It's Friday, plus, World Emoji Day, World Day for International Justice and David Hasselhoff’s birthday. Our community project for today is Decades Friday...name a favorite decade, and wear a fragrance to fit your choice. (This has been suggested by multiple people, and is possibly a repeat.)
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.
The 1990s was one of my favorite decades, but fragrance-wise, it's all a blur...I don't think I was paying much attention to perfume. Early in the 90s I was probably still wearing Prescriptives Calyx, but I stopped buying it because the bottles often spoiled before I finished them, and I eventually let my Yves Saint Laurent Paris run out as well. The fragrance I associate most with the decade, CK One, I never even owned, although the samples were given out like candy so I did wear it quite a bit. Today I'm doing a corrective: I'm wearing an Olivia Giacobetti fragrance from 1993, L'Eau de L'Artisan, even though I'm pretty sure I would not have appreciated it at the time.
Reminder: there will be a project next Friday! Can you believe I have not yet restocked the Friday projects? Again? It is on my list of things to do this weekend.
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 shows detail from the 1994 campaign for CK One.
CK One is the scent I most associate with the 90s but like you Robin, I didn’t actually own it.
I’m in Dune, which is one of the greatest perfumes to come out of the 90s imo. I didn’t wear this one at the time either because it was a colleague’s signature scent. Now it is a permanent part of my rather small collection.
My 90s nostalgia was reignited when we watched Northern Exposure after it was added to Prime awhile back. It really made me homesick for those days….no internet, no social media, film cameras, magazines, actual telephones, CDs (no Spotify), and the list goes on and on. It was a great time. Sigh.😔
The air quality here is awful, but it’s even worse in the northern part of the state where both my girls are working at summer camp- a job that requires them to be outside most of the time. I have been obsessively checking the airnow interactive map of air quality just praying that the winds will switch soon!
Gosh, I would think that with that level of extremely hazardous air, the camp would have to move things inside. If Chicago closed pools and lake beaches, then a camp ought to be responsible–no one should be outside all day, let alone, doing any sort of vigorous activities!
They closed all pools here today for the 2nd day in a row too.
Dune smells so much like the 90’s to me. I wore it when it first came out. It’s magical. Sometimes I can’t wear it now, because it’s so nostalgic it can actually make me sad for that time if I am not in the right mood.
Oh, I love Dune, your memories are so precious, I remember wearing Duje and watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Charmed (on repeat, because I had a mad crush on Angel). 🙂
Dune and Clinique’s Wrappings were top two for me in the 1990’s! I adored AV by Adrienne Vittadini as well.
Count me as another who loves Dune, been wearing it a long time but probably not during the 90’s either. And I loved your 90’s nostalgia list; somehow we managed to live pretty full lives back then with ‘real’ things.
Dune was an option for me today, but it’s just a smidge too hot for me to wear it comfortably. It’s amazing how well it ages in the bottle.
I too had a pile of samples of CK One, those little aluminum milk bottles, and of CK Be as well, so I never bothered to buy either.
My decade is the eighties, when I began to really get into fragrance. I’m wearing Calvin Klein Obsession for Men — my bottle isn’t vintage 1986 but from the early 2000s, which is just as well, because I’m at work and the original stuff was absolutely nuclear. Reformulations toned that down while still leaving it recognizable: I have no idea what a bottle on the shelf these days smells like.
The 80’s was a fun time that produced quite a few perfume power hitters.
Although not often, I do love it when I wear these “oldies” and have young kids ask “What is that, it’s so good!”.
Also the little aluminum vials were a big piece of the fun…
I’m firmly in the 1970s this morning in Private Collection parfum, courtesy of a very sweet NSTer. The interwebs tell me that this cost $70 an ounce when initially released in 1973, and that was more than my entire budget for one semester’s books at the time. (Just that is mind-blowing — a single textbook today is probably at least double that.) My rent for my on-campus living space (about the size of a dorm room) was $32 a month (bathrooms down the hall of course), so $70 was a LOT then. Still, if I’d known about perfume minis, I would probably have had a conversation with Santa about Private Collection — what a glorious thing it was.
