SOTD: Osmanthe Yunnan

So I finally got my order decants from Fishbone (by the way she is awesome). I ordered a decant of Hermes Osmanthe Yunnan unsniffed she reduced the price heavily and I could not pass it up (this is also my first Hermes from the special collection). So this is an interesting take on osmanthus, starts off with the smoky tea note that definately has an anamalic musk note going through it. Enter the freesia and orange which when intertwined give this fragrance a hint of pine, and finally the lovely osmanthus in all its leather apricot glory. This is a bit of a smoke and mirrors fragrance with its opening. Interesting I have some Peet's Osmanthus Yunnan tea and well I am going to have to get that out.

Music: Never The Same by Supreme Beings of Leisure (oh how I love pandora)

Quote of the Day: I'm too shy to express my sexual needs except over the phone to people I don't know. -- Garry Shandling

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image: Jeune Fille au Turban Orange by Tamara de Lempicka

SOTD: Bvlgari pour femme

So begins the day of the second paper. This one is a bit easier considering the professor who assigned it has already set up a format as to how he wants it written. Today is supposed to be the first sweltering day in the Bay Area, so approaching this with the cool feminity of Bvlgari pour femme.

Song: Vancouver by Jeff Buckley

Quote of the Day: There must be more to life than having everything.-- Maurice Sendak

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image: The Parasol by Arthur Hacker 1902

SOTD: Pure Grace with GAP Silken Yuzu

Another long day almost done with paper and have one more project due for this class, but I can do it, on my second cup of tea. Will be highly caffinated today. So going with peaceful and energizing scent combo of Philosophy's Pure Grace and GAP Silken Yuzu oil. I will survive and can't wait to be done. Went with cranes today because they symbolize longevity, will later on put on an osmanthus scent also a symbol of longevity.

Song: Open Book by Cake (great lyrics)

Quote of the Day: He's simply got the instinct for being unhappy highly developed. -- Saki

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image: Auspicious Crane by Li Dazhi 2005

SOTD: Infusion d'Iris

So yesterday was not good, I came down with a fever and now have a mild case of the flu, no working on papers for me and now I am working on a deadline. Good goin Jen. The answer to this scent wise, Infusion d'Iris.
Sampled: Immortalle l'Amour by Ayala Moriel, starts off with a gorgeous vanilla extract note (apparently she used 3 vanillas in this) and dries down to the most mapley scent ever, you will want to lick your wrists. This has shockingly good lasting power. The tea made to go with this is also quite lovely.
Gaucho by Ayala Moriel, now this is herbacious! Has the most amazing smokey dry down, one I have never run across in any other fragrance, literally the scent of a match lit when run across stone. Sounds weird, but very addictive to smell. Sadly the lasting power of this scent isn't the greatest.

Quote of the Day: We rarely think people have good sense unless they agree with us. -- Francois de La Rochefoucauld, Maximes (1678)

Image: Birthday by Marc Chagall

SOTD: Mille et Une Roses

I have a long Sunday ahead of me, to put it quite simply, Mother's Day is a hard day for me, my mother passed away when I was a child, and well having that gap in your life is never lessened as time goes by. I am also working, which will keep my mind off what today is, but also takes time away from working on my papers. So what do you choose to wear on day that you need to feel embraced? I'm choosing Mille et Une Roses, it has a gentleness that speaks of the maternal or maybe it is an angelic compassion. It is not a strident astringent rose like Agent Provocateur or a sexed up rose like Frederic Malle's Lipstick Rose, it is quite simply a beautiful gentle rose, could be the reason why it is loved by so many, it is hard to find a gentle scent.
Testing: Sahleb by Ayala Moriel, what I smell is lovely, rosy, powdery, with a hint of something almost minty, just wish it had more oomph. And now a little incense. By the way if anyone has the notes for this please share.
Quote of the Day: I'm not sure I want popular opinion on my side -- I've noticed those with the most opinions often have the fewest facts.-- Bethania McKenstry

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Sleeping Beauty by Henry Meynell Rheam

SOTD: Chanel 22

Well I found this image ages ago and I have been waiting for the moment when I would want to wear Chanel 22 to go with it. Although, now that I think of it, this would also be perfect with the scent of figs. Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend; me not so much, work and papers. Still I have very pretty pretty perfume.
Quote of the Day: shall never be ashamed of citing a bad author if the line is good. -- Seneca

