It's Friday and the start of the long (250!) Independence Day weekend in the US. Our community project for today: celebrate by declaring your own independence from whatever no longer serves you, and mark the occasion with the appropriate 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.
I'm still at the lake, and still commando. I suppose I am declaring my independence from the need to wear perfume every day? It is frankly too hot to wear perfume anyway. (Lame, sorry, I will not take any points at all.)
Reminder: on 7/10, wear a perfume with a lime note, if you have one.
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: top image is White Trails 2 [cropped] by Craighton Miller at flickr; some rights reserved.
Good morning or evening NST.
I found this CP to be challenging but after much thought, I chose Prada Candy to celebrate my independence from sugar. Better for me to get my sugar fix from perfume.
I guess the heat dome is moving out of here and heading east, my sympathies to all affected.
Excellent interpretation, I like it!
It is still hot here but not quite as bad as yesterday.
Great idea, ringthing!
I think this is an excellent CP interpretation ringthing plus I applaud your independence from sugar!
I like it!
Layering Santa Maria Novella Acqua della Regina and Pot Pourri today to combat the heat.
I managed to get a bit sunburned from tubing on the lake, despite constantly reapplying sunscreen!
I’m missing the horses, but I’m also grateful there are no riding lessons in this weather.
I think we’ll head to the movies this weekend and enjoy a few hours in the air conditioning.
The movies is a great idea.
I second Robin LTSG ! Any ideas what you’ll see?
LTSG, you get a Merit Badge for suggesting aluminum foil as pigeon repellent. It’s been keeping them off the light fixture that illuminates my deck. Thank you!
Thank you all for your kind words yesterday – they meant a lot.
I am sipping herbal liqueur, watching the rain and listening to a thunderstorm. I wore Diptyque Eau Capitale earlier, but switched to Ormonde Jayne Woman to match the weather and the liqueur. Kora is hiding behind the couch, as she usually does in weather like this, but I hope she will emerge once the rain lets up and the thunder subsides.
Am I CP-compliant? Only in the broadest sense. I suppose that when you wear perfume purely for yourself, you declare your independence from everyone else’s opinion. Cheers!
Yes — I know exactly what you mean about wearing for yourself!
Glannys, my heart goes out to you and all the brave Ukrainians. It’s unbelievable, what you are all living through. I’m glad you are safe. If the cumulative power of all our concern and love for you could bring this war to an end, I know it would.
Gosh DH, perfectly putting our collective will into words! If only …
Thank you. I wish the cumulative power of kindness could end the war too. Until then, it really does help to feel surrounded by so much warmth and care.
Glannys, I think this gets a solid points awards for interpretation! Plus I do love the occasional quaff and now I’m inspired to match the next one to my scent.
Aw, poor Kora kitty! So brave except when the weather acts up.
Hello and tgif!
I am declaring independence from all the toxic people in my life as they absolutely do not serve me. I am wearing Clinique Wrappings as I yell “It’s a wrap!” to those past unhealthy relationships.
Absolutely! I will join you wearing Wrappings, I’m headed to a friend’s house to make pelmeni (dumplings). It’s a new friend from my gym and she’s delightful, I can’t wait to learn her tips and tricks to her baked goodies. Maybe I’ll learn a little Ukrainian on the side.
Good for you, happy888cat. That is/was a brave and necessary step. And while it is always hard, it is also liberating. All your good vibes and love should go to those who appreciate it and beam it back tenfold, not those who suck it from you. I call them ‘energy vampires.’
Bravo H888C !
Fierce! You go!
I love your interpretation! So witty!
Spending the day in Cheirosa 62. I am hoping that I can get that lotion of it finished up tomorrow. I am slowly working on using things up and not replacing them. Will be spending my afternoon/evening with idiot customers today.
I’m twinning with you with the Body Badalada crème with C-62 scent post shower. I think my CM-6 is overpowering the C-62 but the lotion is glow so it feels and smells good going on.
Happy Friday NST!
Thoroughly enjoying the personal interpretations of independence!
SOTSQ – scent of the semiquincentennial as I’ve worn on repeat all week- Caswell-Massey No VI- as worn by George Washington (reformulated). Got a travel size so I will keep for Juy 4th annually going forward.
points!
Merci beaucoup LTSG !
