I wanted to quickly check in with all of you, since I am back from my vacation, but I literally only have a minute of time for blog writing right now.
But instead of moan and bitch about my stress levels right now, I’d rather give you a small peek at what is to come soon:
There are a few reviews scheduled, but aside from that I plan a big post on my visit at Profumeria Sacro Cuore in Bologna, with photos, as well as an account of my other perfume shopping shenanigans in Italy.
Also, and most unusually, I radically changed my fragrant ways while away – I had a signature scent for ten whole days, a development previously unheard of, for me. The glorious Frederic Malle Carnal Flower made me feel beautiful and serene and it was all I wanted or needed. A lovely experience and a welcome change to the usual pace of perfume changes.
Before my boys go back to school on September 3, my life won’t be very predictable, but I hope things calm down soon and some routine will be established once more.
How are you doing? What is new with you? I look forward to reconnect with all of you!
xoxo, B
Olfactoria's Travels 
As I mentioned in my email; super stressed! Planning my move back to Kenya, and stressed about the fact that I cannot get perfumes there (by law, cannot import perfumes unless via DHL). So I’m trying to figure out which are “loves” ASAP!
Also stressing about health and depression and work (don’t even start me on this one) and just… stress! haha 😀
*hugs from another stressed person*
Also, going to retest Carnal Flower now. 🙂 xx
Yes, had to add another thing that is stressing me… I wear SL and now cannot smell it after 5-6 hours – the first time I tried an SL it lasted til the next morning 😦 I hope it is my hormones and not my nose… Because I am wearing Carnal Flower and Narcisse Noir, and it is nothing but pleasant – almost boring! What is going on… 😦
Such fluctuations in perception are normal, I think we all experience them.
I’m sure it changes back again eventually.
Quick question re: tuberose – can you stand Cedre (SL)? If I’m smelling tuberose right now, then maybe the note I do not like in Cedre is not tuberose.
I don’t know Cedre (smelled it years ago, when I still hated tuberose, so…), I can’t really comment, from what I hear it is a very masculine tuberose though.
Cedre is tuberose, but it also has a spicy drydown, with a hint of ISO E Super. More than likely, it’s the spices that are not playing well together. I find it works better in the fall and winter. I thought the scent was okay, but not great. I prefer Carnal Flower.
Thanks for adding your expertise, Cheri.
Good! 🙂
I’m sorry to hear about your stress! That is awful not being able to bring your perfumes to Kenya.
I hope all turns out well for you in the end.
Are you moving forever or just for some time?
Wow, ten days of Carnal Flower. You have now officially done a 180 on tuberose! How wonderful. It’s such a womanly perfume in the very best way, I hope I get there one day. Going to get a sample of Mona’s Tubereuse at some point.
Looking forward to the shopping shananigans and hope your stress level drops soon x
Yup, ten days! Who knew I had it in me! 😉
Well that picture really sums it up doesn’t it? Hope things settle down for you. I find it stressful coming back from trips as well. I look forward to hearing about your trip. I never seem to go anywhere all that fabulous so I love when I can live vicariously through others.
One scent for 10 days? It’s nice when you can find something that just works like that. What a great scent too!
The pic does sum it up quite well! 😦
I hope I get to write up the trip asap.
I still got a month of holiday as a student. Currently I’m waiting to discover my schedule because I need to know if I need to move back to my university city or if I can commute by train like I did during the previous university year.
One more month – great, enjoy it!
I hope you get your schedule soon, so you know what to expect.
I hope so too! And best wishes of de-stress!
Thank you!
I’m with Tara on the Carnal Flower. 🙂
What did you do with the Birgit we all knew?! 😉
Btw, it makes me so happy to hear you are now a tuberose convert – after wearing Carnal Flower for 10 days, there is no going back to your pre-tuberose days I’m afraid (well, not afraid, I’m gloating actually). 😉
I hope you get more peace and quiet soon – I am having a hard time getting back into my usual routine, I miss the days of my vacation which now seem much further away that the actual few days they are.
I don’t know where old tuberose-fearing B went. 😉
It’s hard getting back into the swing of things after a vacation, I hope you feel better soon, Ines!
I am looking forward to my vacation (next week) and even better still the children go back to school the day after we return so straight back into a normal routine.
