Following great tradition started by two wonderful bloggers, Birgit (Olfactoria’s Travels) and Portia (Australian Perfume Junkies), once a week I or one of the guest writers will keep the lights on in this virtual leaving room, but I hope that you, my friends and readers, will engage in conversation not only with me or the other host, but also with each other.
Saturday Question #12:
What Chanel Perfume Would You Wear Today?
You have probably seen more than once what usually happens when anybody poses a question that requires people to make a choice. Ask perfumistas to name their top N of something or choose X perfumes to take to the afterlife, and everybody gets really creative trying to sneak in a couple of extra names in a manner Oscar winners “smallprint” everybody they need to thank for their winning – as if not mentioning one of the favorites will anger the Gods of Perfumeland.
So, I decided to try to do it differently. I’m not asking you to choose your absolute favorite, name the “best of” or subscribe to wearing it till death do you part. But if you were asked to choose Chanel perfume that speaks to you the most to wear today (tomorrow it might be something else), what would it be? Just one name (and, if you wish, why you made that choice).
My Answer
Chanel No 19 EdT. It was the first Chanel perfume that I fell in love with. For years I kept trying No 5 hoping to “get” it, but it never worked (and still doesn’t). Somehow that prevented me from trying any other classic Chanel perfumes, and Chance, which I tried, was just awful. And then one day, being in a good mood after a day trip to the wine country, on the way back home we stopped by Nordstrom, and a very nice SAs made me a couple of samples of different Chanel perfumes (it was long before Nordstrom introduced the DIY sampling program).
That was a turning point for me. I loved No 19 EdT! Since then added both EdT and extrait to my collection. I tried vintage EdT (nice, but I’m fine with the one I got 9 years ago). I have a small decant of the modern EdP (hajusuuri, thank you), which I like and enjoy wearing. I even bought No 19 Poudré when it was first released. Unsniffed. But No 19 EdT is still my favorite Chanel – and I’m wearing it today.
What Chanel Perfume Would You Wear Today?
Disclaimer: this blog doesn’t use any affiliated links or benefit from any of the G-d awful ads that some of you might see inserted tastelessly by the WP engine inside the post and/or between comments. Encouraging readers to post more comments does not serve any purpose other then getting pleasure from communicating with people who share same interests.
I’ll be adding something new in the end of this post during the next 7 days. Come back whenever you remember to read something new, see what perfume I chose to wear, share your SOTD (even if it has absolutely nothing to do with irises) or just talk to me and others.
Can you believe it’s Week 4 of the Month of Irises? I still have perfumes for the next 7 days, and I’m curious to see what others find to wear.
There were no more “takers” for hosting an Iris Day so I’ll be doing all the daily updates (but if anybody wants to take over one of the remaining days, you’re still welcome).
* * *
Thursday, February 22, 2018
SOTD
I enjoyed wearing ChanelNo 19 extraitso much that I decided to stay with Chanel for one more day. I will be wearing No 19 EdP.
PICTURE OF THE DAY
Rusty got really interested with my origami experiments. I’ll try to add a GIF for tomorrow but meanwhile just a teaser.
Friday, February 23, 2018
SOTD
Following Lucas’s lead, Hedonist Iris by Viktoria Minya.
GIF OF THE DAY
If for nothing else, it was worth making those origami irises because Rusty was really taken by those. Probably I should make a couple more for him to play.
Saturday, February 24, 2018
SOTD
I’ve been postponing it, but it’s probably time to finish my decant of Iris Silver Mist by Serge Lutens. I think it is one of perfumes that has such an iconic standing that it is difficult for it to live up to itself.
WINDOW SHOPPING
Have you seen this already? A note pad from Japanese company Triad that reveals architectural models as you keep using it. I do not really use paper notes but I love the idea (and the color! and have you noticed those irises on the base?). If $123 + $21 S&H doesn’t scare you away, click on the picture to pre-order this Omoshiroi Block Japanese Landmark Memo Pad Kiyomizudera Temple, Asakusa Temple, Tokyo Tower notepad or one of several other designs (I’m not affiliated).
Sunday, February 25, 2018
SOTD
I decided to give Iris Silver Mist one more wear. While it was nice, I don’t think I like it more than several other irises I have or tried this month. So once I finish my decant (probably one or two more times), I won’t try to get a bottle. Maybe another decant.