You smell wonderful and very patriotic, LesLiesse.
Thank you DH! I feel like an olfactory John Phillip Sousa! 🤭
Yes, I think you get points for that one.
I’ll take all the points I can get Kris- thank you!
No points for me today: it’s so blasted hot (32ºC feels like 43º, actually worse than yesterday) that I wore something cooling and refreshing, Ô de Lancôme, and brought a vial to work just in case. More heat tomorrow, then something a little more to my taste (18º) on Sunday.
I welcome the cooler temperature too but the price is apparently 40-50% chance of rain daily for the coming week and I am not sure how I feel about that.
I think that wearing whatever you want is liberating and a strike for independence so that works!
Freedom from the heat => points!
Smelling great in O de Lancome! But oy! A Real Feel temp of 43 degrees C?? No thanks!
I don’t care for it either, but that approximately the forecast for my town for the next 10 days. That’s pretty normal for us this time of year. Ideally, I wouldn’t have to venture outside until October.
Hi all and happy 4th (early), I’m joining happy888cat in wearing Wrappings. I’ll be spending the afternoon at a friend’s house to make pelmeni (dumplings).
I’ve made chocolate chip cookies to bring over as a thank you, it should be great fun today.
Have a great day SmokeyToes! Wrappings is also a great pairing with “wrapping” pelmeni!
thanks, you too! Yep, today will be a lot of fun.
I just returned home, boy I’m exhausted but what a delightful day ❤️😊 pictures here are cheese, and green onion piroshkis, poppy seed rolls, and jelly cookies.
Here’s a few pics from my IG.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DaWbTZrD5xmPg5R-oGsjwJ–vQW9vJNdxH3_4Q0/
Yes to Wrappings! 💚
We had pelmeni at a little place in Juneau (named Pel’Meni, in fact) when we were there 20 years ago. I just looked it up, and it appears the place is still in business. The dumplings were the only item on the “menu” other than beverages. Your only choices were how many orders and which toppings to have on them. We really enjoyed them and wished we had a place like that where we live.
Wearing vintage Grey Flannel today. I recently hunted down two small old but excellent bottles online for the husband, who suddenly expressed a fondness and nostalgia for it. I had to flip through the photos on each listing to find the vintage versions (pre Elizabeth Arden and also pre a few other distributors).
I first owned it in the 1980s when I bought a bottle for myself because I liked it so much on a casual boyfriend. And therein lies a tale. The sales clerk at the department store at first refused to sell it to me. She said, are you buying this for your boyfriend, this is a men’s cologne. Yes, I know, but I like it too. You can’t buy this, it’s meant to be worn by men. But I want it, and I will call over your supervisor if you don’t sell it to me.
She grudgingly rang it up.
So I’m wearing GF to celebrate my liberation/independence from the gender shackles of perfumery. In fairness, there were very few and perhaps no unisex scents back then and we’ve come a long way. But I still remember my outrage and furor at being placed in that ridiculous position of being shamed for liking a ‘men’s’ cologne.
So if anyone is looking for vintage GF, look for splash cologne bottles, look for cologne vs edT, look for either no distributor on the bottom label or ones that don’t say EA Dist. (Elizabeth Arden). If the photo shows the box, look for a short ingredient list or one that still includes oakmoss.
Yes DeniseH! I applaud your bravery then to go for what you wanted and be fearless and ahead of the times. We have truly come a long way and what we think are trivial today were not so easy back in the days. We have trailblazers like you to thank!
Hi Denise! Thanks for the tips on identifying various vintages, it’s such a crap shoot these days.
I had the same conversation with a sales associate in the 1980’s, I loved GF, Fendi Uomo, and Dior’s Fahrenheit but the SA couldn’t wrap her head why a woman would love and wear a men’s perfume. In the end, she sold it to me after I mentioned I’d spritz it on my sweaters to remind me of my BF. A little white lie but no one got hurt. 😉
DH, you smell divine! And I share your outrage at the ridiculousness of being able to purchase it for a man as a gift but not for yourself. And thanks for the bottle tips! Geoffrey Beene such a brilliant designer!
Well, this is quite a coincidence… I’m wearing vintage Grey Flannel, as well, (and I sprayed it long before I read your post!) What are the odds?
