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Perfume Chat Room, January 10

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, January 10, and it snowed here this morning! Since I live in the Southeastern US, this is a rare and exciting event, to be cherished as long as the power stays on and my friends and family are safely ensconced in their homes. We knew the snow was coming, so when I woke up very early this morning, I just stayed awake so I could see it. Our elderly dog Lucy was not so excited. I let her out at about 6 am, just as the snow was beginning; she went out very briefly then rushed back inside. When she went to the door a while later, I opened it for her, she stuck her nose out, and she retreated back into the warm house and her even warmer bed. Color Lucy not impressed.

Lucy, not impressed by snow

As of this afternoon, we’re getting the dreaded “wintry mix” of icy rain and sleet, which means some of the snow is melting but it will soon freeze over again when the temps drop below 32F. That’s one reason why snow and ice are actually quite hazardous here — we might get less than three inches of snow, but then it turns into two inches of ice. And because it’s a rare occurrence, most folks here don’t know how to drive safely in these conditions and the local governments don’t have a lot of equipment to clear the roads. Best to stay inside!

I’ve been enjoying some cozy fragrances, including Jo Malone’s small holiday set of Orange Bitters and Ginger Biscuit. They’re not so Christmasy that I feel out of sync, given that the twelve days of Christmas ended last weekend. We even took down our tree, though I haven’t yet packed away all the ornaments. Maybe today, while I’m indoors and can’t be out in the garden! This is the season we jokingly refer to as “second winter”, coming as it does after “false spring”, when we get a burst of warm days that fool many bulbs into peeking above ground. Luckily, the sudden return of the cold doesn’t harm them. Bengale Rouge will probably make it into my rotation this weekend; it’s a lovely warm fragrance that doesn’t scream “Christmas!”. Perfect for “second winter.”

I’ve also enjoyed wearing the Guerlain fragrance that was a Christmas gift, Après l’Ondèe. I think I’ll be putting it aside until we reach the “spring of deception”, when we’ll get another thaw and unseasonably warm(er) temperatures. It really is more of a spring/summer scent, I feel. What about you? Have you been wearing any holidayish fragrances, gifts or not?

Snowy day

36 thoughts on “Perfume Chat Room, January 10”

  1. We have snow in Birmingham, AL today, too. The grandkids enjoyed making a snowman, but then realized snow is wet and cold so they retreated into the house. I’m wearing Dusita’s Montri , a warm leather fragrance, since it’s the only fragrance I packed. Must do better next time and bring samples.

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  2. I’ve been doing the 4160Tuesdays January Joy Box. 16 brand new fragrances from Sarah.
    No loves so far. In fact 1 ok, 1 utter horror, 1 I do not understand at all & 1 that confuses me. The fifth one is a honey fragrance & I struggle with honey in all ways, so I dipped out.
    The days when I’m not sniffing a JJB I’ve been wearing Chanel 31RC, JML Orange Bitters & Madonna’s Truth or Dare. I managed to snag more T&D shower & bath gel.
    The snow from last weekend & early in the week is still down & not really thawing. It’s compressed now but the main roads are clear. It’s been as low as minus 8c & today has been freezing all day! Seeing ice crystals growing on top of the snow has been fascinating!

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    • Wow, -8C is cold!! That’s what we had last year when I had to wrap my most precious garden shrubs in frost protection. Right now we’re hovering at about 0C. I didn’t do the January Joy Box this year, although I’ve done it a few times. It’s a lot of fun! I’m sorry you haven’t found a real love, though. I struggle with honey too, I really have to be in the mood for it. Your other options are lovely — you smell great!

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    • Chanel 31 RC I haven’t tried. Reviews look good but a bit critical of its strength? A reviewer said it opened like Cristalle, which I adored before, but my not-so-old bottle of that is also almost gone, lol. Is that your opinion? I can’t for whatever reason appreciate No5, so please don’t hate me. What makes 31RC stand out? I like Coco Mademoiselle, Paris-Paris, Coromandel, Le Lion, Cristalle, can’t do No5. Might I like 31 RC?

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      • 31RC is more floral chypre than Chanel’s usual aldihydic. Mine is the d/ced EDT. It is one of the few scents that made me emotional & say WOW! Out loud when I first tried it. I am a Cristalle EdT fan & maybe there is a cousin type relationship at first. 31RC is far more welcoming than Cristalle. There is patchouli is the base, so maybe a little of Coromandel.
        Not a blind buy but get a sample of the current EdP which lasts a bit longer. Saying that I get 6hrs or so from the EdT

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  3. It’s the bitter wind that gets me. I’m with Lucy regarding winter! Fragrance-wise, I’ve been wearing botanical perfumes from Lvnea. My favorites are the ones with peach notes, as I miss creature comforts after too long smelling like a forest floor.

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      • I get a full day out of them, but I also reapply throughout the day to refresh the top notes so I’m not sure that’s accurate. Would say the sillage is close. Peche Obscene is my favorite, a fruity floral with peach, osmanthus, jasmine, oakmoss, patchouli, vetiver, and sandalwood. La Serpentine is a peachy chypre, with peach, oakmoss, patchouli, osmanthus, and labdanum, and felt lighter to me than Peche Obscene.

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  4. We have a few inches of snow on the ground and it’s COLD! However, people here do mostly know how to drive in it. I always wear Apres l’Ondee in the spring – we get a fair amount of rain/gray, seems to fit. I have been alternating between thunking almost empty decants and wearing all of the perfumes that I felt like I really wanted to wear more during my project last year. Just wore Eau des Baux. Today I’m wearing Goldfield & Banks Ingenious Ginger- I bought it with a discount at Luckyscent, couldn’t resist its fizzy Ginger lemon soda.

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  5. Hi Everyone! Well, I’m in Miami and it’s been a warm year, Christmas in the upper 70s and this week with warm days. Which makes it feel like spring here, though I’m in the mood for winter. I just got Dolce and Gabbana’s Devotion Intense (a very nice gourmand), and YSL’s and Black Opium Over Red (I really dont lile Black Opium’s strong coffee bibe, but this one has cherry too and it works; its also a chameleon, different from one day to the next. So what do I wear now? I can’t stop spraying Chanel Paris-Paris, which I bought in Paris last year. Bottle almost gone. It’s delightful. Shocked I’m not wearing my new ones more. I love them and craved them for half a year. Now that you guys spoke of ginger, I have a decant spray of Serge Lutens Five O’clock Gingembre. Let me spray it and see if it thrills me? … Ahhh, it is exceptional. I think it fills the headspace and lasts longer than Jo Malone’s fragrances. I had tried Lutens’ before Malone’s, so it spoiled me ; ) I wanted to add I just rewatched Notting Hill and the music complements it so well. What a nice movie!

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