I just realized that 1973 was still high school for me, so I was still living with my parents and yearning for independence, and that conversation with Santa could’ve been a hint in the spoiled boyfriend’s ear instead. 🤑🤣
Wow, that really was expensive for the time.
Hello and tgif!
I love the 90’s and I think 00’s and after are all just a big blur and honestly okay, meh.
My sotd is one of my favourites from the early 90’s, EL Spellbound. Truly captivating scent and perfectly named.
Whitney continued to top charts and amaze the world with her talent and I just have to mention her I Will Always Love You (1992).
https://youtu.be/3JWTaaS7LdU?si=dHPAdsn0YWwqEF8y
90’s also marked the rise of Canada’s most famous cultural export, Celine Dion. Starting with her Grammy winning Beauty and the Beast (1991).
https://youtu.be/pgYEJHJXFB4?si=Z9iZRhKwFABkp7bw
Spellbound was a masterpiece. My bottle started going just a little wonky up at the very top years ago but somehow hasn’t gotten any worse, and it still smells incredible.
Celine Dion’s music is mostly not to my taste but she is a hugely talented singer. It’s a voice for the ages.
The perfume gods blessed your bottle of Spellbound! I wasn’t as lucky and my bottle turned years ago so I had to repurchase the newly repackaged version, which is very likely reformulated despite still smelling beautiful.
Celine does have a very unique voice. She can sing a single note and you’ll be able to tell it’s her.
Oh, you smell marvelous! When I first tried Spellbound, I didn’t care for it but it grew on me after a few wearings. The resinous dry down is spectacular.
Thank you! I fell in love with it from the first spritz. It really is a thing of beauty.
I’m wearing L’Heure Bleue, a fragrance appropriate for a world on the cusp of the biggest and most damaging war it had ever seen. It almost smells nostalgic for what was about to be lost, moody and dreamy.
Beautifully expressed and you smell equally beautiful as your comment!
2nd that!
Once again, welcome to my DeLorean, which runs not on plutonium, but on imagination and perfume.
Today I am travelling to the 2000s. Can you believe they started more than 20 years ago? I am wearing Mugler Cologne, released in 2001, which perfectly embodies the clean, sleek, hi-tech Y2K aesthetic.
“If you’re going to build a time machine into a car, why not do it with some style?” The quote may come from the 1980s, but I think it somehow feels right for Mugler Cologne.
Indeed! I believe The Youngs are sighing over early-aughts fashion, which is now officially Vintage.
I remember everyone freaking out about the “Y2K bug”, which wasn’t really a bug at all. It was a feature.
Glannys, we have a DeLorean at the museum where I volunteer and it’s hands down our most popular car for visitors to see, regardless of age or nationality. In fact I started French Duolingo study after butchering my presentation of the car en français to two French automotive journalists after ten minutes of wincing. One of them grabbed my phone and insisted I download the app tout de suite.
The quote and scent are a stylish combination and very apropos to each other. Bravo !
Visiting the aughts, the first decade of my perfume love (beyond Cristalle and Dioressimo). Wearing Bendelirous, which I believe I bought in Portland at one of those curated stores of (back then) $100 t-shirts and one line of perfume.
Bendelirous is being its usual exuberant self, on a grey day. Rain is gratefully accepted during our drought, mind, and even last night’s rare thunderstorm gave us some excitement.
I think of J B when someone mentions Bendelirous. Hope he’s doing well.
Cool day here, after the thunderstorms rumbled through last night. We were at dinner at some friends’ house, right on the water, and it was pretty amazing to watch.
Since it’s cool out, I’ll probably reach for vintage Poison today, reaching back to the late ’80s era where I was a fashion-loving, German speaking, orchestral musician high school misfit, well out of place in the rural Midwest. (Does anyone remember Taxi magazine? I LOVED it — loved that hard-edged, boundary-pushing high end fashion.)
That said, I never actually *wore* Poison in the ’80s, but my aunt dragged me on a mission for it in about 1987. I didn’t get a bottle until it was available at the PX on a US base in Germany and I had a boyfriend who’d pay for it. 🙂 My ’80s was Liz Claiborne (red triangle) and Colours by Benetton, both of which I imagine are lost to the ages.
