So I tried teaching myself to knit this week. I couldn’t even do a double cast on. I had yarn wrapped up all over my hands. A complete disaster. I called the local yarn shop (sounding dismayed) and she told me to stop in anytime (kind person). I’m thinking it’s odd that no one in my family ever knitted (or sewed or made anything crafty). Not a single grandmother, aunt, great-aunt Sugar, not one. Come to think of it, it’s also rather extraordinary that so few in my family wore perfume as well. I’m making up for these perfume-starved relatives big-time.I received Heure Exquise in edp this week. It’s fairly different. Not sure I like it better than the edt but I do love it. It’s got a play-doh note where the edt doesn’t.
I wonder why two of the Hermessence perfumes are missing from the Hermes website? Rose Ikebana and Osmanthus Yunnan are not there.
Who was it that recommended I try Roja Dove Scandal? C’mon step forward. One of you out there is the enabling culprit. I LOVE it. I didn’t realize it was so expensive though. Even with one kind soul offering to split it with me I’m considering whether I want to spend that much for 25 ml. It’s over $500 for a 50 ml bottle. I do love it though… (you know I’ll cave sooner or later).
I haven’t reviewed it and I’m not sure I will but I also love Ormonde Jayne Tiare. I need to confess that I don’t like Ormonde Jayne. I’ve tried nearly every single one and they all dry down to a cheap synthetic musk. But Tiare is different. Tiare is old school fruity chypre yet modern. Definitely worth trying this one.
American Idol: I think Ellen is going to work out well. I supply nicknames to all my favorites, so far I like “Peacock earrings”, “the girl with brown teeth” (surely said teeth will be whitened if she makes it to the final 12?) “the waitress,” “son of ganstas” and “bluesy hot guy” the best. I think it will be a girl this season.
Parks & Recreation: Even though I’m the only person watching this show I just need to say it’s so great (I’ve said this before and if I keep it up maybe more will tune in).
I admit that I bought a bottle of Alexander McQueen Kingdom this week. I figured I ought to get it over with before the prices are sky high. I have a bottle but it’s for The Posh Peasant so it isn’t mine – this will be mine.
Dinner of the week: I made goat cheese raviolis (not from scratch, but still). The sauce was deeeelish - mostly a white wine sauce but I added pesto, lemon and roasted garlic to make it scrumptious. And some early spring peas and asparagus tips.
Brian and I agree: Maison Francis Kurkdjian fragrances aren’t rocking our worlds. I like APOM Pour Femme but I expected to be overwhelmed to the point of needing to lay down. This didn’t happen. I wanted to love them, but this might be a case of reading too much advance praise.
Why is Guerlain’s Mayotte (formerly known as the symbol Mahora) so unloved? I haven’t worn it enough times for a review but it seems very pretty to me.
The Office: It’s strange that the company is Sabre and not Dunder Mifflin. But how funny is Kathy Bates as CEO? As good as The Office still is, it’s not hitting those highs from back when Pam & Jim were crushing on each other. The new receptionist, Erin, is truly an enjoyable quirkfest.
Free Giveaway: Crazylibellule and the poppies sent me four solid perfumes. I’m keeping one, the one I tried, but I’m giving away the other three. One is Musc & Patchouli; the second is from the Divines Alcoves Collection called “tot mon prince” which means “you my lord” in English and the third is Vanille Lemon Pie. Depending on how many comments we receive I’ll decide whether I’ll send to three different people or whether one person will receive all three.
Please leave a comment and I’ll draw the winner(s) on Wednesday, 17 February. You must have commented at least once before...
Happy Valentine’s Day to one and all!
Knitting... I still haven't finished a scarf I started on years ago. Think I'll have to take a knitting-course if I want to continue, it's been that long.
ReplyDeleteI've never tried CrazyLibelulle. Would love to get my hands on Vanilla Lemon Pie or Musc Patcouli(or both ;).
Which one are you keeping to yourself?
Hi em,
ReplyDeleteI tried the one called Rose a Saigon - it's a fruity rose. I think it was the packaging that called to me - I liked the colors best ;-)
I sniffed the Vanille Lemon Pie (did not touch to skin so it isn't contaminated!) and it is rather nummmy.
I don't think I qualify for the draw (this may be my first comment). I've been sampling Ormonde Jayne this week. Got the Discovery Set of all EXCEPT Tiare. So far I agree with you on the ones I've tried. The nicest so far has been Tolu, but I am not in love, alas. I'll give them all a fair sampling, though. WOuld have liked to try Tiare, though, from what I had heard.
