Slightly new plan for the Scent Diary: I’ll be posting the weekly Scent Diary on Monday morning. This week’s is a little shorter than usual, and then next Monday’s post will be back to normal.
Wednesday, Apr. 21: In the 60’s. SOTMorning: MH Fleur de Matin. I always forget about this thing (I have a decant), and then if I happen across it and put it on, I always like it. I’m a little embarrassed that I’m not much of a cologne fan, but this might serve as a cologne-like scent, along with Le Prince Jardinier Labyrinthe Libertin. Weather’s pretty chilly – sunny, but nippy with the wind. I’m not enjoying sitting on aluminum bleachers at the local park, watching my boys’ baseball practice. Particularly because I’m testing Creed Fleurs de Bulgarie and not enjoying it, either. (Funny, I could have sworn that I ordered Fleur de The’ Rose Bulgare from TPC instead, but it could have been my mistake. Also, it’s quite possible that this was a swap extra, and I didn’t order it at all. I checked on it, and no, it’s not a swap sample, and yes, I did order the The’ Rose, not FdBulgarie. Of the dozens of samples I’ve ordered from TPC, this is the only one they’ve flubbed, which is a pretty good track record.) However, my mom might quite like this – it’s definitely floral soap, as odonata9 suggested in comments on the Soap & Flowers post. Fine fine fine, I’m going to wash this off and put on some Alien. That ought to cover a multitude of sins.
Thursday, Apr. 22: Weather a little chillier than usual for April, in the 60’s again. SOTD: Frederic Malle En Passant, a sample I’ve been holding with great anticipation for months, while waiting for the weather to be right. It’s absolutely beautiful, and like most beautiful things, fleeting. I probably won’t be buying any, not even a decant – I just can’t get past its ephemeral character. But it’s gorgeous, and nostalgic and wistful and hopeful all at once. SOTE: Crown Bouquet, which is turning into another of those prized “it just makes me happy” fragrances.
Friday, Apr. 23: Warm day in the mid-70’s and sunshine! Lovely. SOTMorning: Ineke After My Own Heart. Supposed to be berries, green leaves, lilac, and sandalwood, but what I got was air-freshener lilac and laundry musk. Disappointed! Sigh. SOTE: Silences. Nice to relax into; it’s funny how I thought it was “screechy” the first time I smelled it, and now I find it soft and easygoing.
Andy, the new calf, is still skinny enough that you can see his ribs and hipbones, but he’s eating enthusiastically now.
Saturday, Apr. 24: Very windy today, upper 60’s, scattered clouds. SOTMorning, or maybe SOTTwenty Minutes I Could Smell It: Lalique Flora Bella, which gets 4 stars in P:TG and a description of “silver, chilled cream, and a far-reaching glow.” Lalique calls it a “sunny floral,” and as far as I can tell, both descriptions are way off base from what I’m getting here. I’d say, Tiny little piece of the bottom of Tocade or Organza Indecence, the powdery vanilla-patchouli bit. That’s all I smell, and only intermittently. I assume there’s something in there that’s blocking most of the scent.
Bookworm’s 4 x 800meter relay team came in second at their meet today, and she came in fourth in the 3200m (2 mile), chipping 32 seconds off her previous time! I’m proud of her.
SOTE: DSH Perfumes Purple Lilac (Essence Oils). I ordered a sample of this and one of White Lilac, expecting to prefer the purple version because it’s supposed to be spicier. The Purple Lilac is indeed very pretty, a sweet lilac soliflore with a tiny hint of spice, and lasts a good six hours. But having sniffed White Lilac from the vial, I’m thinking it will be the winner when I get around to testing all these lilac things.
Fun “Hollywood Nite” dinner honoring volunteers at our church. Bookworm, The CEO, and I all help out with children’s ministries once a month, so we went and ate Chik-Fil-A and salad and cake, and watched some funny home-made spoof videos that featured our pastor and minister of music as a) Spock and Nacho Libre, b) puttering around town on a moped, a la Tom Cruise on his hog in Top Gun, and c) as extras in Braveheart, Pastor Jeff in a Russian fur hat and long black Rasputin beard, and Cody as a Viking. (Yeah, I know, goofy and overacted, but fun! How often do you see your minister wearing Spock ears?)