Envying your cool weather, multilingualism, and musical talent. 🙂
I had that red triangle bottle too!
Wearing a Clinique Happy mini that is still good. I came of age in the late 90’s. Things were a little simpler then. Not too many people had computers, let alone the internet, social media was still in it’s infancy, the technology wasn’t as advanced advanced in general then.
Clinique happy definitely reminds me of the 90’s.
Your Clinique Happy is a well-deserved blockbuster scent and you smell marvelous.
In the 90’s we were all coming down from the neon high that was the 80’s. It was the ere if Nirvana, the fall of the Soviet Union, and the start up of the Gulf War. I was still a relatively new nurse and most of my life revolved around medicine and dogs. I was new to ER nursing, a veritable greenhorn and scared to death I’d miss something and end up killing someone. I was working mids and meeting up with co-workers at local outdoor bars after work to enjoy a few adult beverages. Then we’d strap on our roller blades and bomb around downtown, flying down parking garage ramps at the speed of sound, curb hopping, and acting like all around fools much of the time. Did I wear a helmet? No. Did a trauma surgeon take me aside later that week to bring me into a trauma bay to see a biker who had been hit by a car and was alive only because he had his helmet on? Yes. Was his ear resting on the pillow next to his head in saline soaked gauze? Yes. Did he have a TBI? Most likely. I’ll never forget her because she had a huge personality wrapped up in 12 year old kid size body. She was late to her shift one day, having been pulled over for speeding across the Howard Frankland. According to her, the police asked something along the lines of “Do you know how fast you were going?” To which she responded, “I’m driving a Porsche, it’s supposed to go fast.” She was the the epitome of crusty, sarcastic exterior worn like a suit of armor to protect the softness inside. I’ve met a lot of people in medicine like this and I’ve loved everyone of them. ❤️
The 90’s were also my Vanilla Lace era and to this day I miss it terribly. Vanilla, in some iteration, will always be at the top of my “favorite fragrance” list. So today, I’m in Chopard Casmir, released in 1991. I only happened across this spicy little gem thanks to kind swappers here on NST. 🙂
Thanks for letting me wander down memory lane this week. 🙃
Wow, you should write a memoir!
I agree!
It was so well written, I was sad to finish reading so quickly, I went back for round 2.
Deva, I love reading your memories.
You smell great in Casmir. I’m glad you discovered it.
I agree! It’s not just that they’re fun and meaningful, but the way she writes–I mean, the way YOU write, Deva, is so full of zest and acerbic wit!
You said what I wanted to say but didn’t know how to say it!
Casmir! I need to find my mini and dab it tonight for bed. FYI, I love that story, and agree with others, your witty personality definitely shines!
Re: the doc, I probably would have said the same to an officer if I was pulled over – I drive a fast car and have to watch it. We all need a mentor like that in our lives, she sounds like a total riot.
Casmir was one of the bottles I sighed over as a broke college student, along with Tuscany per Donna and Prescriptives Calyx.
Oh, I adore Tuscany per Donna, EL made so many beauties back in the day.
I chose the 1970s and then dithered between Polo, Rive Gauche and Silences. Polo won out. It is a old Warner bottling so I am an oakmoss and pine cloud.
Great choice!
You smell great! Nice bottle with Warner. I lucked into a bottle of Lauren marked with Warner a few years ago.
Sampling MPG Cuir Fetiche today, w/ a grateful hat tip to Oakland Fresca 🤠 who has mentioned it a few times, and it’s lovely! Getting flowers, powder and leather w/ an overall chypre construction to my nose.
Yesterday I wore Bengale Rouge and was surprisingly underwhelmed w/ this go round. I drained a 1 ml dabber a couple months ago and was ready to buy a FB but figured I would order a 2 ml spray to be prudent…not really my style but I was already placing an order. 😉 ehaeheh This sample seemed much thinner and kind of sharp in the opening thought the middle and dry down got closer to what I loved in my original sample. Maybe it’s heat? Maybe my nose? Will try again and see. My original sample seemed thick and more lush but maybe it was older and more macerated. A good lesson to sample twice and potentially not cut/buy at all. 📏😁
Definitely sample again. Sometimes it’s just the wrong day to wear something.
