Welcome to the Friday 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, March 24, and Spring has sprung! We’ve gone in just a couple of days from temps below freezing at night, back to sunny and in the 70s. The pollen is flying everywhere leaving yellow dust in its wake and all over cars. All over everything, actually. Thank goodness for non-drowsy antihistamines!
I still have daffodils, azaleas, and dogwoods in bloom, and one rose bush that has started blooming its head off. In honor of William Morris’ birthday today, NST’s community project is to wear a scent that can be matched with anything to do with him — his art, his designs, his books and poems — whatever. I love William Morris designs, so I matched one of my favorites (actually designed for him by J.H. Dearle) called “Daffodil” with my beloved Ostara, by Penhaligon.
All the spring scents are jumbled together outside in a charming melange that includes grass, flowers, trees, dirt, and rain. My poor vegetable garden froze solid back in December. I didn’t bother replanting winter vegetables, I just spread more compost so it could “season” until the weather is warm enough to plant again, and the compost is adding to the mix of smells.
Portia and I have decided we will just wait until April to resume our “Notes on Notes” and “Counterpoint” collaborations, since we were both traveling a lot in March. We’ve got some great material to discuss! If you want to suggest 1) fragrance notes; or 2) specific fragrances that you’d like us to tackle, please let us know in the comments!
And for those in the Northern Hemisphere, happy Spring!
Serenity Now Scents and Sensibilities 
I would love a house large enough to decorate with William Morris prints. Instead I choose a piece of William Morris print clothing or home accessory from Next each season. I hope they may do Morris curtains soon. That daffodil print would look superb in my lounge diner!
Ostara is a perfect choice to represent William Morris. Spring in a bottle & Penhaligons being British too.
I eased myself into spring today with Reminiscence Heliotrope (Do-Re). Delicate almonds & blossom. A huge change from the week of musks.
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Ooo, you smell great!
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I’m enjoying Narcissus, Fragonard’s spring 2023 EDT. It’s lovely and I highly recommend it for those who love fresh florals.
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How “narcissus” is it? They are some of my favorite flowers.
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Sorry to take so long to answer, OH. It’s been a crazy last 3 days, a fender bender and a breast biopsy one after the other. Eeek! I’m fine, will get biopsy results by March 31 hopefully. My poor car is in the shop, but it’s eminently fixable.
Now to the fragrance, Fragonard’s Narcissus smells like the yellow daffodils that grow abundantly in North Georgia, but it does not smell like Ostara, at least to my nose. It definitely does not smell like Chloe’s original Narcissus. The Fragonard is very fresh and a bit citrusy.
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Fingers crossed for the results
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I’ll have to try it! So sorry to hear about the breast biopsies; been there, done that. No fun at all. Fingers crossed for good outcomes!
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Sounds like a great pairing! Still a bit chilly in New England, although plants are starting to break out of their fuzzy buds. Maybe later down the line, I would be curious to read your and Portia’s thoughts on opoponax.
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Busy day yesterday, I got a new lens for my camera and went out to give it a test run. It’s a 300mm prime lens, weighs a ton (use on a monopod) and I’ll have to carry and use my regular zoom lens alongside. It’s good to continually challenge oneself!! I wore Nishane Ani yesterday. I won’t stop wearing my ambery perfumes until it’s actually hot. My daffodils and hyacinths are now out!
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Wow, that lens sounds impressive! I have a decant of Ani that I haven’t tried yet, must pull it out. Isn’t it great to see the spring bulbs flowering?
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