ReplyDeleteI also have a sample of Heure Exquise in edt, and was curious about the edp...
Oh, and Happy Valentines to you too!
ReplyDeleteKnitting -- I can't do it either! Many have tried and failed to teach me. I have to crotchet b/c of my useless right hand. I'm such a strong leftie and I just can't get the knitting down b/c of it.
ReplyDeleteI've never tried the Crazy Libelulles, but "Vanille Lemon Pie" sounds right up mu alley. Enter me please!
And happy Valentines...
Musc and Pattchouli made me perk up...I'd love to be in the draw !
ReplyDeleteI love Huere Exquise and went through two bottles about ten years ago . I fear it has been reformulated...
Maison Francis was a disappointment to me too...amped up laundry detergent accords...
Oh Musc & Patchouli sounds right up my alley. Please enter me in your draw. I've only tried their mocha coffee one and love it. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteAbigail, where are you looking at Scandal, being so high? Did you look here: Beautique.com
ReplyDeleteThey have 100mls of the edp for 120 GBP. The perfume is quite high though, 342.55 GBP, but it's for 100mls. Unless that's a misprint
Love your Valentine's Day illustration! My husband made PBJ-filled French toast this morning--yum! Count me in as a fan of "Parks & Recreation"; Amy Poehler is just too funny. Hey, the show's NBC web site claims more 26,473 fans so someone must be watching...
ReplyDeleteOkay, so now I have to get Heure Exquise in edp just to check it out. HE is just my favorite edt.
I would love to win Musc & Patchouli, or really any of the samples. Please enter me in the drawing (I commented on "Perfume on Film: The Women").
Happy Valentine's Day!
I don't remember if I have posted before, but I think I may.
ReplyDeleteRandom thoughts:
- Your Agent Provocateur review brought me to your blog. Now I can't find it anymore. They say that the whole line is going to be axed.
- We both love BPAL. I just can't wait to see how Womb Furie turns out. In my dreams it's like Snake Oil and O lovechild. And in my dreams it's already aged.
- Now enjoying a bit of Fourreau Noir in my left wrist. And my black cat sitting by my side. If I win the lottery I will buy the special edition bell jar (the one with the cat an the stars).
- And I'm enjoying the last bits of my Diptyque Sandalwood candle, pushing the wax with a knife. Since when 45€ is fair for a perfumed candle? Well, since more than 150E is fair for a perfume bottle, I guess.
Happy Valentine's
quimerula.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHi Abigal,
ReplyDeleteI had my husband order me the Ormonde Jayne Tiare, un-sniffed. Whew! I gambled and won. I love it.
Still loving The Office. It's a guaranteed laugh and wince each episode.
I blew through three Crazylibellule and the Poppies sticks from the Les Garçonnes collection. I let my 6th grade students "experiment" with them and got back nice smelling containers : )
Please enter me in the draw so they might benefit again.
Thank You.
No need to enter me in the draw, but I just wanted to ay thanks for the "recipe"....I think we'll have it for our Valentine's Dinner tonight!
ReplyDeleteMy daughter has just taught herself to knit - with all these snow days, it's come in handy for "something to do." The women of my family crocheted instead, so I can crochet, but over the last few years it tends to make my hands numb, so I stopped.
ReplyDeleteTiare is not calling my name (neither are the CL&P solids, so no need to enter me in the drawing). I LOVE Ta'if, though.
I have only smelled two FMK's - Cologne pour le Matin and Lumiere NOire pour femme. Cologne did not grab me (which I expected), but LN is absolutely to die for. Whoo baby.
And what's so wrong with Mahora anyway? I don't get the hate.
Hi! I feel you, I can't knit either and have tried many times, I just tangle myself all up.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to win one of the CL&P scent sticks -- I won't be lending it/them out to sixth graders, and so will be greedy and resplendently good-smelling all on my own. ;)
fountaingirl (at) gmail (dot) com
I can understand the frustration of trying to knit, when it seems so simple and easy watching others who know how do it. I was given a few lessons in knitting but was told later that the old woman who taught me taught me backwards and it made it so difficult for the next teacher or me to get the knack of it. I have not gone back.
ReplyDeleteBut please enter me in the draw. I'd love to have any one of the Craylibelulle pots having never tried them. Thank you. Happy Valentine's Day!