I didn’t choose it for any particular reason today, but I love the story of why you’re wearing it. And I know you smell fabulous.😊
The best kind of twinning! And you too smell divine!
How weird that a salesperson even cares who’s going to be wearing it. Don’t they want to make the sale?
I had a classmate in junior high who fearlessly wore Dior Eau Sauvage (which is firmly unisex by today’s standards, but such a thing didn’t really exist in the seventies): she was the one who put it into my head that fragrances didn’t have to have gender, although it was another five years or so before I was comfortable shopping on the women’s side of the aisle (because you do not shake these things easily).
I am thankful that sales associates have come a long way in their attitudes about who buys what scent. I didn’t have any trouble when I purchased a bottle of Dior Higher for myself in the early 2000’s.
Lillyjo, I am so sorry you are having a hard time with wretched customers at work and with finding insurance for your son. We want to protect our kids even when they are adults and it’s heartrending to see how expensive everything is for us and for them. Many hugs to you and your family.
Thank you DeniseH. ❤️
Happy 250th birthday to the US – fingers crossed for your next 250 years!
I’m sitting on the couch contemplating the joy of the weekend, sniffing last night’s perfume still on my clothes, Amouage Overture, one of the bottles Kanuka gave me. I tried Overture when it was released and I wasn’t too sure about it, but it’s growing on me 🙂 .
It’s a strange one. The apple booziness , like calvados, is sometimes too much. I have the same problem with Immortal Beloved. Have a good weekend. Hope your mum is doing okay and back home.
I join you 🤞🤞🤞! I’d also like to join you in contemplating the joy of the weekend- definitely a time to remember blessings and simple pleasures!
Thanks for the well wishes on America’s 250th!
I’m still commando but have not been inactive: I’ve been making potato salad, and it’s at the nice halfway point now with the potatoes boiled, peeled, chopped, now chilling in a light vinaigrette along with diced onions. Later on I’ll add the other things (mayo, mustard, pickle relish, celery, cider vinegar). Yummy. I’ll be taking them along with Hebrew National hot dogs over to a friend’s house for our annual party tomorrow. She used to have a terrific view of the fireworks over downtown from her roof terrace, but new construction blocked a lot of it. We can still see some of it though. I might make some sort of fruit dessert too.
I hope you have a nice evening.
Thank you, I’ll be taking it over tomorrow. Just checked on the chilling potatoes and they needed more salt. Wow, they really do need a lot of salt! I’d already salted the water they boiled in and given them one sprinkling.
I’ve now had my shower and gotten dressed, and have sprayed on Ylang Ylang Nosy Be, just because I like it, and good things like perfume are pleasant and harmless.
I’m wearing the somewhat ridiculous Banana Toast ( which smells like bananas fried in butter and sprinkled with brown sugar and then caramelised). I guess it could represent independence from taking perfume too seriously. Have a happy 4th of July to USA
LOL, that’s funny. Normally I detest bananas and especially their smell, but caramelized, they’re pretty fantastic. Enjoy!
Had to google that…it’s the NZ brand Amberjack? Sounds fantastic to me.
Severe weather headed our way and doggo has already staked her claim in the bathroom between the shower and the toilet, apparently the safest place in her opinion. She has a nice cozy bed in there, which is where she likes to “den” if I’m out.
On my third night working and wearing a boatload of AG Ninfeo Mio which is light, bright, and sunny- a wonderful way to combat ominous skies and stifling heat. It’s so miserable out my A/C is struggling to keep up.
Hope everyone stays as cool as possible and hydrated with “good for you” liquids over the holiday weekend here in the U.S. Heat stroke is no joke….☀️
My little 😺 is joining doggo and has already retreated to her favorite under-the-bed spot from today’s earlier storms that you’re probably getting too. Hope you have an uneventful work night!
Thanks Laila! Hope all the storms skip right past you! 🙂
Poor dog. I have a friend in Maine now whose cat is hiding due to thunder. I hope you stay fresh in your Ninfeo Mio.
Incidentally, is your area getting that horrible virus that is causing havoc to people’s digestive systems in a lot of the Midwest? I”m worried about my Michigan family members because the state is apparently very hard hit by it.