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Angel by Liu Jin 2005

SOTD: Fleurs d'Osmanthus by Keiko Mecheri

When did I become such a floral lover? I have not wanted to touch my orientals or florientals in a long time. I suppose the reality being inside so much while working on schoolwork has left me wanting fresh, light, and springy scents. Still this trend worries me :-P. Damn you osmanthus! (this is screamed Colbert Report style).
Quote of the Day: I believe in looking reality straight in the eye and denying it.-- Garrison Keillor
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The Sakura Bride by Kimiko Yoshida

SOTD: Pearl by Sage Machado

Wearing something I have not worn in ages, Sage Machado's Pearl, the weather remains coolish and this well seemed perfect to go with it.
Quote of the Day: What's on your mind, if you will allow the overstatement?-- Fred Allen

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Pack Clouds Away and Welcome Days by Edward Robert Hughes

Scent of the Day: Osmanthus Interdite

Will I ever get over the scent of osmanthus? Nope, I hope not. I truly believe it one of those scents that will forever be on my favorites list. As any fragrance lover knows there are notes you are just drawn to, that seem to fit your aesthetic down to the bone. You want to surround yourself it's beauty, you day dream about what your favorite noses or houses could do with it, you come up with fantasy fragrances that always include a note of it. You go looking for all things that include that include the note.
Quote of the Day: The capacity of human beings to bore one another seems to be vastly greater than that of any other animal.-- H. L. Mencken
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Rose Gentleman by Peng Si 2006

Scent of the Day: La Parisienne

So today is the first of May and I am wearing the one scent of mine that has prominent lily of the valley note, La Parisienne. A lovely sparkling way to start off the month.
Quote of the Day: Most modern calendars mar the sweet simplicity of our lives by reminding us that each day that passes is the anniversary of some perfectly uninteresting event.-- Oscar Wilde

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Most Worn In April: Narciso Rodriguez

So unlike the last months I apparently did barely any repeating, the only fragrance that ended up going beyond two times was Narciso Rodriguez.
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Lily, Imperial Pink by Irving Penn

What Smells Good?

So over the last few years as I have delved more and more into the world of smell specifically through fragrance and I have become to realize what I consider to smell "good" changes, at the beginning I was gourmand lover in the sense of only loving sweet candied bakery scents. Yet as time has passed I still remain a gourmand lover but I have gone beyond sweet to love neutral food scents specifically tea and rice. Although, I will admit of late I have come to love the varieties of scent found in rice from the lovely nutty basmati rice to the floral beauty of jasmine rice and simple perfume of store bought indistinct long grain white rice. A wonderful way to enjoy the scent of rice is the Thai dessert Sticky Rice with Mango, the chewy delicate grains of rice mixed with coconut milk and then served with slices of musky astringent sweet mango sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds or as I had it the other day toasted rice kernals, makes for a lovely sweet and slightly savory dish. If you love the scent as i do I highly recommend you get a bar of the Bath and Blooms Mango Rice soap bar http://www.bathandbloom.com/bath-shower/mango-rice-soap.html which sadly I cannot find a distributor for, I got mine originally at Pier 1 Imports.
And for some lovely music that combines sweet and savory in a way, with wonderful nature sounds and incredible symphonic qualities, Bjork's Isobel:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQP4UE241_0

SOTD: Nectarine Blossom by Sephora

With the rest of my sephora gift cards I got myself Sephora's seasonel scent offering of Nectarine Blossom in a dry oil body spray. I figured this would be a perfect Sunday scent, uncomplicated and easy, but enjoyable, sadly I wish I could say I was having a nice lazy Sunday (which in my opinion is how they should always be), but my day will be spent doing researching.
Quote of the Day: Another flaw in the human character is that everybody wants to build and nobody wants to do maintenance.-- Kurt Vonnegut, Hocus Pocus

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Two Peonies Against Black and Orange by Biala 1997

SOTD: Bvlgari pour femme

Super pretty day, so going with super pretty fragrance. Really I find it so strange how much I like Bvlgari pour femme, it is so not what I consider my type of scent, yet well I like a great deal.