Monday, February 26, 2018
SOTD
I wanted to wear Purple Rainby Prada on a rainy day. Unfortunately, February this year was dry. One day when it suddenly rained, I was already wearing another perfume that was tenacious enough to last me through the day. But now we have rain forecast for this Monday, so I’ll be wearing Purple Rain. I wish I had this umbrella to accompany it:
Tuesday, February 27, 2018
VIDEO CLIP OF THE DAY
Recently I was watching (again) Hercule Poirot series and was reminded how much I liked the song used in one of the episodes – Yellow Iris. Unfortunately, from what I managed to find, it had never been released as a stand-alone song, so all you can do is to listen to it in the clip from the episode (in which, by the way, there is a reference to the flower of the month – so I thought it was at least partially relevant). The song is beautiful, and I wanted to share it with you (and I’ll add lyrics under the video – in case some of the words are not clear in the background).
I’ve forgotten you,
I never think of you,
The way you walked, the way you talked, the things you used to say.
I’ve forgotten you,
I never think of you,
I couldn’t say for sure today
Whether your eyes were blue or grey.
I’ve forgotten you,
I never think of you,
Your smile, your touch,
Which meant so much,
Somewhere along the way.
I’ve forgotten you,
I never think of you,
I changed my mind , my love was blind ,
Now I’ve forgotten you.
Oh, what a lie!
I shall think of you,
Think of you,
Think of you,
Till I die
SOTD 2/27/2018
With just 2 days left in the month I’m going through the remaining list of my iris-centric perfumes choosing carefully what gets a wear within this project. I’m going with my first unsniffed purchase – Chanel No. 19 Poudré, even though I suspect it might be a little too cold for it.
Wednesday, February 28, 2018
So we are on the last day of A Month of Irises project. After it’s over, I’ll probably do a round-up post with some statistics – so please, keep going, do not give up until the end of the month (and report back).
LINKS, LINKS, LINKS
I thought it would be very fitting to finish my updates for the month of irises, rainbows and perfumes with a link to Asali’s (The Sounds of Scent) review of the legendary Iris Gris perfume – At the end of the rainbow.
SOTD 2/28/2018
I started this project with a list of iris perfumes that had more than 28 scents, so it is not a surprise that I had a choice of what to wear for the last day. After going back and forth between a couple of contenders, I decided that Hirisby Hermès would be a perfect conclusion for the month: it is very office-friendly (and I have some meetings in a small office), it is a classic iris perfume, it is the last perfume featured in the picture of the introductory post for this project that I haven’t worn yet, and this mini bottle was a gift from dear Portia (Australian Perfume Junkies).
What are you wearing today?
Images: memo block and umbrella – from the sites selling the products, linked (no affiliation); the rest – my own
Strictly from the personal prospective, 2017 wasn’t a bad year: it had its share of unpleasantness and hardships but nothing to be really unhappy – so I won’t complain or even mention that. Instead, I would rather remember that year by good things that happened – short and long trips, wonderful time spent with my friends, successful projects at work and wonderful perfumes I got to test and wear in 2017.
As I usually do it in the beginning of the new year, I’m looking back to my perfume records and sharing with you my insights.
How I do it
Years ago I created a personal database (using MS Access) to hold information on all the perfumes I own or test. Whenever I get a new sample, I add it to the database – below I give an example of the entry form I use. I do not always get all the information but I add what I can find. Perfume name, launch year and notes are free-text entry; designer (brand), perfumers, notes and some other data points are coming from the pre-defined lists, so there can be no discrepancies.
Whenever I wear or test perfumes, I record it in the Perfume Diary. In the form below, “Purpose” is one of the choices for when/why I wore or tested that perfume, e.g., “office wear” or “weekend day” or “Work from home.” Type of use is either “wore” or “tested”; “Response” is a formalized evaluation of how I reacted to that perfume on that day – e.g., “Enjoyed it a lot” or “Mixed feelings” or “I hated it,” etc. And finally “My notes” contain a short free-form comment, whatever I want to write about that time I wore or tested perfume.