Agree with lillyjo about sampling at a later time. Maybe your new sample just needs more age on it.
I’m back again in the very early 2000s wearing Intuition from Estée Lauder. I have nearly a full bottle on hand of the original, because I wore it a lot there for awhile, but then no longer wanted to be near it after getting divorced. It’s long enough ago that I can put some on now but I no longer like it–it’s awfully sweet. Probably I should give this bottle away, because I’ve read that the reformulation is nothing like it and some people miss it.
Oh I have a few “get outta my sight” perfumes associated with ex-bfs that weren’t nice. Whereas I used to gag and rumble, now I just roll my eyes at the sight of the bottles. Lol.
I think we all do. I adored the original Michael, by Michael Kors, but as that was my signature scent I wore with my ex fiance, I can’t bring myself to spritz it. And that was my heart scent back in the early 2000s.
Happy Friday!
Picking the ‘20s, The Roaring 1920’s that is. And wearing Shalimar L’Essence, 100th anniversary fragrance in honor.
World War I and the 1918 Flu Pandemic wreaked havoc in both sides of my family, but by 1922 things were getting much much better and continued until the Crash in October 1929.
Some of you may remember that Shalimar was a special part of my parents’ love story.
I remember. Perfect choice LesLiesse.
Kay + Joe = TLA True Love Always
Sounds like you have a nice collection of Shalimar to remember your parents’ story by.
Yes, Mom’s original 1st anniversary bottle and my Shalimar.
Another round of 1987 Byzance for me. ❤️
Excellent!
Also thinking of the 90s in Goutal’s Neroli–really pretty, and somewhat of a distraction from the extremely toxic air.
Saw on Amelia’s Beauty Chat that Guerlain is coming out with an (update/flanker?) of L’Heure Bleu–top: fresh, breezy ozonic accord
heart: iris, orange blossom base: intense vanilla & ambroxan. HMMM.
I like the sounds of an updated L’Heure Bleue with less powder but “ambroxan” has me shaking in my boots. I hope they use it judiciously.
I’m also hoping your air clears soon☀️
Ugh.. shaking with you.
Ack. “Breezy ozonic accord” is code for run away very far, very fast for me.
I don’t know the scent but 1987, a memorable year!
Oops- wrong place for this comment, but I’m hoping the L’Heure Bleue update will be successful 🤞
Fresh strawberries. My brother arrived from Provence this afternoon. There are at least two exhibitions I’m dying to see, Zurbaran and Ramses. This morning it was Private Collection, twin with SheriG but my is EDT, bottle is most likely from the 90’s, it still has a very golden hue, not like the transparent liquid of today. Tonight it’s Morny Sandalwood, a British drugstore brand but as it is from the seventies it may very well have Mysore sandalwood and smells so plush, Morny is well-known for soaps, still made to this day but their fragrances are long discontinued.
How nice your brother is visiting this summer. Will you be doing your autumn trip this year?
Thank you Lillyjo, oh yes, I will go in early September.
Ooh I love Zurbaran!
So glad you love this somewhat underrated master.
There’s an exhibit on Pharaoh Ramses in your area? That’s definitely worth seeing.
Isn’t it exciting? Artifacts come directly from the Cairo museum.
You and your brother will be seeing each other twice within a few months? How marvelous!
Thank you LesLiesse, he was supposed to come here in spring originally but it became summer😀
Îm glad he’s getting out of the crippling heat in France. The temperature numbers I saw sounded more like Palm Springs than Provence or Paris!
I remain unable to decide on a favourite decade, all the decades in my lifetime had their ups and downs!
With the mentions of Dune, I might wear that today. I don’t recall ever smelling it until recent years, Kanuka gave me a nearly full bottle and I’m enjoying it.
Back in the 80s and 90s, I was resolutely determined not to follow trends, so I would never try something that was advertised in a department store. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but it leaves me unable to relate to NSTers nostalgia for CK One 🙂 !