Quote of the Day: Ahhh. A man with a sharp wit. Someone ought to take it away from him before he cuts himself. -- Peter da Silva

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The Green Tea Bride, Self-Portrait by Kimiko Yoshida 2006

Osmanthus, the love continutes: Kyoto by Tocca and tea experiment

My love of osmanthus continues, it is officially a part of my top 5 favorite scents. So I continue to try and find new ways to scent my life with osmanthus; it is a flower worthy of more adoration than it gets.
A little while ago I made a list of products featuring osmanthus, one of those was Tocca's Kyoto candle, well for while I had been carrying around gift cards for Sephora and I decided to see if they carried Tocca's Kyoto, I immediately bought up the candelina (which is bit on the expensive side) with the gift cards. Well I am here to say the raves for Tocca are correct, yes they are expensive, but the little candelina has amazing throw and lasts quite a while, but I admit I going through it fast because the scent is absolutely gorgeous.
Tocca on it's blurb says Kyoto is inspired by osmanthus during autumn* at Japanese temples when they bloom. The scent is lovely and soothing, I would love to catch the scent of it on a breeze. Tocca's interpretation is heavy on the apricot note, supported by cream and aquatic background, in general I hate aquatic qualities, but this works perfectly. Imagine fragrant flowers plunged in icy cold water, the effect is soothing and refreshing, and never goes into fake sea breezes or calone zone. This is a perfect gift for an osmanthus lover and I highly recommend it.

In my love of osmanthus a while I ago I bought a packet of dried osmanthus flowers for culinary use, today I finally did what I had always intended to do with little dried fragrant orange flowers, I mixed it with my Peet's Ti Kwan Yin Oolong tea, the combo is lovely bringing out the floral, fruit, and leather notes featured in both the tea and flowers. Now if only someone would make me a fragrance of it. Seriously at this point if I get rich my dream is perfect bespoke fragrance of Osmanthus. I think I will be dreaming for a long time.

*I love the fact that this flower blooms in Autumn, because I an Autumn baby, and it ridiculously makes me feel a little more symbolically connected to this opalescent fragranced flower.
image provided by http://www.photorae.it/natura2007/pages/Osmanthus_Heterophyllus_2.htm

SOTD: Mille et Une Roses

So it would appear that I had disappeared, well I did basically a week after suffering a horrifically crappy flu. I have not been this sick in a very long time. For two days i was a wonder who barely got out of bed and well the dishes that piled up were not a pretty sight. Luckly I had a sweet boyfriend (with his own insane schedule) that took the time to provide sustenance and medicine and very sweetly flowers. Yesterday I received my package of Cuir de Lancome; which may be one of the most short lived fragrances on the market, it appeared to be out for a month, and then was taken quickly off the market due to it being to expensive to be made. Ironically around Christmas time I ended up getting a bottle of Mille et Une Roses, which in its wonderful packaging ended up including a little pamplet describing all the fragrances in Lancome's La Collection series, and lo and behold it has the deliciously hilarious blurb description of Cuir de Lancome, which never actually officially reached US soil or US Lancome counters. Until about a week ago when parfum1 (no affiliation) got it and it appears also that beautyencounter (no affiliation) is also stocking it, but have no idea when they got it in. Well with my still horribly stuffed up nose my observations of Cuir de Lancome is that it is no scent for casual events or spring weather, I won't be wearing it for a while except for late night sniffing. So I instead have opted for the voluptously angelic Mille et Une Roses which is a part of the lovely La Collection with its most ridiculous description blurbs.

Quote of the Day: Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so. -- Douglas Adams, "Last Chance to See"

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Naked Angel Thinking (2004) by Anita Klein

SOTD: Coco Madamoiselle

Working on the weekend is never fun, but my case it is what you have to do. Wearing Coco Madamoiselle which is in my opinion a perfect office scent, has light florals that no one can call offensive, but an aggresive enough bottom notes that no one can call you a push over (aren't office politics wonderful?!). After that I have my boyfriend's nephew's birthday party to attend, which with his family should be interesting. Long day I must say.

Quote of the Day: It is no good to try to stop knowledge from going forward. Ignorance is never better than knowledge. -- Enrico Fermi

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Child with Flowered Hat by Gu Zhinong

SOTD: Caron's Pour Un Homme

A few years ago I had craving for the scent of lavender, which came as quite the schocker, considering in my years of fragrance adoration I had never desired lavender. So as any good perfume addict will do you immediately post the question to other fragrance addicts "What are you favorite lavender scents?" The resounding answer among many was Caron's Pour Un Homme. Well my perfume craving left me before I ever got to the point of sampling Pour Un Homme, but finally I have a sample of it (received with my purchase of the lovely Infusion d'Iris). The fragrance has so far begun with a blast of pungent lavender, then moved to a stage of doughy heliotrope and vanilla, and now has become a wonderful delicate fresh lavender lacing around slightly doughy heliotrope vanilla blend. This was also inspired by the news that Caron is releasing a new lavender scent for the summer. Excitement!

