also wore a sling under my hoodie and no one ever mentioned it. I may have pare down even more. What’s the weight on your spinner? My backpack is only 2.5 pounds but when you have to hoof it with that fully packed on your back, a personal bag on your shoulder, and sling…it can be a workout. May consider a spinner for the next trip…
It’s a 10 day trip. I’m flying Cathay Pacific and they weigh both the carry on and the personal item at check in. The carry on can’t be more than 22 lbs and the personal item, 7. It’ll be hot there so the clothes are light, going to the Arctic is problematic with a carry on! The spinner weighs 5.4 lbs. It’s a Travelpro Maxlite 5, currently on sale at Travelpro. I got the beautiful forest green. My rollaboard is a Maxlite 4, still going strong after 10 years of travel (and airline abuse from time to time).
Day three of OJ Damask. It smelled so nice on me the other evening I have just continued on with it.
It’s Sunday evening here, the day (and the whole weekend) has raced past.
Inspired by wearing Arte Profumi Velvet Rouge yesterday, I’ve worn Harem Soirée today. They are both warm and rich, so suitable for the cold weather we’re having.
I’m wearing Bronze Goddess yet again. It smells so good to me, in preparation for the hot weather coming, that I just don’t feel like wearing anything else.
While I was reading the comments, I just remembered that I have a ginormous bottle of 4711 somewhere, I should find it and stick it in the fridge.
It was 96F here yesterday so I only lasted a couple of hours at camper cleaning. How did I live in Florida for 30+ years? I just can’t handle the heat anymore, not only because of the temperature but because I feel like I can’t breathe. 😅
Like ringthing above, I’m in EL BG. I’ve been wearing it a lot recently and it seems like a new perfume to me, meaning I’m experiencing it differently than I used to, which seems odd. I have had to start some prescription medication in the past year and I wonder if that can affect one’s olfactory experience? I know it’s affected my ability to sleep! Anyway, I’ve never liked it THIS much previously so it’s a win/win as far as I’m concerned.
We had a scene out of The Birds this morning when I took doggo out and she stumbled (literally) across a hatchling Robin hiding in the grass. One squawk out of it and we were immediately dive bombed and chased to a different patch of grass. Robin parents don’t play.
Stay cool out there!
Hanging around at home, doing my usual cooking, cleaning. It is getting really hot outside but I will do my walk anyway.
Still continuing my cooking quests inspired by Italy. I made homemade gnocchi for the second time and this time, it came out perfectly. Last trial was a sticky mess and I was resolved to add egg this time to see if the dough was better. I did more or less the exact same thing as last time, baked mashed potato and flour, but someone the dough was perfect this time and I was able to roll and slice it easily.
I did cheat and instead of boiling the gnocchi, I put them on a sheet pain with vegetables and sausage and baked in the oven. Recipe called for shelf stable gnocchi.
Wearing a sample of Bon Parfumeur Bois Narcotique but all I can smell is the Guidance 46 on the sweater I am wearing.
I have a lot to confess this quarter when Donatella stops by.
Following many of you in Bronze Goddess but in the Nuit. Had to add some BBW At the Beach body wash and body cream for some added coconut.
SOTD is Amouage Dia Woman, just because it is beautiful.
Dia is so damn gorgeous, now if only it didn’t cost an arm and a leg.
50Roses, Have you tried Alessandro Dell’ Acqua by Alessandro Dell’ Acqua? It has a similar vibe, more rose-foward, a red-floral with an incense/musk dry down.
Dia is more ‘fresh’ to my nose, aldehyde/powdery rose.
Hi all, my SOTD is Chanel’s Cristalle EdP (vintage). I’m wafting loads of golden honeyed florals, and can’t wait for the dry down.
I’m off to the gym for more laps and vitamin D. My knee handled spin class and swimming, I’m such a happy girl!
Healthy egg white bake with spinach/veggies for breakfast is done, and cajun chicken breast is marinating – I’ll put that on the grill later post gym. I have leftover bourbon maple salmon from yesterday that I’ll enjoy for lunch.
Everything here sounds and smells good!
Everything here sounds and smells good!
Everything here sounds and smells good!
The start of another working week, I’m wearing SL’s Ecrin de Fumée.