roses

Perfume Chat Room, February 7
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Perfume Chat Room, February 7

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, February 7, and the gardening frenzy continues! I’ve moved a few of my roses that were in large pots, bought a couple of new (fragrant) roses, and have been pruning like a madwoman. Luckily the weather has been fine, and it’s a great distraction from the news to be outside digging and pruning.

Next Friday is, of course, Valentine’s Day. Having bought myself Rosarine, I graciously offered it to my husband to give me for Valentine’s Day instead of a rose bouquet, lol. I may have enough new rose fragrances soon to do another “Roses de Mai Marathon“. If not, I can fill in with posts about my new actual rose plants.

Are you hoping/expecting to get any fragrances or fragrant items for Valentine’s Day?

Perfume Chat Room, November 15
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Perfume Chat Room, November 15

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?

Perfume Chat Room, November 1
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Perfume Chat Room, November 1

Rabbit rabbit! 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 1, All Saints Day, and we’re still having the kind of weather I associate with what used to be called “ Indian summer” in New England. Cool nights, warm sunny days, clear skies with little humidity. My roses are blossoming again for the fall, with the cooling temperatures, and they’re so pretty (fragrant, too). To coordinate, I’ve been wearing some autumnal rose scents, including Mizensir’s Rose Exaltante and some Aerin samples I got a while ago at Nordstrom’s.

Munstead Wood rose and friends

Last night was Halloween and we had quite a few cute goblins visit. My favorites are the toddlers who have to be coached on how to say “trick or treat”. Our neighborhood goes all out for Halloween; we block off a couple of streets to cars, and it’s a very safe locale, so families from other parts of the city often come to walk around and ring doorbells.

We’ll be setting our clocks back an hour in the US tomorrow night, which is always a bit of a jolt. Now that Halloween is over, everything everywhere all at once seems to be covered in Christmas decor. Are we skipping Thanksgiving? We’ve now officially begun the annual forced march through the holidays, from Halloween to New Year’s Day. I do love the holiday season, but it’s a lot of work!

My husband and I are planning another trip in late February and we’re thinking about Munich and Salzburg. Thoughts? Ideas? Suggestions?

Happy November, everyone!

Perfume Chat Room, August 23
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Perfume Chat Room, August 23

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, August 23, and the weather is finally cooling off a bit. My poor roses, which have been gasping for breath and water for weeks now, seem to be sighing in relief and gearing up for a fall flush of blossoms. I planted several new-to-me varieties in large pots this spring, and it has been interesting to learn their growth habits and needs. The one characteristic all my roses have in common is that they must be fragrant. I just don’t see the point in growing roses that aren’t fragrant; I know many people do, because they are more focused on color and shape, but I’ve found I can have all three: lovely color, shape, AND fragrance.

I’m still wearing light, summery fragrances, as it still gets pretty hot during the day though we get some relief overnight. A recent favorite has been Patricia de Nicloai’s Rose Pivoine, which one of my lovely regular readers here sent me. You know who you are — thank you so much! I’ve been loving it! Top notes are ambrette, raspberry, red currant, and bergamot. The heart is rose oil and absolute, mixed with violet, iris, peony, and pepper; the base is sandalwood and musk. It is meant to evoke a bouquet of fresh roses and peonies, with green leaves as companions. It is lovely. I think I still prefer Nicolai’s Rose Royale, but Rose Pivoine is excellent, especially in hot, humid weather.

Parfums de Nicolai is launching a new set of gourmand fragrances next month, “Les Gourmandises.” I don’t often gravitate to courmand fragrances, but these do sound intriguing. I’ll be in London after their launch date, so maybe I’ll see if I can sample them at one of my favorite London fragrance boutiques.

Bouquet by Bloom in the Box

Have you started switching over to autumn fragrances, or spring fragrances if you’re in the Southern Hemisphere (looking at you, Portia!)?

Perfume Chat Room, July 12
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Perfume Chat Room, July 12

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, July 12, and we are back from New Hampshire. It is hot, hot, hot here! Going up to 94 degrees Fahrenheit today, and even higher this weekend. NST is doing a community project on colognes, and I am here for it. SOTD is Berdoues’ Assam of India, part of their “Cologne Grand Cru” collection and a refreshing blend of citrus and tea. Perfect for a hot, humid summer day. And I love the little elephants on the packaging!

Tea plantation

I have a few Berdoues fragrances, and I really need to wear them more often. My husband has their 1902 Trefle et Vetiver, which is very refreshing. What colognes do you like?

Perfume Chat Room, July 5
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Perfume Chat Room, July 5

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, July 5, and we had a great Fourth of July yesterday with my husband’s family in New Hampshire. We watched a classic New England small town parade, complete with synchronized marching lawn chairs (my favorite). Then last night, we had town fireworks over the lake, just beautiful.

Wolfeboro Lawn Chair Drill Team
Fireworks over Lake Winnipesaukee

We also drove over to the seashore to buy fresh lobsters and see the ocean, where we saw (and smelled) many beach roses in bloom. Of all rose scents in nature, I think that’s my favorite.

Beach roses

For those who celebrate the Fourth, I hope you enjoyed a great holiday! Any special events, or scents?