Quote of the Day: Fashion is something that goes in one year and out the other.-- Unknown

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Lavender Field by Nataly Kimmel

SOTD: Ivoire

Quote of The Day: There is no cure for birth and death save to enjoy the interval. -- George Santayana, Soliloquies in England, 1922, "War Shrines"

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In The Park by Yuri Krotov

SOTD: Songes

Going with the lush, tropical, and dry scent of Annick Goutal's Songes. It really is an amazing scent for the time that it was released, it has a wonderful old school womanly quality, that I have not smelled in modern scent release since oh ever. It is timeless.

Quote of the Day: Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself, (I am large, I contain multitudes.) -- Walt Whitman, "Song of Myself

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Tropical Forest with birds and Orquids by Ernesto Gualle

SOTD: Lolita Lempicka

After reading for the last week Helg of perfume shrine, post on absinthe and its related scents, I broke down and I am finally reaching for Lolita Lempicka. Let the aniseed begin.

Quote of The Day: Although golf was originally restricted to wealthy, overweight Protestants, today it's open to anybody who owns hideous clothing.-- Dave Barry

List: Foods I Love

I love making lists so I thought I would put one up of my favorite foods:
1. Kimchi- Fermented Cabbage and spices, who thought this would be the sort of love where I am tempted to eat the whole jar, actually I highly recommend this to spicy pickle lovers.
2. Apple Cake- I love all sorts of varieties, laced with spices or surrounded by a lovely butter batter, I will eat apple cake, comfort at one of its bests.
3. Chicharrones- yes it is deep fried pork skin! And it is so awesomely good! Eat these in a fresh corn tortilla with the simplest guacamole, and fresh salsa and well it is a form of heaven. It you love bacon try this.
4. Lentil soup- I have yet to meet a variation of this that I do not love. A comfort dish once again.
5. Bacon- I drool at the thought of this. Bacon is the ambrosia of meat. I want sainthood for the creator of this awesome cured meat.
6. Chile Rellenos- I don't know where to begin other than it can be one of the finest vegetarian dishes out there, but there are many variations. What must be understood is the magic is in a properly roasted chile, bright tangy spicy sauce, the right melting cheese, and the perfect light fluffy batter.
7. corn tortillas/corn chips- Fresh corn tortillas are an eye opener and a really sublime experience in how simplicity can be so good. Corn chips eat these with salsa and try to stop yourself, also for the ultimate experience chilaquiles or nachos.
8. Raspberry sorbet- the best way to show off the perfect flavor of raspberries.
9. Apricot preserves (homemade)- summer sunshine in a jar.
10. Smoked- If it has been smoked I will most likely try it. I love smoky flavor.
11. Fresh mozzerella- chewy, almost buttery, and so cool to the tongue.
12. Corsican omelette- I never knew the combination of fresh mint, chevre, and eggs could be so perfect until I ate this.
13. chocolate- it is called the food of the gods for good reason.
14. assam tea with a splash of tea- my breakfast drink of choice, morning wake-up is not complete until I have a cup.
15. pho- the reason for aromatics.
16. Greek Yogurt- to the yogurt haters out there, try Greek Yogurt and realize what a fool you are.
17. potatos- starchy goodness.
18. summer strawberries- get a basket from your farmer's market or side of the road stand, sit in a park by yourself, and eat every single edible ruby. Then try to remember all the bad things happening lately...it is very hard to do.
19. food made with thought- it just makes you feel good.
20. fava- the best way to show off why there should be more love for the split pea.
21. Black Beans- I think it is one of the wonders of nature.
22. spices- life just wouldn't be right without them.
23. chiles- I thank my father every time I eat chile and appreciate them, he always encouraged me as a child to eat spicy food. ditto on the bacon.
I have so many more but I am stopping here.

SOTD: Pure Grace

As the Sunday tradition goes: no complicated scents. So today I am wearing Philosphy's Pure Grace, which is really simple and seems to be made for Sunday's. Ultimate jean and t-shirt scent. Hope everyone is relaxing this Sunday.