I love solid perfumes. Please enter me in the draw. Thanks!!
ReplyDeleteChris G
Oh, I'd like to try one (I can't even decide which). Please enter me. :)
ReplyDeleteI used to knit as a teenager, but never anything complicated, just scarves. If I tried it now, I wonder if the 'muscle memory' would still be there?
ReplyDeleteOoh, I like the Crazies - include me, please?
I've read that Maison Francis uses a few cheap synthetics - which I suppose plenty do - but that might explain the underwhelm.
I gave up on American Idol a couple of years ago. If it's shown here at all nowadays, it's at an unsocial hour. But it did used to be fun to watch.
I know what you mean about OJ. I love Tiare, but the others are only 'like'. But I did get to meet Linda, and hearing her talk made me want to retry a few. Maybe I just wasn't paying enough attention when I sampled them before.
So, what does Scandal smell like?
I'm currently craving for Amouage Ubar, and that's a tad costly, too.
It isn't easy to get started knitting, but once you do it's pretty smooth sailing. You'll be knitting sweaters and Kleenex cozies in no time.
ReplyDeleteAs for the Kurkdjians, I suppose I should do a review or two, but I'm just so disappointed. What interests me more is how much other bloggers seem to be loving them. I went back to Barneys three times to spray again on three separate days. I wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt. I love Kurkdjian and was excited by what I'd heard.
They're lovely enough, but very sheer, which is always a line of zzzz's for me. I expected to favor Lumiere Noire. And it's nice, but there are so many spice roses to choose from, and it falls somewhere further down on the totem pole. For my money, I would move to Etat Libre D'Orange's Rossy Di Palma, which is very similar but has more presence. Then too there's Aromatics Elixir, Aramis 900. The list of stellars goes on.
APOM ended up being my favorite Maison Francis fragrance. At first it was so so, but it stuck with me all day. A very persistent fragrance. The problem is, there are, again, much better orange flower fragrances--and my favorite is by Kurkdjian, Fleur du Male for Gaultier. Side by side, Le Male outperforms APOM. There's really no comparison. Oddly, it smells as if made with higher quality materials, and yet it less than half the price for twice the size (APOM=155 per 2.5 oz...FDM=65 per 4.2 oz). One day I'll have to review Fleur du Male.
What seems strange to me, the more I think about it, is the fact that Kurkdjian's work for mainstream brands is much stronger and richer than the work he's done under his own name. After smelling his line with due consideration, I went over to Dior Homme to snag a long-coveted bottle of his divine Eau Noire cologne. Heaven in a bottle.
We watch Parks and Recreation! Well, Himself does, but I reluctantly admit every single time that it's pretty good. And then I forget that it's good until the next time.
ReplyDelete(Ignore me for the drawing, I just had to chime in on the show.)
Mahora... I don't understand it either. I bought a bottle of Mahora from another perfume blogger, and it seems quite good to me. Is it just that people wanted something better from Guerlain? But really, My Insolence is worse.
ReplyDeleteI like Ormonde Jayne Man, it is well reviewed everywhere and it smell nice, and it is not that expensive.
ReplyDeleteI heard a lot about Parks And Recreation but never give it a chance, maybe I have to sit and watch a couple of episodes.
An d please enter my name in the draw, thanks and have a great day.
Roberto.
I'm a little late, but still in time to ask to be added to the drawing! Never tried this line, but I love the name and the descriptions of their fragrances are always intriguing.
ReplyDeletehello! im afraid i visit here rather too late??its already wed 1000 here...
ReplyDeleteive read your post about "incense rose " by tauer, it was really fascinating. i love the smell myself but to some, it smells too strong? anyway, i love it.
and the im interested in Musc patchouli...how d it smell like?
valentines s gone but new lunar year started, happy lunar new year !
Lemon Pie or a nod to noblesse oblige would be lovely, either one! I usually think of winter as the season for enjoying inside all the scents that have disappeared under the snow outside. Foody gourmands put a kink in that theory; but a friend of mine says that if there's the smell of cake or cookies in the air, then there had damn well better be some cake or cookies around! Lemon Pie fragrance... yum
ReplyDeletePlease enter me in the contest. Knitting: wait, didn't you move to somwhere warm? I've only tried two Ormonde Jayne's, and both Woman and Ta'if turned to graphite on me. I should soldier on and try a few more, I suppose...
ReplyDeleteThanks!
Laura M