Merry Christmas, and welcome to the weekly Perfume Chat Room, perfumistas! I envision this chat room as a weekly drop-in spot online, where readers may ask questions, suggest fragrances, tell others their SOTD, comment on new releases or old favorites, and respond to each other. The perennial theme is fragrance, but we can interpret that broadly. This is meant to be a kind space, so please try not to give or take offense, and let’s all agree to disagree when opinions differ. In fragrance as in life, your mileage may vary! YMMV.
Today is Friday, December 25, and it is Christmas Day! Happy Christmas to all who celebrate it! This year, it is a strange holiday, with church services online, many fewer gatherings, less Christmas shopping, etc. Not to mention the ongoing distractions here in the US from our crazy-making election year, which seems never to end. But, as “How The Grinch Stole Christmas” reminds us, “Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before. ‘Maybe Christmas,’ he thought, ‘doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.’” And so it does.
At Christmas 2020, my family is so thankful for our many blessings. As some of you readers know, I occasionally do a post on “What Went Well” which is a mindfulness and gratitude exercise also called “Three Blessings.” The idea is that one lists a number of things that went well, or turned out to be blessings, in a given period of time. So here are some of mine, for 2020:
- Good health for all of us, despite one daughter having had COVID 19 this fall (thankfully, she recovered quickly);
- An effective COVID 19 vaccine, which was given this week to my beloved father-in-law (our sole remaining parent/grandparent) at his assisted living facility;
- Continued employment for 3 out of the 4 working adults in our family, and an upcoming callback interview for the 4th in the New Year;
- A roof over our heads in a home we love, in spite of unexpected plumbing repairs and gaping holes in plaster ceilings beneath dismantled bathrooms (!);
- The ability to afford the repairs;
- Our loving family that has been able to live together amicably, back together under said roof, during this pandemic;
- The opportunity and ability to give gifts to each other and to various charities in these troubled times.
What about you, what are the blessings that come to your mind? Or what went well for you recently? And of course, since I mostly write here about fragrance, what fragrance are you wearing for the holidays? I’m currently in Bond No. 9’s I Love New York For Holidays. I expect to try out some of Jo Malone’s Christmas Cologne Sampler later today!
Serenity Now Scents and Sensibilities 
Merry Christmas OH! I appreciate your post regarding mindfulness and the true meaning of Christmas. I am blessed with health, family, and friends, and I’m especially thankful that my elderly Mom survived two emergency surgeries and is still with us, even though I can’t see her we can talk on the telephone.
Christmas Fragrance is Chanel LeLion, exactly what I imagined after reading reviews from those who sampled it before me. It reminds me of a blend of Chanel Cuir de Russia, Coromandel, and Guerlain’s Shalimar.
Hoping 2021 is brighter for all of us! xx
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Merry Christmas and Happy Boxing Day! That’s such a relief about your mother, how worrisome to have had any surgery during this pandemic, let alone two emergencies. Let’s hope for no more emergencies, and a gradual end to pandemic, in 2021.
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Happy Boxing Day! (I’m Canadian so this is a holiday for me too!)
Wishing everyone a brighter 2021!
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Merry Christmas! I enjoyed reading your blessings. I associate Christmas with Chanel No 5. I’ve no idea why!
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What a nice association! I hope you and your family are staying safe and well. Happy Christmas!
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Hope you had a nice Christmas. Great idea to count our blessings, this puts all in perspective. So I am happy that my family is still healthy, Noone has lost a job and I even got a tax free corona bonus. The only sad thing is that my best friend got diagnosed with liver metastases, hope this will not go too fast, because we live apart and just don’t get to see each other often.
Scent of Christmas eve was Fille en Aiguilles, yesterday I wore Kenzo Amour.
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I’m so sorry about the bad news from your best friend, that is so hard. Yes, we had a very nice Christmas, thank you! It’s normally just the five of us on Christmas Day, so that wasn’t unusual. I did miss going to church on Christmas Eve, when our kids normally sing in at least one service with the choir and we see a lot of friends. But it’s well worth it for this one year, to try to keep people healthy until the vaccine is more widespread. I’m glad your family is well! Fille en Aiguilles, what a great pick for Christmas Eve! I’m not familiar with Kenzo Amour but I’m sure it was lovely. Happy Boxing Day today! (My late mother was English, so that’s a thing for us).
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I’m very sorry to hear about your friend’s diagnosis. Best wishes for a better outcome than expected and that you get more time with her.
Kenzo Amour is such a lovely powder perfume, I love it as well.
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Christmas Day I wore Lipstick Rose.Today Boxing Day YSL Paris
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Both lovely choices!
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I’m glad you did this post: your “What Went Well” was on my mind for the last month, and I’m planning to do my post next week about it – so, thank you for the inspiration!
On Christmas Eve I wore OJ Ta’if, and on Christmas Day it was Guerlain Encens Mythique d’Orient – I forgot how much I liked it.
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Two gorgeous scents! I look forward to reading “what went well” for you, Undina. Happy New Year!
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