Quote of the Day: The lion and the calf shall lie down together but the calf won't get much sleep. -- Woody Allen, Without Feathers (1976)

SOTD: Narciso Rodriguez

Quote of the Day: I'm thirty years old, but I read at the thirty-four-year-old level.-- Dana Carvey

image provided by http://www.traceymcnee.com/WebPages/Stephanie_Rew.html

Scarlet Kimono by Stephanie Rew

SoTD: Stella Rose Absolute & Molinard Mure

Today is going to be a very long day, so I have decided to go with Stella Rose Absolute for strength and for cheeriness layering it with Molinard Mure. By the end of the day when I get home I will most likely slip into something on the insanely comforting side.

Quote of the Day: If little else, the brain is an educational toy.-- Tom Robbins

SOTD: La Parisienne

Today I am going with the springy La Parisienne, there is a delightful apple blossom quality to this that I have never smelled in any other fragrance. It is also a wonderful aldehydic scent which uses the note i nsilvery fluttery way, that I can only think of as chimingly bright. I am kind've amazed with the comeback of aldehydes that this one doesn't get much mention. It also has a muguet heart that leads to a sensual musky dry down. There is something very turn of the century to me about this fragrance. Sadly I just googled the producer and Holzman & Stephanie seems to gone.

Quote of the Day: finally figured out the only reason to be alive is to enjoy it.-- Rita Mae Brown

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Dance at Bougival by Renoir

SOTD: Pink Suger

I had a long very bad day yesterday, I'm not going to go into details, but right now I need something so uncomplicated and comforting, that for many it is considered well the bimbo of scents: Aquolina Pink Sugar. I'm not going to say it is high-minded, but well I rather like it, I'm too embarrassed to by a bottle, but I do wear my samples. And I enjoy the mix of fluffy white musk, vanilla, and strawberries I get from it. I will also admit that when I was a child I was fan Strawberry Shortcake.

Quote of the Day: There is no excellent beauty that hath not some strangeness in the proportion. -- Sir Francis Bacon, "Of Beauty"

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Cat and Butterfly by Hokusai

Most Worn in March

Bvlgari pour femme
Mille et Une Roses by Lancome

Euphoria by Calvin Klein

Euphoria image provided by http://amp.az/home/Blog/CAC/t1170313200

Mille et Une Roses image provided by http://kimonovintage.blogspot.com/2006_10_08_archive.html Chinese Angel by Kinuko Y. Craft

Bvlgari pour femme image provided by http://www.globalgallery.com/enlarge/034-58324/
Woman in a Yellow Dress by Max Kurzweil

SOTD: Parfum Sacre

The weather is shockingly cool outside after thinking of rose fragrances I like and would be appropriate for this weather, the only possible conclusion was Caron's Parfum Sacre, a gorgeous dusky myrrh laced rose. Sublime in cool weather.

Quote of The Day: I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be. -- Douglas Adams

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The Last Roses of Summer by Duane Michals 2005

SOTD: Un Lys

Today I will be testing out Serge Luten's Un Lys. Yesterday I sampled it but not on skin that was clean (Iris Taizo had been there first) I liked what I smelled though and seemed like something nice for a long day; baking berry pudding cake, work, dinner with family and boyfriend, and movie with boyfriend. I'm thinking I might test out Donna Karan Gold later on this week to do a comparison. It is the time for lily scents. I suspect I will be putting on something different for dinner though because Un Lys has a notoriously short life span. Possibly Euphoria or Magnetism.

Quote of Day: It was such a lovely day I thought it a pity to get up.-- W. Somerset Maugham

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L'Ete by James Tissot

The cooking continues...

So March shall officially be known as the month of risotto, since my last posting on risotto I have made risotto twice, did a repeat of Nigella Lawson's Lemon Risotto, and then just this last week I made Nigella's Chedder Risotto which can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sandyandallen/2322935316/ which was quite yummy liberally dosed with valentina hot sauce, yet while eating it I couldn't help but think about baconing it up. Next time I'm making some crispy bits of bacon to go on top of it. In the continuation of my rice love I also tried out a recipe for saffron rice pudding; the flavor was good, but I didn't like the texture, the quest continues... Also, if you are like me and rather enjoy making fresh homemade bread, I offer you this awesome whole wheat recipe from http://www.aminglingoftastes.com/2007/03/fabulously-simple-whole-wheat-breadno.html This dark bread has gorgeous sweetness and flavor from molasses that is perfect for butter or cream cheese, love the scent of it toasting, and did I mention it is super easy?
And I finally tested out a chocolate pudding recipe i have been wanting to try for ages http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/coconut-chocolate-pudding-recipe.html Incredibly rich and exotic, highly recommended to those you love 340 Phinney's Coconut Curry bar and Vosges Naga bar.