Sunday, Apr.25: Rained last night; I’m so glad the rain we were supposed to get this morning came earlier and cleared out the clouds. SOTMorning: Mariella Burani and jeans for church. We had service outside and seven people were baptized in a big cattle trough. We usually meet in the auditorium of the middle school (the church is five years old and doesn’t have a building yet), but today we were on the bleachers of the football field. I love it when church is fun, which is pretty much all the time since we transferred from The CEO’s home church three years ago. I miss some of the people at our old church, and to be perfectly honest, sometimes I miss the church I grew up in, which I haven’t attended for twenty years – but most of that is nostalgia. I wouldn’t choose to be a member at either place now.
SOTAfternoon: AG Petite Cherie. This works a lot like a cologne for me, in that it’s refreshing, quiet, and happy, and then it just goes gently away. I only get about two, two and a half hours out of PC, but that never bothers me. My little bottle, which I keep in the fridge due to the frequently-reported instability of the pear topnote, was very cheap, so I can afford to spritz frequently.
Image is miniparfums from parfumgott at flickr.com.
Hi Mals – nice roundup! It’s been cold and dreary up here too which has made me reach for some warmer, friendlier fragrances – hello Alahine!
Nice roundup on the week. I recently also tested Creed Fleurs de Bulgaire, which I did purposefully order. (I have a small decant of Fleurs de The RB which I can never make up my mind how much I like – sometimes I love it, sometimes it smells like lemon Pledge – hmm.) I also found FdB not so appealing – rather strident for all the warm rosy reviews it gets. It is not awful, just rather overdone for what it should be. I’d rather wear my Noir Epices or Magie Noire if I want to get my socks knocked off with well handled compositions that are rich and complex. Perhaps the best way for me to say how I feel about it is amateur hour with Rakmaninoff – nice try, but a little clumsy.
And, I also found After My Own Heart to be rather more airfreshener than I would have expected. I have not found an Ineke yet that I am interested in. More testing is required!
And there is no more to be said about Marielle Burani – great stuff – always classy and cheery and elegant.
I think we may almost be scent twins for sure!
….. Petite Cherie is a little soapy for me, but I will make a point to start listing the frags you like for future testing!
Ann – it’s really cold here today, low 50’s and windy. I was wishing for a toboggan hat while sitting on the park bleachers for the boys’ baseball practices (actually, Taz was on one of the four fields at the park, and Gaze was on the next field over, so I moved around a bit). It’s not quite chilly enough for Alahine, though.
I did NOT enjoy that Fleurs de Bulgarie. Bleah. Or the Ineke. (Amateur hour with Rachmaninoff is a perfect description!)
But MB is wonderful, scent twin (or almost scent twin – as I remember, you’re a Coco fan, and I’m *not*).
Oh Gosh, yes, I love that Coco. It’s been with me for a long time…. although these days it gets a lot of competition for my attention. But I can’t say I know of any fragrance you like/love that I detest – I am sure one is out there! Today is so dreary and chilly I am wearing AT L’Air de Desert Marocain on my neck and L’AP Timbuktu on my writsts. Need some dry radiant woods to cheer me up and keep me warm!
I LOVE that you take pics of your collection. It’s funny, the other day I was looking for an image online to accompany a post and I thought, um, why not just take a picture MYSELF? What a radical idea. There really is nothing like seeing a peer’s collection. Keep posting these, yes?
I’ll have to post more of them, then! I’m not much of a photographer, and still (gosh, this is embarrassing) have trouble downloading images from my camera to the ‘puter, but it’s fun to look at the collection all lined up. Thanks!
OH! just noticed – this isn’t a photo of my own stuff, it’s a photo from flickr. There are a few photos of my personal collection scattered about the blog, but this one is just random. I do enjoy posting pics of other collections, though.