For those readers who haven’t been around when I was doing this series regularly, I want to explain what I mean when I say “tested” or “wore”: for testing I apply perfume to one area on my arms easily available for the repetitive sniffing. I can test two, sometimes even more perfumes at the same time. I do most of my testing in the evenings or while working from home. When I wear perfume, I apply it to at least three-four points, and usually I plan to spend at least 4-8 hours with the same scent so I’m prepared to re-apply if the original application wears off. After wearing a less tenacious perfume in the morning I might wear another one later. I wear perfumes mostly from bottles and decants; I wear perfumes from samples only when I consider buying a bottle or decant.
So, now when I explained how I collect data, let’s take a look at my 2017 in numbers.
178 Perfumes Worn
This year I wore more different perfumes than the year before – 178 (vs. 164 in 2016) from more brands – 72 (vs. 61) but did it less often – on 314 occasions (vs. 333).
Second year in a row Jo Malone was a brand I wore the most. I think it’s because these are my most “office friendly” perfumes. Neela Vermeire Creations made its way back into the Top 10 chart (last time it was here in 2014); while Le Labo fell completely off. The rest of the group just moved around but stayed on the chart, which isn’t surprising since I do not either update or expand my collection significantly any longer and keep wearing my favorites.
I tend to rotate perfumes I wear daily so I usually do not wear the same perfume even twice the same months – that’s how I go through that many different perfumes in a year. But I still managed to wear 67 perfumes more than once during 2017. Five perfumes I wore the most – Chanel No 19 (EdT, EdP and extrait), Lancôme Climat, Ormonde Jayne Ta’if, Krigler Lieber Gustav 14 and Armani La Femme Bleue.
Testing: Recording 300 and “carrying over” 1,000
This year was remarkable in regards to testing: in addition to the cursory testing of about 1,000 perfumes during my London – Barcelona – Stockholm trip (those didn’t go into my database – unless I scored a sample to bring back with me), I recorded testing at home 300 perfumes (vs. 275 last year) from 103 (vs. 100) brands. 134 of them were completely new to me (the rest I had tested before). I really liked/loved 24 of them, liked 20, thought that 56 were just not interesting and disliked 34.
Have you noticed an increasing frequency of people vlogging about buying and finishing products, from nail polish, to body lotion, to make-up and even perfumes? Googling videos with “YouTube beauty product empties” yielded thousands of results. A quick perusal showed that the most relevant videos ranged from 5 minutes to an average of 20 or so minutes each. The earliest video was from May 2013 and the most recent one was from a few minutes ago.
In Perfumeland, finishing a full bottle of perfume is like finding a unicorn, unless you have perfume-eating skin, in which case, you WISH said unicorn magically replenishes the bottle you are about to finish. I am close to seeing my next1 perfume unicorn. Can you guess for which perfume?
If you guessed Chanel No. 19 EDP, you are absolutely right!
According to Fragrantica, Chanel No. 19 was launched in 1970. The Number 19 in the name refers to the August 192, birth date of Coco Chanel. While there are various formulations of Chanel No. 19 (EDT, EDP, Parfum and even a flanker – Poudre), the one I like best is the EDP. It has a bracing combination of bergamot, iris, vetiver and a hint of leather. It is easy to wear, office-friendly and lasts all day with my usual 5 sprays. Chanel No. 19 EDP gives me backbone for anticipated stress-filled days; and there had been plenty of those since I bought this 100mL bottle in March 2015.
I still have a few wearings left and I am determined to finish it before the end of the year. To celebrate this milestone, I am offering a miniature L’Air du Desert Marocain3. To be entered, leave a comment and include the following:
Date when you think I will finish the bottle.
The last perfume bottle you finished – when and which one. If you have not finished one, which one will you use up within the next 6 months?
Your country (there is no restrictions but we need to know).
The contest is open until 11:59PM PST on December 23, 2017. The winner will be chosen via Random.org from the commenters who guessed the date correctly. If not one guesses the date correctly, everyone will be included in the random drawing. Please note that neither Undina nor hajusuuri is responsible for replacing the mini if it were to get lost or damaged.
1 BurberryBritt Sheer, Hermes Kelly Caleche EDP and Shu Uemura Fleur de Source
2 Coco Chanel was born on August 19. I started working full time after college on August 19. Coincidence, or not?
3 The L’Air du Desert Marocain mini is courtesy of Andy Tauer. He sent me 2 extra minis, one of which I sent to a dear perfumista friend and the second one is for this contest.