I feel that way too Gaynor…I don’t know that I really have a favorite.
Hi all! Today’s SOTD was created in 1980, Shiseido’s Murasaki from the burgundy bottle. I first tried this in 1984 when I worked at Maas Brothers shoe department, I would head to the Shiseido counter for a spritz on my break, and admire the gorgeous Shiseido ads and makeup. I didn’t know at the time that Serge Lutens was the creative director but I fell in love with everything Shiseido, the perfume, ads, and makeup and of course, Uncle Serge. This fragrance manages to be meditative, light, green, and comforting. I adore the gardenia, orris, galbanum, and hyacinth flowers. Simply an amazing combination of flowers with depth.
Murasaki is such an elegant classic scent. I tried it post 80’s I believe. And later on, from my trip to Tokyo, I bought myself a bottle as a souvenir.
Another (sadly discontinued) stunner from Shiseido is Saso (1987). It’s more oriental and opulent than Murasaki but all the same elegant.
Oh Saso was beautiful. Shiseido made such wonderful scents back in the day. I have a few bottles of the original Zen in that lovely rock-shaped black bottle with the gold floral decoration. The bottle design itself is soothing.
These are the bottles of Zen.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CBqMxUsBwsV/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
I made a quick trip to Colorado to see my grandkids and didn’t bring much with me—packed into a backpack, which worked because it’s summer and because we left some things here with them. All that to say, if I could participate in the CP, I would be wearing my 70s/80s fragrances: Worth Je Reviens, Shiseido Inoui and CK Obsession. I’ll be back at it this Sunday. 🙂
Enjoy your trip! I’m with you on the Je Reviens, all due to my wonderful late MIL, who gifted me with a tiny blue bottle of the pure perfume she brought back from a cruise, and I’ve loved it and still wear it since then.
♥️
You showed up just in time for some semi-decent weather and air quality!
Pretty warm but wonderful!
You would smell divine! Have fun with the grandkids!
Thanks – we are having a blast!
AQI is now 120 for my area – down from ‘dangerous’ to ‘unhealthy for sensitive groups,’ the best since Wednesday, as the smoke has moved north, but it will be returning tomorrow night into Sunday. However, our pools are all still closed and both of the Friday night concerts we love have also been postponed. So it’s still another ‘inside’ day (except for a quick trip to Aldi this morning wearing our masks to and from the car as it was still bad then), and I guess the only thing to do is to have Mr. Laila take me to dinner to our favorite local seafood restaurant.😋
For Decades Friday, I’ve chosen the decade beginning 2010, because that’s when my grandtwins were old enough (and potty-trained!) to start spending overnights and weekends at Grandma and Grandpa’s house, and I have so many beautiful memories of all the times spent together – children’s programs at our library, outdoor summer concerts (yes, even then!), lots of swim time at my favorite pool along with swimming lessons, camping trips, trips to White Sox baseball games and White Sox baseball camps at our local park with visits from mascot Southpaw – all culminating in a trip to Disney World in Florida for their eighth birthday. SOTD for this cp is Eau Des Merveilles Bleue, launched in 2016. All the beauty of the original EdM I love so much, with salty seawater notes added. I didn’t wear it back then, just recently discovered it, but it’s perfect to capture those wonderful memories of summer fun, so much of which revolved around the frequent water-related joy we experienced in those years with my little ones.
Thanks to all for sharing your favorite decade memories, I’ve really enjoyed reading them!
Glad to hear that your air is not as bad today!
Also glad to hear that your air quality is improving.
And could you adopt me, Laila? Your life sounds so fun!
What gorgeous special memories Laila! Thank you for sharing them and you smell oh so merveilleuse yourself!
Lucky you! I woke to about 250something, and it is now almost 11 pm and it has dropped to 187. Ha! I am still hopeful for tomorrow.
SOTD = CdG Sticky Cake
Lovely gourmand!