Perfume Chat Room, June 21
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Perfume Chat Room, June 21

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, June 21, and it is HOT where I live! 93 degrees with enough humidity to make it feel like 94. Interestingly, the heat revealed a facet of Pelagos that I hadn’t expected. I had applied very small spritzes, one to my neck and each of my wrists, three in all, so very little. I should have remembered that Pelagos comes in extrait strength! Because when I left my physical therapy appointment around 11, it was a bit too much. And it also “read” to my nose as more masculine, whereas when I first tried it, I felt it was truly unisex. I can’t even explain why my perception changed or what note/accord changed it, but here we are.

The good news is that I’ve completely recovered from COVID and my sense of smell is intact. Only my sense of taste was temporarily affected by Paxlovid, and it returned to normal by the evening of the day when I took my last dose. That’s a relief! The bad news is that Japanese beetles have arrived in my garden, seeking out my scrumptious roses, their favorite treat. I have gone to war. In researching the best methods that won’t harm beneficial insects or pollinators, I learned something new — Japanese beetles apparently have some kind of sense of smell and they release a pheromone when they find a food source, which attracts all their fellow Japanese beetles! Ugh.

Are you going through a heat wave? My sympathy if you are. Happy Summer Solstice too!

Perfume Chat Room, May 3
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Perfume Chat Room, May 3

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, May 3, and I am still obsessing over roses. Real-life roses, in my garden and online, and also in perfume (though I don’t wear much perfume on days when I’m spending a lot of time working in the garden).

But in fragrance, I have taken my usual May detour into the realm of muguet, or lily-of-the-valley, honoring May Day and the yearly appearance of these fragile, fleeting blooms. Unlike roses, lilies of the valley don’t rebloom during their flowering season. One and done! They’re also challenging to grow en masse here in the hot, humid Southeast, though my sister-in-law has succeeded in growing the kind of large patch of LOTV here that she and I both knew from our childhoods in Connecticut, where they grow and spread like weeds.

Nurturing hopes of perhaps getting my hands and nose on a tester of Patricia de Nicolai’s new — and already sold out — muguet perfume, Une Fleur en Mai, I recently tried her 2009 creation Un Coeur en Mai for MDCI. It’s not a muguet perfume but it is a floral green fragrance and very lovely. Dominant floral notes are rose and mimosa, with a hefty dose of green galbanum. I really like several of her fragrances for her own line, like Odalisque, Rose Royale, Odalisque, New York, Musc Intense. I think I need to add to my reviews of her fragrances!

Do you have any of Patricia de Nicolai’s fragrances, either under her own line or created for others? What do you think? Any favorites?

Bottle of Patricia Nicolai's Musc Intense eau de parfum
Musc Intense, by Parfums de Nicolai; image from http://www.pncicolai.com.
Perfume Chat Room, February 9
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Perfume Chat Room, February 9

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, February 9, and Valentine’s Day is next week! Happy Valentine’s Day in advance! Do you have any fragrant gifts in mind, for yourself or anyone else? I am saving up all my fragrance wishes for an upcoming trip to Paris — all suggestions of perfume sites to visit are welcome, especially places that don’t have branches in the US. Palais Royal is on the list for sure, for Lutens and Rosine; probably also Jovoy Paris, since I’ve loved their store in London.

Most of my fragrance interest right now is in roses — real rose bushes, that is. I have some on order that should come in March; and I’ve bought some bare root roses of varieties that are highly fragrant and have the old-fashioned blooms I love, when I found them at a ridiculously low price at a big-box store. So those have kept me busy. My spring bulbs are starting to come up now, and most of those are very fragrant also — narcissus, hyacinths, starflowers. I’m delighted to see that my lavender plants seem to have survived the temperatures in the teens we had a few weeks ago.

Please share any fragrant plans you have for Valentine’s Day, and do suggest any favorite spots in Paris, perfume-related or otherwise! We’ll be there for a week, which offers plenty of time for tourism.

Perfume Chat Room, November 17
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Perfume Chat Room, November 17

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 17, and next week brings Thanksgiving in the US. I love Thanksgiving! I like to cook, and it is a holiday that’s really all about food and family. All three of our young adult children will be with us, as usual, and I’m especially looking forward to our youngest being home from college for a few days (although his college is near by, he lives on campus during the semester). The weather here has been mild, though cloudy — very good for planting. I have some new roses and daffodil bulbs to plant (two of my top favorite flowers), and I’m making progress. I choose roses based in part on their fragrance, so I’m looking forward to lots of rose scent in my garden next summer. Since Thanksgiving is also all about gratitude, I may also do a special post on “What Went Well”; I invite you to join me in reflecting on what went well for you this year.

We gave our daughter her longed-for Jo Malone Ginger Biscuit for her birthday last week and it was a big hit! She had guessed we might be getting it for her, because she texted me that she had heard it was reissued and when she got my non-committal reply, she thought I probably had already bought it, lol.

On Monday, I’ll be posting November’s “Counterpoint”, a 2023 monthly collaboration between me and Portia Turbo of Australian Perfume Junkies. Last week, we posted our other project, “Notes on Notes”, focusing on oud. All good things come to an end, and since those were a 2023 project, November and December will be the last of the collaboration, but I might continue with one of them. Let me know what you think!

Next week also brings “Black Friday” and its many sales, some of which have already begun. Macy’s is having a 50% off sale on some Guerlains and others in the 1 oz. size, I noticed, and significant markdowns on larger sizes of other brands. Are you eyeing any particular fragrant purchases next week, or watching any particular websites for discounts? If you find any great markdowns, please share in the comments!

Carding Mill rose growing through Annabelle hydrangea, Summer 2023