I have been trying to think which fragrances to take with me, I would love to wear a perfume for 10 days straight but by day 3 I actually stop smelling it. (that’s my excuse and I am sticking to it)
I keep thinking I should re-test carnal flower but I find it difficult to get past the seedy nighclub comment that was made last time I wore it. It is still one that I would love in my collection even if I only to wear when the DBF is away. 🙂
Have a great time next week, Andrea!
That is a comment that is hard to get over, these men!!!!
Birgit in Carnal Flower for ten days??!!!! I don’t know whether to take to my fainting couch or to sing Happy happy joy joy … I think I’ll do the latter! A beautiful fragrance for a beautiful woman.
Here’s hoping your stress melts away soon. Looking forward to your Italy report!
Thank you for that lovely compliment, Suz! *blushes*
It is “my” perfume (wearing it again today), I never thought I’d be happy with just one, but for now, I am.
Must be something nasty in the air : I have awful problems in the office… Can’t think of parfume at the moment.
I’m sorry to hear that!!! Hopefully the problems resolve themselves soon.
And you’ve got Asmar to explore… 😉
Welcome back Birgit. You have been missed,
Portia xx
Thank you, Portia! Mwwaaaah! 🙂
Oh I am sorry everything is stressful at the moment, I hope it calms down soon! It sounds like even an extra large spritz of CdG Kyoto might not be enough…
I am looking forward to the upcoming bank holiday weekend and my birthday: I am going to see Much Ado About Nothing in Stratford Upon Avon, sadly not starring Kenneth Branagh (but a nicely timed image all the same), probably while wearing Amouage Epic, which I have been wearing every day since I bought a bottle on Saturday!
Do hope you had a lovely holiday and I am looking forward to the Italian shopping post! x
Oh, the theatre sounds wonderful! I’d love to go with you, and you’ll smell amazing too. I’m glad you are so happy with Epic.
Welcome back! I love it that you bught Carnal Flower. It is one of the bottles that I have which is being depleted very quickly! You have done a 180 on tuberose and may I be cheeky to say – welcome to the tuberose loving group of fumies. Yeah is all I can say. 😉
Thank you for the warm welcome to the tuberose club. I love it here! 🙂
A complete turn around on tuberose? Wow, I don’t think I will ever get there. But I am happy that you are now able to enjoy Carnal Flower. I still can’t imagine wearing it or any other tuberose centric fragrance.
Hope your stress levels ease soon enough.
School began for my daughter this past Monday. It was stressful moving her back to another state, into a new apartment and getting it all set up. Actually, the most stressful part was trying to get someone from the service company to come install her internet connection. In the end, my husband bought a modem and ended up self-installing the connection, once he and the service provider were able to determine there was a live line into her building and apartment.
Looking forward to hearing about your Italian holiday perfume shopping!
I’m glad to hear your daughter is finally settled.
Tuberose is this summer’s note for me, who knew? 😉
I’m so happy that you’ve been enjoying Carnal Flower as much as I have! Although, I recently broke my streak of wearing it every day. The weather has cooled down a little here in Toronto, so I’ve been revisiting some favourites that I had been avoiding in the super humid hot weather (Cuir de Lancome and Bois des Iles, mostly). But I’ve still been wearing Carnal Flower a few times a week. Today I’m wearing my sample of Bois Blonde by Parfumerie Generale, and I’m really loving it. It feels like maybe the perfect new scent to see me through the end of summer and beginning of the fall. I’m driving down to Virginia tomorrow to go camping and visiting some caverns. I wish I had a decant of BB to take – it would be perfect for this trip. My sample is almost gone! Can’t wait to hear about your Italian adventures!
People tell me Carnal Flower is indeed best in the heat of summer.
Bois Blond is a great travel perfume, it always reminds me of my road trips through the US in my twenties. 🙂
Have fun on your trip!
I don’t really have a half-way in this hobby. I tend to be all “Oh, I’ve got to try it all!” and wearing, sampling, and thinking about fragrances a lot ( I’m this this fun mode now ), but when I’m busy or distracted I can almost forget about this hobby for a few months ( and I tend to wear scent less often then, too – sometimes just twice a week or so, or just on weekends ).
Fun to see your 180 on tuberose. I’ve often had that with notes: I swear “no-one will ever make me like this note” and then some fragrance convinces me otherwise. My bete noire was pine, right up until Fille En Aiguilles was sniffed. 🙂
Seems to be all or nothing with you.
Tuberose is my friend now. 😉
Sorry about your stress, Birgit!