In other news, how about some Ranch dressing, courtesy of the Wall Street Journal:
https://www.wsj.com/business/world-cup-ranch-dressing-hidden-valley-089ff6ce?st=GzGue5&reflink=article_copyURL_share
I’ve been watching the ranch social media videos. They are very fun. I had no idea it wasn’t widely available outside of the U.S.
So I actually have not watched any of the Ranch commercials but I may have to!
Ranch dressing was only good when my Mom made it herself from those little seasoning packets. Then again, almost everything was better when Mom made it.
It really does taste different than the bottled version.
So true about how good food tastes when mom made it!
Wow HJS I really enjoyed the WSJ article! Although I admit I don’t care for Ranch dressing myself, I always have it available for guests when I serve salad.
Oy! It’s so good when you have people over. I need to get my house in shape for visitors!
HJS, it’s strictly come as you are and the house is as it is over here with all the health challenges. My cousins are queens of making do and stretching it out when they come over to help.
Living vicariously through everyone’s great choices. It’s been a hot week so I’ve been mostly unscented, except for lots of sunscreen since I’ve spent several days at the beach. Today it’s super-windy out so we didn’t even get the floaties in the water.
If I was wearing something, it would probably be Dior Poison from the ’80’s!
Glad that you are staying hydrated and sunscreened up!
Perfect 80’s perfume!
ITA w LLJ! Perfect 80´s perfume!
Songs of the Day:
https://youtu.be/MznHdJReoeo?list=RDMznHdJReoeo
https://youtu.be/CK3C9XZcTbM?list=RDCK3C9XZcTbM
Headed into the 1990’s with my musical selection today.
I had a good case of Perfumus Interruptus during the 1980’s and 1990’s. As a broke college student, then a broke wage slave trying to pay off student loans, I could afford to sniff at the department store counters and that was about it. I didn’t start my perfume mania until the early 2000’s.
SOTD = Clinique Wrappings. It came out in 1990, right during my “I am so broke” era. It’s a 4-season beauty for me.
You know I don’t think I’ve ever seen Wrappings at the clinique counter here. I used to buy my mom’s make-up for her there.
For years they did a gift set of perfume spray plus lotion at Christmastime, which is how I got mine, but it’s been discontinued for some time now, which is criminal. If a supernova had a smell, it would be Wrappings. Great stuff.
Agree with pyramus. I used to see Wrappings gift sets at certain department stores around Xmas back in the day. But I never purchased back then. I ended up getting mine from the Clinique website back around 2020-ish.
Perfect song of the day pick! And you smell perfect in your Wrappings!
I get the biggest grin on my face whenever I hear Jesus Jones on the radio. Wonder what ever happened to them? That band was gone in a flash.
Wrappings always reminds me of you.
I don’t mind being associated with Wrappings at all. Thanks!
A classic, perfect for a Friday!
I’m finally getting to sit down and post my sotd. I’m wearing Angel edp for the 90’s. I didn’t wear it when it came out. I just couldn’t understand the gourmond category. I can happily wear it now. My least favorite 90’s perfumes were the sporty one’s. Polo Sport, Cool Water, Curve Woman. I kind of miss them now though.
I didn’t wear Angel when it first came out either. In fact, the first time I smelled it, I was horrified. That has certainly changed!
You smell beautiful Lillyjo! While not much of a perfumista herself, Mom loved this on launch and wore it regularly through the 90s. I did not understand it or appreciate it myself at the time, preferring Calvin Klein Escape. Of course now I realize how she was ahead of her time.
So iconic.
You smell beautiful, if not a little overwhelming depending upon how it’s applied!
My SOTM was yet another Olivia Giacobetti masterpiece for L’Artisan Parfumeur, Passage d’Enfer from 1999. It is usually fleeting on me so I sprayed myself in the excess of her talent as a perfumer, her 1993 beauty, L’Eau de L’Artisan (Hi Twin, Robin!). I planned on the 90’s from this perfume house but the Olivia Giacobetti Hat Trick (nod to the World Cup) was a surprise.
I get an AC/DC earworm every time I hear the name of your SOTD. The contrast between those two genres amuses the daylights outta me.
It must have amused Olivia Giacobetti too!
Twins!