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 Saturday, January 25, and I’m in snowy New England! Flew up here with one of our daughters to visit my sisters and my niece’s new baby. She’s a cutie, and her sister is a darling. It is very nice to see the snow in the sun.
Here is the new addition to our family!
New baby in our family!
I brought with me a travel size of Jo Malone’s Ginger Biscuit, which has been perfect for hanging out with little children on a wintry day. I hope they associate me with that lovely warm scent!
Do you ever choose a scent on purpose to charm someone other than a romantic interest, lol?
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 Saturday, January 18, and we are expecting snow again next week! I do not expect Lucy to be any more impressed with it than she was last week, lol. While she can in fact learn the occasional new trick, her opinions on the weather have hardened over time.
Lucy, not impressed by snow
I took advantage of yesterday’s and today’s mild weather to go out and spread more mulch on my plants as protection against the upcoming cold.
However, the Big News in our family is that my niece had her second baby last weekend! She’s just adorable, and I’m looking forward to seeing her and her sister soon.
My new great-niece!
Sadly, last week also brought the funeral of a beloved minister, the former Rector of our church. We couldn’t be too sad, though, as he was almost 90 and had lost his dear wife several years ago; he missed her very much. They had been sweethearts since toddlerhood. Also, he was one of the most joyful people I’ve ever met, and the service was filled with love and laughter. Even the Bishop told some funny stories! At the end of the church service, we all went outside to the tune of “When the Saints Go Marching In, one of the late Rector’s favorites, and the whole extended family was given Mardi Gras parasols of purple, green, and gold to wave over their heads. What a send-off it was!
Usually I don’t wear a favorite scent to funerals, as I don’t want to associate sadness with a special fragrance, but this time I wore L’Heure Bleue, the newish Les Legendaires version of the eau de toilette. I’m glad I did, both because the funeral was much more cheerful than I expected, and because it’s just such a lovely scent. I enjoyed it for several hours, and it really did develop over that time, from cool flowers and anise through spices and carnations to a warm, resinous vanilla. If you like Guerlain fragrances, I highly recommend trying the Legendaires line, I think they’re very well done.
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 3, and it is 2025! Happy New Year to you all! We had a more social New Year’s Eve than usual, which was nice. We had two casual parties to go to, both of the drop-by-if-you-can type, and both close by — the second one was next door. So we socialized, had a drink at each party, and were home before 10:30 pm. We did stay awake until midnight and enjoyed seeing replays of the fireworks from around the world. Wow, Portia, those fireworks over Sydney were wonderful! And I loved the fireworks in London, too. I hope you all had enjoyable New Year’s Eves! Did you wear any special fragrances? I wore Hiram Green’s Arbolé, which I find I’ve been craving lately. Kafkaesque had a long review of it when it first came out, though it wasn’t really to her taste. I’ve realized I am sometimes very drawn to patchouli, based on my reaction to both Arbolé and SJP Stash, though I’ve never thought much about it and wouldn’t claim it among my favorite notes. It does play nicely with rose, though, which is one of my top favorites. If you have any patchouli loves, do tell!
Our next international trip will be to Vienna, Salzburg, and of course Barcelona (where the European office of my lovely husband’s employer is based). I can’t wait to see Vienna and Salzburg! We’ll be there the same week as the famous Vienna Opera Ball, though of course we’re not attending that. We are, however, going to see an opera at the Vienna State Opera House the weekend before the ball. We plan to take in museums, concerts, palaces and cathedrals all week. Do any of you know of any particularly excellent perfumeries in Vienna you would recommend I visit? And if you were going to the Opera Ball, what fragrance would you wear??
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 27, and we’ve had a lovely Christmas Eve and Christmas. And Happy Hanukkah and Kwanzaa to all who are currently celebrating those!
Christmas flowers and an angel
As I wrote last week, our son asked for a new fragrance for Christmas: Azzaro’s The Most Wanted Parfum. It smells great on him, woodsy and spicy. It’s strong, so I advised spritzing sparingly! I asked him how he had decided on that one, and he told me one of his friends had seen his bottle of Chanel’s Paris-Edimbourg, asked him about it, and said he was into colognes. So our son asked if he had any new favorites, he mentioned The Most Wanted flanker, which our son liked. Now he has his own! My husband gave me Guerlain’s Les Légendaires version of Après l’Ondée, as I had asked (and ordered, lol). It’s really lovely.
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 20, and we are almost at the longest night of the year! Not to mention Christmas Eve and Christmas. I went to a shopping mall today for the first time in several months, to pick up a couple of last Christmas gifts, and took the opportunity to stroll through a department store’s fragrance area. I didn’t want to linger, but I did spritz a bit of Tiffany & Co. Rose Gold on one hand. I quite like it — no surprise, as I really love the original Tiffany & Co. and Tiffany & Co. Intense. Thankfully, I don’t feel compelled to buy this one, though I would be delighted if Tiffany would issue a coffret with miniatures of all the Tiffany & Co. flankers! I do love those bottles.
Tiffany & Co. Rose Gold EDP; image from Tiffany
Fragrantica says that the perfumer for this one was Jérôme Epinette, and that the top note is Black Currant; middle notes are Blue Rose and Iris; base notes are Musk and Ambrette (Musk Mallow). I don’t know why the brand feels a need to specify “blue rose”, as there really isn’t such a thing — there are purple roses that look very bluish, but not a true blue rose. And the purple ones smell like other roses, when they have a fragrance.