SOTD: Iris Taizo

So about a month ago I got a sample of Parfumerie Generale's Iris Taizo and well I tried it a couple of times but I admit at those times my nose was slightly stuffy, but each time I the scent that came to my nose was heavily spiced civety amber (which is something I am just not into these days) and well it turns out my nose wasn't wrong even when slightly stuffy. I admit now I can smell a slight hint of powder that must come from the iris, the civet quality is most definately there in its pungency, but over all this scent is amber on me. While I don't abhor it, Iris Taizo is most definately not me; which I am quite happy with because the price on Parfumerie Generale's scents went up quite a bit.

Quote of the Day: The price one pays for pursuing any profession or calling is an intimate knowledge of its ugly side.-- James Baldwin

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Listening to the Waterfall in the Autumn Woods by Hsu Kuo-Huang 1998

SOTD: Omnia

Today is a day for comfort scents, the weather once again has become cool and there is hints of overcast in the sky. So I am going with one of my ultimate comfort scents: Bvlgari Omnia, this one doesn't get too much love because I believe it features a musk that many are ansomiac too. This is when it works for a wonderful creamy woody slightly spicy musk that surrounds the wearer in a nice cloud of warmth. To keep the comfort going after work I suspect I will be baking bread. Hope everyone one has a lovely day.

Quote of the Day: Humor is everywhere, in that there's irony in just about anything a human does. -- Bill Nye, Interview with Wired.com, April 2005

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Redwood Vortex, Napa California by Lisa Eisner 2005

SOTD: Un Bois Vanille

After wearing so many spring scents I had the sudden need for something sweet, most of my scents seem to much on th heavy hitter side or too gourmand, but then the wonderful resinous Un Bois Vanille reached out.

Quote of the Day: Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there. -- Will Rogers

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Daughters of the East by Saira Wasim 2007

SOTD: Coco Madamoiselle pure parfum

Going with the one of modern marvels of fragrances today: Chanel's Coco Madamoiselle. This scent in pure parfum remindes me of orange trees; ironically the notes listed do not feature orange, but the blending of bergamot, vetiver, and patchouli achieves the instant image of orange trees to me.

Quote of the day: This is one of those views which are so absolutely absurd that only very learned men could possibly adopt them. -- Bertrand Russell

SOTD: Nanette Lepore

Quote of the Day: Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example. -- Mark Twain, Pudd'nhead Wilson (1894)

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Pink Rose, Floribunda by Pieter Johannes A. Wagemans

SOTD: Bvlgari pour femme and Happy Easter!

Happy Easter Everyone! Should you wonder where the heck the rabbit comes from, well it is a symbol of fertility for the goddess Eostra, another symbol of her's is the egg. And as you can see she also had a direct part in the naming of the holiday, Eostra=Easter. Going with the sunny happy Bvlgari pour femme as I visit family.

Quote of the day: Do not worry about your difficulties in Mathematics. I can assure you mine are still greater.-- Albert Einstein

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Rabbit by Wayne Thiebaud 1970-1971

SOTD: Chanel 22

There is no getting arount it: It is gorgeous outside! And tomorrow it is even supposed to be better; I have been looking forward to this weekend for so long it isn't even funny, after working all last weekend, the idea of a shopping day is really luxurious. A big part of this is last year i went through a phase of getting rid of a lot of clothes (this was in Autumn) so naturally I got rid of a lot of warm weather clothing and now well I don't have any warm weather clothing. My destination today is H&M, Sephora, and Ikea (still need house stuff). To go with gorgeous luxurious day I am wearing Chanel 22; which is dry aldehyde white floral perfection (honestly I really wish there was more fragrances that used aldehydes and white flowers together, the aldehydes tame the white florals and bring a gorgeous sparkle).

Quote of the Day: You don't stop laughing because you grow old. You grow old because you stop laughing.-- Michael Pritchard

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White Peonies by Sarah K. Lamb 2004

SOTD: Kimono Rose

So spring has truly begun and now I am bringing out the wonderfully effervescent Kimono Rose by The Thymes. This truly is a happy scent featuring berries, jasmine, and clementine; this is a balmy spring morning with dew on the greenery.

