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, October 11, and I’m still working my way through samples I got in London during our recent trip! Today I am enjoying Jo Loves‘ Golden Gardenia. It’s very intriguing, as it is a white floral, somewhat sweet and narcotic, but it has notes of suede, cardamom, incense, and elemi that spice it up in a nice balance with the white floral vibe. White florals aren’t usually a favorite category of mine, much as I love floral scents generally, as they often smell overpowering to me. And I think Golden Gardenia could smell overpowering if applied with a heavier hand than mine. That said, I’m really appreciating its lovely blend, especially as the gardenia opening doesn’t hang around too long. It doesn’t disappear completely, but it recedes as the spices and suede come forward. Very nice! I was also glad to find out that Jo Loves now has a US website and warehouse, so American customers can easily order from them.
My return visit to the Jo Loves boutique on Elizabeth Street was a happy one, not least because I love Elizabeth Street. It is also home to legendary niche perfume boutique Les Senteurs, which any perfumista visiting London should not miss. Their staff are very nice and knowledgeable, and will happily help one try a number of the unusual fragrances they carry (for instance, Cloon Keen and Papillon creations, for which they are the only UK stockists). There is also an extremely pretty tea shop up the block, Peggy Porschen, where I fortified myself (again) during a day of perfume tourism.
I can’t believe it has been a few weeks now since we returned from London, but those have been eventful weeks in the US, with Hurricanes Helene and Milton following each other in quick succession, wreaking havoc in the Southeast. We were lucky to have very little impact here from Milton’s visit a week ago, and Helene’s before that, but western North Carolina, western and central Florida, the northeast of Georgia, and parts of South Carolina were badly affected and declared to be disaster areas. It will take years for some areas to recover, which is heartbreaking.
My lovely hubby is away again for work, but we plan to take a short trip to the South Carolina coast next week, one of our favorite spots for over thirty years. Luckily, that particular area is unscathed; let’s hope it remains so!
Do you have any trips planned for this fall, big or small? Any new fragrances to report?
Serenity Now Scents and Sensibilities 
The trip sounds fantastic. We will be going to Italy and Greece in May, a whirlwind trip with my son’s football team (they will play an adult club team in Rome, then we will have 6 days of touring. I doubt we will have much free time for shopping, though. Our last day in Greece will be a day cruise – looking forward to that as I haven’t been to Greece and my DH loves being on the water. Not sure what I’ll wear today – I’m still trying to wear something different every day so I have to check my spreadsheet to see what’s available! Have a great weekend.
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How wonderful!! Make sure to slather up with sunscreen, the sun especially in Greece is very strong and the air is dry, so you may not feel how hot it is. I love Greece. Italy too, but Greece is magical. I hope you’ll see lots of flowers at that time of year!
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Enjoy! Italy and Greece in the spring sounds divine.
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WOW! That cafe looks super gorgeous. Is the fruit sitting in a smoothy kinda thing?
We are off to Taiwan next month with Jin’s family, just seeing Taipei for the week. Very exciting. First and only trip this year.
Portia xx
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Yes, it was a yogurt bowl with granola mixed in. So yummy! Though I really wanted the cupcakes … Your trip sounds so exciting!
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HA! We ALWAYS want the cupcakes. Congratulations on your restraint OH.
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I’ve always wanted to visit Taiwan. I hear it’s really lovely.
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Hey RR, I’ll give you news and pics when we return.
Portia xx
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That’s excellent news about the Jo Loves site in the US now. The tea shop looks so wonderful. I could go for a good gluten free tea right now.
My only major perfume purchase has been from Parfums de Nicolai. I got her new Macaron Bourbon, a delicious boozy rose. It’s a gourmand, but not too sweet at all. I also received a travel size spray of Pavlova as a freebie from Luckyscent since I bought a couple of candles, too. If you have not yet tried Parfums de Nicolai’s candles, I highly recommend them. I have the Amber and Maharadjah and they are gorgeous, with great throw and the candles are very long lasting.
As for travel, we’re going to see the grandchildren in a couple of weeks. I want to be there for Halloween to see their costumes. This is the first year they have really understood Halloween and they are very excited about their costumes. Zara is going to be a witch and Liam is Iron Man. I’ll have to get myself a witch costume for handing out candy. Zara has decreed that all the girls in the family will be witches for Halloween.
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The cafe looks divine and I’m excited to hear about a Jo Malone distribution site and website for the US. My latest acquisition is Parfums de Nicolai’s new Macaron Bourbon, a boozy rose with rum notes. It’s a gourmand, but definitely not too sweet. It’s lovely.
Next trip will be Halloween with the grandkids. They’re very excited about Halloween this year.
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Macaron Bourbon does sound lovely! Gosh, your grandkids are old enough to get excited for Halloween — seems like they just arrived!
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I know, they just turned 3 years old a month ago. Seems like they were just born! Zara has decreed that all the females in the family will be witches for Halloween so I ordered a witch outfit for handing out candy. Liam has an Iron Man costume.
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How cute!
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