SOTD: Paris by YSL

So for the last few years I have tried to be seasonel in my life, buying produce that grows in the season, wearing clothes that is seasonal (This probably sounds silly to someone living outside of California), and wearing my fragrances to go with the season. Yet, I am right now hitting that moment when I all I desire to do is throw out my sweet heavy orientals, it was about this time last year I was constantly wearing Infusion d'Iris. So now you are probably wondering as to why I am being stringent with myself with this whole fragrance thing? Mainly because I have a lot of perfumes and I would like to think I put them to good use at one point and if I do it seasonaly then I am making a tiny significant dent in that large stash of fragrances I wear. But today I cannot do it, so I am putting on that gorgeous in your face violet rose scent, Paris. This is the eighties fragrance that always stops me because it doesn't smell dated to my nose and because when at the non-niche fragrance counter it always smells unique. It seems no one decided to copy it.

And a favorite song of mine, When The Stars Go Blue by Ryan Adams

image provided by artnet.com
image: The Rose Garden (display: II) (I) by Sarah Jones 2007
video uploaded by Boatv2

Cooking: My First Pie

So I finally did it, I baked my first pie from scratch, sure the picture isn't perfect, but making a pie from scratch will make you feel a bit like a superhero. As you can not the crust isn't perfect, but I suspect that takes practice. Of course while looking for pie recipes I would choose the more complicated one not really realizing it until I really started sit down and analyze my recipe as I prepared to make it, the pie in question was: Alsatian Apple Pie http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Alsatian-Style-Apple-Pie-105573

It was delicious by the way.

sotd: Fifi Chachnil

Talk about a big day, I admit I pulling one of those fragrances I save for special occasions, because today is a special occasion. The weather has slightly cooled so it won't be too bad. I have MSNBC blaring in the background and I am jealous of all those people right now in D.C. . I hope everyone has a gorgeous day.

image provided by artnet.com

image: Celebration by Bill Rane

SOTD: Narciso Rodriguez edt

Sometimes you just want the original and in this case I am talking about Narciso Rodriguez eau de toilette. While there are examples of fragrances in the "new" chypre category before NR edt (Cabaret by Gres and Coco Madamoiselle by Chanel) it wasn't until NR edt that the category really launched and became so ubiquitous. I have dabbled in a few of the offspring and enjoyed them (Lovely by SJP). But in truth nothing really compares to the original but then again it is because NR edt gets one thing very right, the woods ,which uses the now ubiquitious clean patchouli/vetiver note perfectly, the woods in it are consistently smooth, there is no irritating buzz. Which now brings me to the irritating buzz of clean patchouli that is overly raspy in many fragrances now that consider themselves to be a part "new" chypre or the fresh orientals, first up Badgley Mischka original, the opening in this is quite nice a fruity liquor with hints of osmanthus (the same osmanthus that can be found in NR edt), but the drydown is in my opinion on the cheap side, flat and at the same time a rasping buzz that can be headache inducing (they should have taken notes from Coco Madamoiselle on how to get it right). Now there is the new David Yurman, which is to me pure buzzing headache inducing clean patchouli with raspy vetiver and citrus. The insipidness of the clean patchouli note leaves you wanting the big camphorous skanky patchouli that can be found in Angel, and that is sad because there are plenty of Angel offspring out there. So fragrance industry why don't we try and do something different?

On to something to look forward to: Narciso Rodriguez is bringing out a new fragrance this spring and I am looking very much forward to it, he helped to create what I consider now a classic, and I am very heartened by his belief in slowly creating something and focusing on the details, we need more of that in the fragrance industry.

image provided by http://blog.libero.it/evalunaracconta/5523164.html
image: Femme a Colombe by Tamara de Lempicka

SOTD: Songes

So the gorgeous spring weather continues and as tradition goes I usually try to go with something luxurious or a scent I can't wear to work, so today I am going with magnificent sillage monster: Annick Goutal's Songes. So beautifully loud and yet so utterly langurous; you just want to fall asleep in it and yet it most definately has a presence. Hope everyone has a lovely weekend.