Quote of The Day: Too much of a good thing is wonderful.-- Mae West

SOTD: Ava Luxe Rasa

Today I am going with Ava Luxe's lovely Rasa. This is a lovely musk that highlights a dusky rose which is supported by what I could swear is myrrh and musk. There is something wonderfully exotic and dark blue about this scent to me.

Quote of the day: Reminds me of my safari in Africa. Somebody forgot the corkscrew and for several days we had to live on nothing but food and water. -- W. C. Fields

Sweet For Spring

Now as lovely as flowers and greenery are in spring fragrances, there is the reality that I lean towards fragrances on the oriental side which usually have some sort of sweet undercurrent. Now of late I have been thinking about sweet fragrances that work in spring, because as it turns out spring seems to be a hard time to wear sweet fragrances (some how summer is easier even if the weather is warmer). So I have come up with a list of three fragrances that work in spring weather that lean on the sweet side yet complement the weather:

1. With Love by Hilary Duff : There is something perfect about this lovely creamy milky amber to go with cooler spring days. The scent contains enough oriental elements to fulfill the need for this type of scent, yet is light enough to never over power. It has a lovely cafe au lait quality with just a hint of zesty fruit to keep it from becoming to sweet.

2. Pearl by Sage Machado : This scent has always reminded me of petals on the ground, clouds, and scent of steam and incense intermixed. It brings about a meditative quality with the use of clean musk and sandalwood, but remains wonderfully comforting with a lovely vanilla that is not gourmand.

3. Kuumba Made Vanilla Musk : There is something rather pink and opalescent about this scent. It is wonderfully feminine but at the same time very relaxed, I will admit it reminds of pastries filled with almond but decorated with floral designs, but I will say this now it is not a gourmand scent.


image provided http://www.nigella.com/recipes/recipe.asp?article=170

SOTD: With Love

Today is cloudy and so back to something comforting and sweet: With Love. I still can't believe especially with my snobbery that I like this little fragrance represented by Hillary Duff, but it really is good. I suppose I must remind myself that really it was perfumer that created this scent, but the reality is image does mean something when it comes to fragrances, I mean look at the the world of niche fragrances? I just remind myself: If it smells good it smells good (okay I will never wear a Paris Hilton fragrance).

Quote of the Day: "I like a cook who smiles out loud when he tastes his own work. Let God worry about your modesty; I want to see your enthusiasm." — Robert Farrar Capon

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Leaving Downy Cloud Island by Amy Sol

SOTD: Baghari

There something boudouresque about aldehydes, whenever I wear a scent featuring aldehydes it makes me feel like a woman who has spent the evening/morning sitting around luxuriously in her boudoir primping for hours with an elegant slowness wearing an extravagent robe. Baghari is the sunny peach of aldehydic scents, it is perfect for spring with a sunny opening and mild sweet middle of violets, the finally though is quite interesting on me with an amber that melds with my skin taking on a hint strangely of light cinnamon.

Quote of the Day: To achieve the impossible dream, try going to sleep.-- Joan Klempner

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La Toilette by Pierr Loius Gatier

SOTD: Kuumba Made Vanilla Musk

My mondays are spent studying so I often go with comforting scents (those that blend in with my own scent) or scents that I perceive to be intelligent (Infusion d'Iris) or scents that I perceive to intellectually stimulating because of their energy (citrus scents). Today I am going with comfort and a scent I have not worn in ages: Kuumba Made Vanilla Musk. This one has a great deal of similarity to Lea St. Barth and Sage Machado's Pearl, the musk is light and delicate, the vanilla also light with hints of cherried heliotrope and almond, yet the drydown also has hints of civet and amber. Truthfully this scent really should get much more attention but I suspect because it is cheap and usually found at health food stores it is dismissed.

Quote of the Day: The most erroneous stories are those we think we know best - and therefore never scrutinize or question.-- Stephen Jay Gould

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Implicate Order by Eleanor Miller

SOTD: Infusion d'Iris

Once again work today, but luckly it is sunny outside, I must sound like a repeat offender with this constant choice for SOTD, but it is just lovely: Prada Infusion d'Iris. I can't escape its lovely tastefulness or that it is perfect for the season. It is a smart scent that never enters rigid.