Have you ever worn a perfume that was so good that you just want to bathe in it? Fortunately, for those of us who answered Yes, there ARE bath & body products to satisfy that desire. My obsession with scented shower gels began during my pre-perfumista days with the now sadly discontinued L’OccitaneThé Vert Green Tea. While I wisely bought a back-up of the eau de toilette, I used the last of the shower gel 2 years ago.
In this post, I have summarized my experience using shower gels of some of my favorite perfumes. These are all easily accessible although most are in the spendy category ($25++). I am not affiliated with any of these companies and my recommendations are based on my experience.
Starting from the worst…and ending with the best shower gel:
Perfume
How’s the Shower Gel?
Verdict
Prada Candy
o Sticky laundry musk chemical mess.
Failed
Philosophy Fresh Cream
o Gel had good consistency.
o Fragrance was too light and reminded me of dishwater with leftover milk.
Failed
Hermes Voyage d’ Hermes
o Reminded me of the perfume.
o Product was too watery and not the right consistency for a shower gel.
o Ended up being the most expensive per mL.
Failed
Jo Malone Blackberry & Bay
o Product is labeled as body and hand wash.
o Great as a hand wash but meh for showers.
Failed
Atelier Cologne Orange Sanguine
o Smelled just like the cologne!
o Gel was very thick and required patience to get product out. A squeeze tube may be a better container.
Will buy again
Chanel No. 19 EDP
o Reminded me of a mix between the EDP and Poudre.
o Feels luxurious with packaging to match.
Will buy again
Le Labo Iris 39
o Smelled like a saltier version of the perfume.
o Fragranced the body lightly and the bathroom nicely.
Will buy again
Lush Rose Jam
o Smelled like rose jam and filled the bathroom with a heady rose scent!
o Actually better than the perfume.
Will buy again
Frederic Malle Carnal Flower
o Smelled true to the BWF aesthetic and felt super-luxurious.
o I kept huffing the empty sample container, need I say more?
Will buy again
Many of these also have matching body lotion but since I don’t use scented body lotions, I don’t have an opinion as to their quality. I understand that a similar scented body lotion effect can be achieved by adding a drop or two of perfume mixed in with unscented body lotion.
Stay tuned for Part 2 where I will report on making my own small batch shower gels, as soon as I find a source for fragrance-free shower gel. Given a choice, I would like to see the following in shower gel format: Atelier Cologne Sous le toit de Paris, Frederic Malle Iris Poudre, Le Labo Vanille 44 and Puredistance Opardu.
How about you? What scented shower gel do you enjoy using? What’s on your scented bath & body products wish list?
***
From Undina:
I know that you all take part in the conversation because of the conversation. But a draw from hajusuuri is already a tradition. So everybody who answers her question(s) will be entered to win: 4 ml shower gel (choose between Carnal Flower, Iris 39 or Rose Jam) + 4 ml of unscented Diana Vreeland body cream + Perfume Sample Travel Kit (compact box, 2 atomizers, 2 dab vials and labels). No DNEMs, please! If you win and do not want the prize, hajusuuri will let you nominate another winner (she’s that kind).
This giveaway is open to everyone worldwide. The giveaway is open until 11:59PM PST on December 12, 2015. The winner will be chosen via random.org. Please note that neither Undina nor hajusuuri is responsible for replacing the samples and decants if they were to get lost or damaged.
Customs official:Anything to declare? Avi:Yeah. Don’t go to England.
Snatch
I’m lucky not only to live in the area with a great climate but to live really close to two wine regions in California – Sonoma and Napa. Being wine enthusiasts, my vSO and I belong to several wine clubs in Sonoma and three-four times a year we take short trips there “to pick-up our shipment”. Of course, we could use a mail delivery option since if to add up the cost of gas, hotel and meals for those trips there will be no savings whatsoever – quite the opposite. So we use that reason just as a pretext to go away from a daily life for a couple of days.
Normally during Sonoma trips we would go to one-two new (for us) wineries, visit two-three places we liked and wanted to see which new wines they’d released and also stop by those wineries where we had a pick-up. This time we decided to stir thing up and go to Napa.
We’ve been to Napa before many years ago and had some warm memories about that visit so the idea was to just spend some time there, do some tasting and go to those places we liked from the previous time.