As expected, this flanker is rosier than the original, but it is still dominated by iris, to my nose. The black currant top note works nicely, now opening the fragrance instead of being one of several middle notes as in the original. A few hours after application, I can still smell the fragrance on my hand and it smells very nice, sort of a soft rosy musk.
Speaking of fragrance and gifts, I was pleased that our son asked for a new fragrance for Christmas: Azzaro’s The Most Wanted Parfum. It was very popular among many perfumistas in 2023, and it sounds appealing: ginger, woodsy notes, and vanilla. I’ll be interested to smell it on him. I know I’m getting one fragrant gift from my husband, since I ordered it, lol! It is the Guerlain’s Les Légendaires version of Après l’Ondée. Are you expecting or giving any particular fragrant gifts?
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 13, and we’re back from Tarragona, Spain. I didn’t post last Friday because that was our travel day; we had to connect through JFK Airport, so we left our hotel at 6:30 am local time in Spain, and finally got home around 6:30 pm Eastern US time. We were pooped! I was very disciplined and did not buy any fragrances, but I was able to sample Hermès’ latest, Barénia, in the Barcelona Duty-Free shop. I have resisted the hype both pro and con, and found that I like it. Not “love”, but a solid “like.” The words that came to my mind both times I tried it (coming and going!) were “fruity leather.” Not too fruity, and not too leathery — more like suede. It is well worth trying, if you get a chance.
Speaking of designer fragrances, I’ve been exposed more than I would like to the ridiculous TV ads featuring Johnny Depp in the desert for Dior’s Sauvage. I guess they’re airing a lot now because of holidays and gifts, but really — they are just absurd. I’ll have to watch one with our twenty-something son and see what he thinks. They definitely don’t appeal to my husband or me!
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 Saturday, November 30, and I’m a day late posting! In my defense, I’ve just wrapped up the annual food fest that is an American Thanksgiving, and our two kids who don’t live here just left today. We’ve been so productive — got the Christmas tree up and decorated, put up outdoor lights, cleaned up the house post-holiday (just in time for the next holiday!), and finished the leftovers.
This is such a fragrant time of year! Fresh evergreen smell from the Christmas tree, hot apple cider mulling on the stove, the late roses I cut yesterday before we get hit with our first frost tonight. Brrr!
Janvier, by Alfons Mucha
I’ve been doing a lot in the garden to get ready for freezing temperatures, so I went for a massage this afternoon to get the knots out of tight back muscles before I spend the night on an airplane tomorrow night. The aromatherapy I chose was lavender, and it just smelled heavenly.
We head to Barcelona tomorrow, with our final destination being Tarragona for the week. I don’t expect to do any fragrance shopping, as I really do have so many already and I’ll be getting one for Christmas (the updated Après l’Ondèe eau de toilette from Guerlain). I’ve even resisted Black Friday! Speaking of Guerlain, I’ve read on Basenotes that they are discontinuing Jicky! And it’s not on the Guerlain website. I really like the eau de toilette that came in a bee bottle several years ago; for a long time, it was my bedtime scent. Do you like Jicky? In what formulation?
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, November 22, and here in the USA, it will be Thanksgiving next week! I do love Thanksgiving; how nice to have a holiday that is dedicated to expressing gratitude and giving thanks. I’m thankful for all of you readers, and for the privilege of being able to own and write about many fragrances and other interests. Of course, I’m always thankful for my lovely family, and thankful that they are healthy and happy. And I’m thankful for the privilege of being able to travel to lovely places! We’ll be back in Spain in December and then again in March combined with a week in Austria. I’ve never been to Austria, and I am so looking forward to seeing Vienna and Salzburg! I’m looking at calendars of musical events, now that I’ve nailed down hotels and a schedule. What an abundance of options!
It has suddenly turned quite cold here, after an unseasonably warm fall, so I’m turning my attention to warmer, cozier fragrances. One of my favorites for this time of year has become Bengale Rouge, by Liz Moores of Papillon Perfumes. And both of our daughters now have cats! This is Hazel, exploring her first Christmas tree:
Hazel
I love all the smells of Thanksgiving and Christmas: the baking, roasting, spices, fresh evergreens, etc. What are your favorite holiday smells, whether they are perfumes or not?
As Undina requested, here is a photo of the other family cat, Goose., in his Halloween costume!
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, November 15, and I apologize for not posting last Friday. Without going into details, as this isn’t a place for politics, I was dejected. However, the sun rose brightly this morning, the sky is blue, my garden got some good rain this week including last night, and I will plan my next steps while planting more in my garden. I still have lots to get done to address the new raised beds in the back, and I still have to clear out the remains of the summer vegetable garden, plant bulbs, move plants, and do LOTS of weeding. Thankfully, the mosquitoes are pretty much gone by now though they put up a good fight and kept biting through last week.
Because I’ve been so immersed in tending to my roses, and roses are on my mind, I’ve continued wearing some of my rose fragrance even though fall is now truly upon us. Most recently, I’ve worn Christian Dior’s La Colle Noire, named after M. Dior’s home in Grasse. It is just lovely. It smells like my garden roses after rain, so it’s very appropriate for this week!
Do you ever feel that you choose your fragrances according to weather, as opposed to tying them to a season?
This is a great post and interview with Diane St. Clair, a very gifted independent perfumer. Thank you, I Sniff Before I Sleep! I love her fragrances, starting with Gardener’s Glove and First Cut.
Serenity Now Scents and Sensibilities 