Are you referring the cyclospora parasite? Yes, I’ve had a couple of patients here who have contracted it. All have been immunocompromised and/or critically ill with underlying comorbidities. I don’t think it’s widespread here so far, but honestly, who is really tracking things like this now? The U.S. public health system has been almost completely dismantled. I’m sure there are some people who are positive but haven’t reported it and since they are generally healthy and have cleared it on their own without any type of intervention from the healthcare system. So, guessing some cases are going unreported. But, I think if you follow guidelines as far as handling produce and hand washing your chance of contracting is significantly minimized. If you’re immunocompromised, then a higher lever of diligence is certainly needed.
Stay safe Deva! Storms here too today.
You too, lillyjo! I haven’t been in the Midwest for a long while and forgot how scary these summer storms can be! ⛈️
Poor T-Rex! Teflon kitty can commiserate. I am surprised that she hasn’t done the duck and cover with the wind howling like a banshee here lately.
Fortunately at this time, life is serving me well, so for today’s cp I’ve reached back in time to when I somewhat reluctantly decided to retire, both for personal and professional reasons. But that decision was the right one that led to my free and independent self! I’m celebrating that by wearing a fragrance I often wore to work and hardly have worn since but one that my free and independent self can still love as much as my professional self loved, Bvlgari Blv.
I love its ginger note giving it a spicy edge, and it somehow manages to be clean and refreshing as well as warm and comforting. And it’s one of many fragrances I loved and later discovered was created by one of my favorite perfumers, Alberto Morillas. Plus its bright blue is in harmony with the colors of this holiday weekend 🇺🇸, and layered harmoniously over BBW’s Sea Island Cotton satisfies my July theme of sea/sky/blue.
We had a nasty thunderstorm last night and several very nasty ones this afternoon and I’m not sure if we’re going to our town’s annual fireworks event tonight or even if it will be held, as additional storms are possible. The friends we always go with have already bowed out. Disappointing but there are more events tomorrow which might be a little better weatherwise so that might be a possibility 🤞🙏.
Hope everyone has a great holiday weekend and stays safe from this crazy weather so many of us have been experiencing.
I love your take on retirement as the achieving of independence!
It does look like tomorrow will be the better weather.
Oh, I like your scents today.
Yes, this weather has been nuts in the Midwest. Every night we have gotten some type of storm-wind, rain, hail, etc. It is so humid here that I feel like I am in Florida.
Hope you stay safe, no matter what you decided for tonight’s activities. I can’t believe how many tornadoes IL has been hit with this year. Unreal.
Today I am celebrating my independence from caring what people ( strangers) think about me. There was a time, even 10 years ago that I would not leave the house without make-up. Slowly, I have just stopped caring in a good way. I still would never show up somewhere in my slippers. My New Balance are pretty comfy. Lol. I am wearing vintage Poison to match my attitude. I only sprayed once though. Not caring what other’s think isn’t a reason to be obnoxious.
Lillyjo, I reached this very same conclusion later in my life. How incredibly LIBERATING it is to o longer give a flying fart about the opinions of strangers, co-workers, and acquaintances! Wheee! 🙃
As for shoes, I’ve been wearing my crocs Getaway Strappy sandals EVERYWHERE except to bed and work. Crocs get a bad rap, but these are the MOST comfortable shoes ever- just a big squishy hug for my feet! 🦶
The most comfortable shoes I have ever worn are my SAS “Relaxed” sandals. They are what I wear most of the time that I am wearing shoes. I do wear proper footwear for mowing the lawn or doing other yardwork or home maintenance, and I wear closed shoes or boots in chilly weather, but I wear my sandals most of the year. They are not cheap, but they are very well made and durable and have never given me a moment of discomfort.
Good for you! As for perfume, I pretty much only wear what I like and I probably should just give away everything else.
But sometimes when you re-smell something to give away, you fall in love again!
Not giving a fat rat’s patootie can be rather fun, right? But yes, no need to be a jerk about it. You do you, in your gentle way.
Exactly!
I distinctly remember being VERY young and thinking what a shame to get older and no longer care about what you look like to others. HA, what a joy it is to stop worrying about it and only worry about pleasing yourself!
Robin, I thought the same thing. I thought I would be Joan Collins and caking my face forever!
Bravo LLJ! And I’m late hearing it but I am sorry for the difficulties you’ve been having helping your son secure health insurance!
Thank you LesLiesse!