Accommodations
There are not too many nice hotels to stay in Napa area so I was very proud of myself when I managed to score a “four star” Silverado Resort through priceline.com for $120/night. Plus tax. Plus, as I found out the day we checked out, a $20/day “resort fee” and $2/day “occupancy tax”. Whatever. On the plus side, they had very nice bath robes – not that I needed it since I always bring something to wear in the room, but it was nice. On the minus side, even though the room was clean the carpet was way beyond its natural life span and the fact that we could get some sleep should be attributed entirely to the nice weather (have I mentioned how lucky we are with our climate?): had it been a little warmer or colder, the sound from the cooling/heating unit strategically placed almost above the bed wouldn’t have allowed us any night rest… Well, after some thinking I have to take that “strategically” back: our neighbors’ AC, for all ten minutes they thought it was hot enough to turn it on, produced the noise that wasn’t much less irritating than the unit over our heads did.
Tasting Rooms
I still remember those times when tasting was free at most places. I didn’t like it because every time I felt obligated to buy something after a nice person poured me some wines and entertained me for ten minutes throwing in appellations, terroir and other very important words. I always felt I’d preferred to pay for trying those wines and then decide if to buy anything on its own merit. Should I have been more careful with my wishes?
We deliberately chose several well-known wine producers and decided to try their reserve/exclusive/etc. lines. We knew about $20-$35 tasting fees non-refundable with purchase and we were fine with that. What we weren’t prepared to was a complete lack of attention and service that you get (should I say “didn’t get”?) for that fee. I can’t believe people who work at Silver Oak’s or BV Private Reserve’s tasting rooms really think that anybody drives all the way out there to drink 3-4 ounces of wine in silence. I could have stayed in the hotel gone to a bar and had a better drink for cheaper (I refer to the process, experience and not the quality since everywhere we went wine itself was very good. Overpriced but good).
I want to mention two places that stood out in the positive way: St. Clement Vineyards and Sequoia Grove winery(see picture on the right). At both places stuff was knowledgeable and friendly.
Food
Since this visit wasn’t connected to any events or celebrations we decided not to spend time researching restaurants and both evenings in Napa we just walked in the downtown from one menu to another until we found something we wanted to eat. We enjoyed eating at both places we chose, so I want to mention their names – Zuzu Tapas & Paella and Angèle Restaurant.
Perfumes
As much as I love our trips to the wine country I always struggle with the self-imposed limitations on wearing perfumes to wine tasting. This time I realized the vacation wouldn’t be as enjoyable as it could without perfumes. I decided to find perfumes that wouldn’t interfere too much with wines. The idea was to use perfumes that were as far from the wine smell’s components as possible. I chose La Tulipe by Byredo and Eau du Soir by Sisley.Both scents worked perfectly for the occasion. One night to the restaurant I was wearing Chanel No. 19. This one works for me always.
During our walks in Napa we stopped at the Baker Street Downtown – “Tobacconist and Lifestyle store for Discerning Men and Women”. I didn’t realize it was a tobacco store until we were inside and I was about to leave when I spotted some perfume bottles. This store carries perfumes by Lubin. I sniffed them from bottles and then went there the next evening and tried two – Gin Fizz and Idole. Gin Fizz was exactly like I imagined it would be – sparkling, citrusy, uncomplicated. It wasn’t interesting enough for me to pursue it in future even to try again. With Idole it was a different story. I liked it from the first wear. It was woodsy, smoky and spicy. I will try to get a sample to test it more.
On our way back we stopped at the Mill Valey’s shopping center to visit Nicole Grey & Co. gift store. I found it during one of the previous trips. It carries several rare perfume brands: Boadicea the Victorious, Carthusia, Juliette Has A Gun, Profumi del Forte and some others. After a couple of rounds of sniffing from bottles I moved to blotters and then by the elimination process chose four contenders to go on my skin. By the time I arrived home I had a winner: I will be seeking By Night, White by Profumi del Forte for the further testing. I liked it through all the stages – from the top notes to the drydown.
Do I have anything to declare? Yes! Don’t go to Napa. Sonoma is a much friendlier and more enjoyable place.
What is your drink of choice? Does it go with your perfumes?
As always, feel free to post a link to your blog’s post(s) related to the topic.
Undina's Looking Glass 