image provided by http://www.goodart.org/artoftdl.htm

image: Girl Sleeping by Tamara de Lempicka 1935

SOTD: Datura Noir

All week I have been craving Datura Noir so today I am finallly wearing it. It is such a strange mixture of cool and languid. Bizarrely it reminds me of humidity yet it has a cool juxtaposition of powder. Thoughts on skin chemistry, I have a coworker who loves Lolita Lempicka, and every time I wear it she compliments me on it, yet here is the funny thing she never recognizes the scent on me. As I worked by her side last night I caught a waft of Lolita Lempicka (I think it has one of those really memorable distinct sillages) and I was amazed at how different it smelled on us and was still recognizable to my nose, on her the vanilla is really upped where as me the vetiver and powdery violet are more accentuated.

image provided by http://www.unisi.it/lettura.scrittura/imago/tamara.html

image: Portrait of Romana de la Salle by Tamara de Lempicka 1928

SOTD: Climat

The crazy whether continues so decided to put on the beautiful green mineraly Climat. As I put it on I was thinking about how this fragrance is supposed to inspire the tropics and how our idea of tropical fragrances is so different now, the thought then continued on to a new release: Manoumalia by LesNez. This next thought is based purely on speculation considering I have never smelled Manoumalia, but every review I have read references that it has a beautiful earthy vetiver note running through it, I wonder if Sandrine Videault might have taken some reference from Climat in this inclusion of earthy vetiver note in her tropical based fragrance? Once again I just want to mention this is pure speculation.
image provided by http://whetyourimagination.blogspot.com/2007/03/tamara-de-lempicka.html
image by Tamara de Lempicka

SOTD: Spun Orange Blossom, Silken Yuzu, Smooth Sandalwood

This is insane it is going to be 7o something today, so the idea of warm and sweet is out the door. So going with a blend of my GAP oils it should make for a nice refreshing twist. So here are some fragrance musings:
-Fragonard's Grain de Soleil smells very similar to Fifi Chachnil, just wanted to put that out there to all the Fifi fans.
-The Badgely Mishka juice has not been tampered with tried a spray of it at Ulta, but I will point out to be wary of Sephora's lighting, also the stuff has one heck of intense drydown. Just not a fan.
-I want a good citrus and orange blossom.

And now for more The Pierces, "Turn on Billie"


image provided by http://www.topofart.com/artists/Tamara_de_Lempicka/art_reproduction/4528/Kizette_in_Pink.php
image: Kizette in Pink by Tamara de Lempicka 1926
video uploaded by maddiemad4music

SOTD: Dolce & Gabbana Red Cap over Spun Orange Blossom

So today is Monday and I will be spending it waiting for maitenance repair. As I right I have two cats trying to find their perfect sunspot. Avalou on the table sitting on a cupcake book (she likes to be next to me) and Henri on the living floor by the patio glass door moving his head in fascination at the movement of leaves. Last night I spent the evening over at a friends house for dinner and there in the company of two women, who could wear florals, one wearing the original Vera Wang and the other I fairly positive the original Marc Jacobs, and I was most definately jealous in a way only a fragrance lover can be. I have a hard time wearing florals, to put it this way I can make the most easy going florals highly indolic, example Bvlgari Jasmin Noir, as Grain de Musc points out in her newest article this piece is very light on the jasmine, put it on me though, and you have major indoles baby. I often wish I could pull on the floral category better because it adds such an easy feminine quality. Still in my years of exploring floral fragrances I have learned: rose usually is my best friend and so is osmanthus, tuberose and orange blossom are the white flowers for me (Gardenia is usually not), Jasmine and I are very tricky, my best luck with the note being Bvlgari pour femme and Coco Madamoiselle pure parfum, and finally my major florals are:
Le Chasse Aux Papillons
Bvlgari pour Femme
Mille et Une Roses
Osmanthus Interdite

And now for an awesome little music video, The Pierces "Sticks and Stones," very gothic, and had Buffy the Vampire Slayer was still around this song would so have been used:


Avalou approved scents:
Bal a Versailles
Magnifique
Burt's Baby Bee Apricot Baby Oil

Henri approved scents:
Dolce & Gabbana red cap

image provided by http://lacomunidad.elpais.com/la-mujer-poliedrica/2007/12/7/el-color-mis-suenos
image: La Dormeuse by Tamara de Lempicka
video uploaded by thepierces

Pictures: Featuring Avalou and Henri

First up Henri-cat, he is a big kitty with a very silly disposition, but he looks like quite the prince:

And finally, the princess herself, my Avalou-girl (and yes that is my hand, one of the few ways to make her sit still):

Somehow these two cats ended up with very French names.