Quote of the Day: "Most books on witchcraft will tell you that witches work naked. This is because most books on witchcraft were written by men. " — Neil Gaiman (Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch)

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Beast In Me by Mat Collishaw 2004

SOTD: Sage Machado Pearl

Sadly I have to work the whole entire weekend so I am choosing to go with a comforting scent, Sage Machado's Pearl. What is wonderful about this scent is that it is one of the few non-gourmand vanilla's out there, the sandalwood and musk perfectly balance it, making it a perfectly fluffy white cloud of scent.

Quote of the Day: It's not true that life is one damn thing after another; it is one damn thing over and over. -- Edna St. Vincent Millay

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Twilight by Yoshimasa Tsuchiya 2005

Comfort in Spring: Risotto

It's occurred to me that lately I have been cooking a lot of rice comfort foods, last month I made the ever comforting arroz con leche (this recipe a variation of Mexican rice pudding), but this month I have found my self making the savory comforting creamy side of rice: Risotto. Risotto is the perfect comfort food for spring, it is creamy and nourishing, but not heavy unlike winter comfort food, it shows off spring produce perfectly and is enlivened by winter citrus. Last week I made Nigella Lawson's Lemon Risotto; this woman really can do no wrong when it comes to comfort foods, this was gorgeous lovely creamy lemon offset by hints of earthiness with the addition of fresh rosemary. Here's a link to the lovely recipe Nigella Lawson's Lemon Risotto. Last night the risotto love continued with something I had been itching to make forever but had never found a recipe that met my needs: Asparagus Risotto. My first encounter with Asparagus Risotto was with Trader Joe's frozen Asparagus Risotto, which I will say is lovely, but expensive for such a small amount and so the years have gone by with me looking for the perfect Asparagus Risotto recipe, when a few weeks the perfect recipe fell into my lap, provided by the awesome website http://www.simplyrecipes.com/. And here is the recipe that last night the ended my quest for an Asparagus risotto recipe: Asparagus Risotto.

Just a note to those making risotto, always make way more stock than is called for or have hot water on hand, the arborio rice you buy will vary highly in how much stock it takes to cook. In both recipes I used Trader Joe's arborio rice and it required much more liquid than the recipes called for.

Wish to some day get a hold of other Italian rice varieties that are used in risotto.

Also the Asparagus Risotto truly shows off the wonder of risotto in that it can be so creamy with no cream added.

image of arborio rice provided by http://vegeyum.wordpress.com/2007/12/16/basicrisotto/

The season changes the tea changes

On the most part I am the sort of tea lover that needs a cup of malty assam in the morning with a splash of milk or the wonderfully malty and spicy mix of Masala Chai with milk. There is something luxurious in seeing the transformation of dried tea leaves unfurl and create an elixir, that I will admit I am addicted too. Still my variety of tea changes through out the year, in the dead of winter smoky Russian Caravan and exceptionally malty Irish Breakfast grab me ( I still keep my Assam through out the year). Yet with the coming of spring and summer my tea has to change, that is when I change over to green teas and my favorite is the Japanese blend Genmai Cha. This I will say is more a spring tea than a summer tea in that it features a very unique ingredient that warms a drinker up on cool spring days: roasted kernals of rice. The roastiness of this tea is exceptional, it is comforting and soothing, and on cool days of spring it warms, yet it's lovely jade green color reminds you of the new spring greenery surrounding you.

It is also a lovely broth for breakfast rice. I admit I often have leftover rice from the night before and a perfect way too use it up is to warm it up, pour Genmai Cha on top, and add a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds and a sprinkle of salt. It is a comforting and light morning breakfast that is great option for those that do not like sweet nor heavy breakfasts.

image provided by http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=487669&in_page_id=1770 meet the worldest cutest little pig and his voracious appetite for tea.

SOTD: White Moss

Today I am waiting for my new full size mattress to arrive and with a window of 9 am to 1 pm I haven't really had the time for a shower, so I have opted for the ever refreshing and cool-headed scent of Acca Kappa White Moss. Believe after gets I am taking a shower; I have spent my morning moving around large pieces of furniture and did work up a sweat. Besides I want a warmer more sensual scent for later on; the skies are grey today and will most definately let out rain later on.

Quote of the Day:

Believe those who are seeking the truth. Doubt those who find it.-- Andre Gide

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Rocks by Lynne Drexler 1979