I tried Carnal Flower since we spoke about it last, and it is a very green tuberose IMO. I have went 180 on jasmine, this was my biggest kick during Spring and Summer with some tuberose and gardenia thrown in. I have also tried Tub Crim and while I was nauseated by the top notes, the notes of the heart were absolutely glorious! Kathleen and Donna were laughing at the look of my face when I realized that the lovely smell was coming from my arm…
Suddenly we are white floral gals, aren’t we? 🙂
Here’s hoping life brings you less stress very soon, Birgit. I look forward to reading your upcoming blog posts. School started here last week and I’m working tomorrow for the first time. So, speaking of stress, I hope the students go easy on me since it’s only the beginning of the school year 🙂 xo
Thank you, James!
I wish you a great start of your school year. What subject do you teach?
Thanks, B! 🙂 I’m working as a substitute (no full time jobs to be had right now) at my high school. I typically work with sixth-twelfth graders, so basically teenagers. It’s challenging but fun.
I am certified to teach English and History, but I fill in wherever I’m needed since most of the time the teacher leaves me work to give to the students.
Coming back from vacations can be very stressful (especially with jet lagged kids!). Hope you are feeling better soon!
My only stress is the countdown until my daughter is back at preschool so I have time to go test the Roja Dove line that is now available here 🙂 My day has gotten tons better since I sprayed on Amouage Memoir Woman for the first time to test – wonderful! I guess my other stress is wondering what to do when you love too many Amouage scents and you are not filthy rich 🙂
Can’t wait to hear about Italy and I did smile when you said it was Carnal Flower you wore for 10 days straight! So much for not liking tuberose….
Oh, you are so lucky, Roja Dove in Dubai!! You must try Unspoken, it’s sublime!
Glad you like Memoir, it is truly unique.
Hoping everything will be calmer soon! I can empathize with the stress, it’s been a lot of that recently. Or rather feeling bone-tired, working six or seven days a week since I got back from vacation six weeks ago, being on call every second or third night or so. My calming scent has been Lys Soleia, mostly. But now the vacations are over I’m hoping things will get back to a more normal pace 🙂
Summertime in a hospital is always horrible, everybody’s on vacation, but the patients are not getting any less. 😉 (I can’t say I miss it!)
I hope your workload returns to a more normal pace soon!
Hi dear!
I have been experiencing some burnout too so I’m taking a couple weeks off work. I would have loved to book an impromptu holiday but that must wait.
In the meantime, I am on a white floral kick and exploring the genre.
xoxo
Caro
Good that you are able to take some time off! I hope you can relax and recharge, dear Caro!
I’m on a white floral kick too! 😉
Sorry that you are feeling so stressed and that it passes soon. I am stressed all the time after a life changing event last year. I just take it day by day and try not to stress over the small things. My boys return to school on September 4. I recently procured samples of Carnal Flower and Tubereuse Criminelle. After testing them side by side for a couple days, I am loving TC. Definitely FBW for me!
I’m wearing TC again today and while the opening still puts me off a bit, the tuberose that emerges is AMAZING!!!
Thanks for your advice, taking it slowly and not fretting over the entire mountain of things to do is the way to go!
I hope that your stress passes soon too! My dissertation defense is scheduled next week, and this whole degree feels like an albatross around my neck. Can’t wait for it to be over!
Here’s to less stress in September!
Ugh. The late August phenomenon of unpacking from vacation, getting everybody ready for school and looking forward to a routine, but still wanting to grab those last few glorious days of summer. Who wants to shop for school supplies when you could go to the park? (I’m assuming here that’s part of the stress, I may be wrong.) A couple of things I’ve found that help when life gets crazy: 1) Being open to those tiny moments when joy can just catch you by surprise 2) Chocolate.
It is part of the stress, but I also have some deadlines to meet for freelance writing stuff, and the heatwave is making the kids crazy, etc. 🙂
I fully agree with the chocolate tip and I will try to mind your point 1). Thank you, Dionne!
Let me join others in wishing you to get over the hard period as soon as possible.
I’m not sure if I could survive on just one (any) perfume for 10 days. But I’m sure I’d be dead or ended up with a complete aversion to perfumes if I had to wear Carnal Flower. But I’m glad it worked for you 🙂
Lol, it did work for me, but I would not have thought it possible before either. It was not a conscious decision to wear only one at all, I had at least 15 options, but I craved only the one. 🙂