SOTD: Vanille Noire du Mexique

So it has been awhile since I spoke about the kitten because the truth is I did not get her until yesterday. There were a few physical complications she had but now she is all better. The name Avalou has immediately stuck to her, she is already responding to it after one day, but the amazing part is how well she is responding to me, before yesterday I had only met her once, otherwise for the last month I have been rather invested in pictures of her. Her response upon my arrival yesterday to pick her up, was to immediately come up to me and start purring and do her trademark headbutt of my hand, it was strangely as if she knew I was there to take her home and funny part was she was quite delighted. Even my roommate has noticed how quickly she responds to me when I say her name and she immediately comes running, quite simply I am her mother. She was also really dominant of that fact yesterday because when ever I went to pet my roommates cat, Henri, she would immediately start running to me.
Bizarro part somewhere in the middle of the night she got perfume on herself, I don't even know how. She is now trying to play with Henri whom seems to be finally warming up to her although he did spend most of yesterday making angry emo-teenager cat noises while under my bed or in his favorite closet space. It was very Garfield and Nirmal yesterday. As I sit here typing they are finally playing, Henri is about three times the size of Avalou, but my girl is rather adorably gutsy, tiny but most definately fiesty. I will post pictures some time soon unfortunately my world's worst camera luck continued yesterday, which my brand new phone (I bought it on saturday) day randomly shutting off and never coming back on as I was taking pictures of Avalou.

image provided by http://community.brandrepublic.com/blogs/quickpeeks/default.aspx

image: by Erte

SOTD: Osmanthus Interdite

I'm right now having an osmanthus craving to be more truthful actually a floral craving. The idea of wearing my orientals just seems like too much work and as happens arounds this time of year for many of us, our noses just get tired of heavy orientals. I will also say this partially brought on by the news that Serge Luten's is doing an osmanthus scent, Nuit de Celllophane, I have dreamed about this for awhile, but at the same time I am scared. I am scared because he finally did an almond scent, Louve, and I did not like it.

image provided by artnet.com

image: Beauty and the Beast by Erte

SOTD: Badgely Mishka original scent

Juice tampering; is a dreaded word combo in the fragrance adoration club. For awhile now I have wanted to revisit the scent of Badgely Mishka to see how the osmanthus note held up in it, I had tried it when it first came out, and I remember it having a prominent amber note and fairly sweet opening. So yesterday while shopping I went into a Sephora to get a sample and brought it home and sprayed it on, the first thing that popped to my mind, they used the same osmanthus note as Narciso Rodriguez edt, and this does not smell like the Badgely Mishka scent I remember from only a few years ago. What it really smells like is another NR clone with the amber drydown now smelling distinctly masculine, very masculine, in fact like cheap cologne. Hmmm, I wonder if this is fragrance tampering or if Sephora's lights wrecked the juice? Still this reminds that this last summer that I did a major search for Badgely Mishka's scent on the net and could not find it anywhere only to now find it once again everywhere; do I smell scent conspiracy or has Sephora's intense lighting aged a juice? I must investigate.

image provided by erte.com

image: Cape a la Ruse by Erte

Spending The Last Few Days In A Lovely Period Piece Haze

First up was the wonderful Cranford; I have been meaning to watch this for ages and it was every bit as wonderful as everyone said it is. Wonderfully gossipy and with dashes of romance and featuring ladies of a certain age in power and loving it. I must say Elizabeth Gaskell was quite ahead of her time.

For a frothy delightful champagne treat go watch Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day. I am officially in love with Amy Adams wonderfully animated face and Lee Pace is just gorgeous! Plus gorgeous costuming and set design.

This takes place in the same time period as Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day. A little bit bumpy at times, but it is interesting to see where the characters go. I admit I wanted to throttle Polly and now I am determined to read a biography of the Mitford sisters. The really funny part was recognizing the actresses who played younger sisters (not shown above) would go on to play roles in Hex and the new Chronicles of Narnia movies. Great costuming in this!