I’ve had the same experience, Lillyjo, and it IS liberating. I’ll wear Navegar today, for navigating this new life chapter.
I like to say that somebody flipped on the “I don’t care” switch in my brain when I turned 50, and then it went into hyperdrive when I turned 60. It’s hard to explain sometimes to those who haven’t gone through it yet. Like you, I don’t use it as an excuse to be obnoxious, and I certainly don’t mean that I think it’s OK to harm anyone else or ignore common courtesy or decency. I just don’t care about other people’s opinions on things that frankly don’t have any impact on them.
My best take on the CP was wearing Prescriptives Calyx for 22-year-old me, declaring my independence from my family and a toxic ex-boyfriend who liked me in really loud ’80s scents. Best I’ve got for this week. It’s been a very long, trying week and I will be happy for it to be over, though I’m not looking forward to next week, either.
Ugh, sorry your navigating choppy waters at the moment. Also, wanted to wish you a belated Happy Canada Day! 🇨🇦
Thanks! It was low key for me — no big vacation plans until the end of August. Though I have a surprise trip to Cincinnati next week for my grandmother’s memorial service. She was ready to go, but I was never going to be ready for it. Here’s hoping the service is the quiet event she wanted, and that unwanted family members don’t turn up to create drama to feed their need for it.
I hope they stay away!
Fingers crossed, hope it exactly what it should be.
Hope you find peace and. comfort at your grandmother’s memorial service.🤗
Sending hugs ockeghem. 🩵
You do smell wonderful.
Sending more hugs your way. I hope the memorial service for your grandmother is everything you need it to be.
Song of the Day:
https://youtu.be/diYAc7gB-0A?list=RDdiYAc7gB-0A
Fits perfectly with today’s CP, I think!
SOTD = commando. No particular reason why. But sometimes in perfumista circles not wearing scent is the most radical thing that can be done. But I was quite pleased to see a couple of people choosing Wrappings.
Jalapeno, I had to get my headphones when I clicked the song of the day. This is the best music video ever made imo.
I had that song running thru my head last night. Figured I needed to share!
I take a break at times too. Have a happy 4th of I don’t post over the weekend.
I hope you get to enjoy the holiday weekend!
Wow, whole lotta pretty people in that video. I had forgotten how gorgeous Linda Evangelista was back in the day.
Yep, definitely!
SOTD = Chanel No. 22 EDT
Yes! It is excellent! So a little late today and I did not even post yesterday. In case you want to know, I wore Chanel Bois des Iles EDT.
I have been reading the “digital” papers quite a bit and was also finishing up Shameless (finally done!).
In any case, this is for the “younger” ones of us in the flaw of relying on the 4% rule when deciding whether or not to contribute more to your 401(k) if you’re not at your max. The current method assumes no compounded interest. It’s from the Wall Street Jounal.
https://www.wsj.com/personal-finance/retirement/flaw-401-k-statement-36a3e08f?st=9u9YJE&reflink=article_copyURL_share
Hope you get a break from that ridiculously hot weather soon!
Happy 4th hajusuuri! I hope you have a great weekend!
Nothing new around my house but storms every night this week.
I have been good about not buying any new perfumes recently. I have everything I want for the time being although I have been thinking about that Eau des Merveilles Bleue. I have not tried it, but I know many of you like it. So, thinking about that today I decided to wear Eau des Merveilles. No points.
I had some wild weather here last night as well. Strong wind came howling thru the area. I could feel my apartment building shaking, and some stuff almost flew off my deck and disappeared for good. I managed to save most of it.
I had a sample of Bleue and liked it. It was easy to wear.
Your storm’s stayed to my north this week. The humidity though has been awful. I don’t want to see the A/C bill!
Joining you in storms – 2 heavy ones this afternoon and 1 heavy one tonight messing up our town’s fireworks event. The EdM Bleue is awesome – it’s similar to the original EdM but with an added seasalty vibe. I ❤️both!
And you smell gorgeous in it Kris!
Late posting (I blame the World Cup!) and wearing SL Fumerie Turque.
I don’t know what FT this has to do with independence but I do know that I am an enthusiastic believer in Inter-dependence!
Did I miss anything good with the World Cup?
The game between Argentina and Cape Verde was excellent but nail biting and I was rooting for CV, who lost😔