What did you do this weekend?
Have you worn one perfume or five?
Which one(s)?
My Answer:
I got a sample of Hermès’s latest launch Le Jardin de Monsieur Li on Saturday morning and have worn it ever since. Lovely, undemanding, not re-inventing the wheel but supremely easy to wear and smells really pretty and makes me feel like spring is here.
As for my weekend, we had a lovely time with friends on Saturday. The weather was warm and sunny and we spent the afternoon in the garden of the Hofburg.
On Sunday we had friends over for lunch (Chinese food and champagne 😉 ) and enjoyed a low-key afternoon at home.
How was your weekend and which perfume accompanied it?
Olfactoria's Travels 
Thank you for asking! This lovely weekend included my students’ piano recital (selections from Rossini’s Sins of My Old Age, Villa Lobos, Prokofiev and Granados) and several hours in the greenhouse on Sunday. It was a successful and pleasant weekend. I wore M. Micallef Jewel for Her which always gives me an extra bit of confidence and poise (needed a little bit of that for the recital).
That sounds like a wonderful weekend, Azar! Thanks for sharing!
I had to work on Saturday afternoon which was a little sad, but Chanel No 19 helped, as it so often does. Other than that it was housework, groceries, lazing about, and testing Nahema PDT, sent me by a lovely Facebook friend.
Champagne is said to be suitable for any occasion, so why not with Chinese? 🙂
Too bad you had to work. 😦
Glad Chanel helped you through though.
I went to a friend’s for dinner on Friday night and we knitted by the fire afterwards till the blue lights of a fire engine parked outside alerted us to another fire nearby – a burning shed in the next street – so we stood at the end of her garden watching the fireman and rolling their houses and threading them down the alley. Saturday saw my first productive fit of gardening so far this year, and on Sunday I had another friend over for dinner at my house, having hastily cleaned it beforehand. I wore an amber sample Sabine gave me yesterday (Alambar from Lab Olfattivo), Kenzo Flower Oriental on Sat and I can’t remember as far back as Friday!
Please blame Siri – ‘unrolling their hoses’, that should be. 😉
🙂
Knitting can be more exciting that one might think! 😉
Alambar is very nice.
Good morning! Long time no see (or actually, I am seeing and reading still, but haven’t commented as much as before).
This weekend me and my girlfriend took some walks in Warsaw where I live now, bringing the camera to discover the city in a slightly different way. At least your eyes are looking after different things when the camera is there, compared to when it is left at home.
This weekend the fragrances of choice was Yves Saint Laurent – M7 plus Maison Francis Kurkdjian – Oud, two very different fragrances on the same theme.
I rarely have much fragrance-related news anymore, but this weekend there was some excitement. Last night there was an interview with me on Swedish radio, where I was giving my views on the Unsound and Geza Schoen collaboration Ephemera, where smell and sound has been brought together. I am speaking Swedish, but there is also an interview with Schoen in English for the interested one. You can listen here and the interview is somewhere in the beginning of hour two: http://sverigesradio.se/sida/avsnitt/516482?programid=4432
Funnily enough, at the same time as this was broadcasted, another interview with me appeared on Youtube, with me talking about how different pars of Stockholm smells of different fragrances, because differences in demographics. Unfortunately in Swedish, but the pictures are pretty: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViJOWDB1c1A
Best regards
Martin
Hello Martin,
lovely to hear from you.
It seems you are quite famous now! Congratulations on your interviews and thanks for sharing the link.
This is a one off for sure, but thank you! 😉
Hi!
I got a sample from Bogue’s new perfume O/E. I really love it and wore it on Saturday. On Sunday I was more in a “zestial” mood and wore Sicilian Lime by Ortigia.
And how do you like the new Bogue?
Zestial mood sounds good! 🙂
It is like walking through a herb garden. I like especially the clove, it is for me not so intensive like in Diptyques L’eau. After a while it is getting soapier, but a very fresh and clean soap. A little bit old fashioned. Antonio sent me also a vial of Maai. I like the scent very much but I think I am not strong enough for it 😉
Ha, I know how you feel, I know I am definitely NOT strong enough for MAAI.
Thanks for sharing your impressions of the new scent.
A lazy weekend here. On Saturday I picked up my new glasses from the optician and I wore Charogne. Lovely dinner at home: Dover sole with a shrimp/parsely/caper butter and a bottle of Riesling. Sunday I stayed in bed very long, emerging just in time to go to the pub for a Sunday roast. I wore Insolence and Mael complained that I totally overpowered his Sunday Cologne effort from Byredo.
Ah, that Sunday morning sounds wonderful indeed!
Glad you had such a nice weekend, Sabine.
This weekend we had a lovely tapas lunch at Casa Brindisa South Kensington with family. Totally delicious food, great service and atmosphere. On Sunday it was a trip to see the Lion King at the Lyceum. The very nice SA at the Penhaligons a few doors away gave me a sample of Ostara which I am looking forward to trying soon. For the weekend I wore the same perfume you did, Le Jardin de Monsieur Li is going to be a full bottle buy soon. Can’t wait for Spring to really arrive!
Tapas and a show – what a great weekend! Thanks for sharing, Li Ing!
I took a young friend, newly engaged, to a fun tag sale on Friday, where I enjoyed watching her shop for all kinds of things for her new life, including a heavily embroidered satin peignoir set circa 1960, never worn and beautifully packaged. I spied two Guerlain bottles in the advance pictures of the sale but they were gone by the time I got there; however I found some very old and beautiful Native American turquoise pieces to add to my collection. Saturday was the biannual swap meet on Now Smell This, always fun. My love affair with Zelda continues! I can barely bring myself to wear anything else.
That sale sounds great, too bad you didn’t find your perfumes though… but it seems like Zelda won’t let you out of her hands anyway. 🙂
Hi Everyone 🙂
My weekend kicked off with a job interview on Friday that I think went pretty well – it certainly felt very positive – so I am really hoping for some good news this week. That was followed by the launch party for Maria Candida Gentile’s Lankaran Forest Perfume at the Royal Academy to celebrate the last day of the Buta Festival of Azerbaijani art & culture. I was wearing Angela Flanders’ Bleu de Chine and a vintage watch fob necklace. Then on Saturday morning I went to the Wallace Collection where Saskia Wilson-Brown of Los Angeles’ Institute for Art & Olfacation was hosting an event called Froth & Folly: Scent in the 18th Century French Court, which was super fun. I was wearing Angela Flanders’ Aqua Alba. My Sunday was super chill (just the way I like them), and I was testing the perfume I blended at Froth & Folly using popular 18th century ingredients. Not horrible if I do say so myself! 😀
The Wallace Collection event must have been fabulous, I have your blog post bookmarked.
All in all your weekend sounds wonderful!
I keep my fingers crossed for your new job, please keep us posted!
Thank you on all counts! ❤
Ahh, I have also tried last week Le Jardin de Monsieur Li — hum, nice one but still out of all jardins I prefer Le Jardin sur le Nil, more intersting somehow… I also found Le J. de M. Li to be quite close to Hermes Mandarine Ambrée, though at a quick sniff. I tried it on the run, at the hermes counter of a department store, without really having time to see all its stages of development (if there are any, seems to be quite linear, no?)…
For my week end, I had to work, in particular finishing slides to my lectures that I am teaching this week. However one great activity was finally to try to make a green smothie — I know I am late to the party — wow, why I did not do it before? It tastes so great and very nutritient, a super substitute to a caloric diner. I will try to do it now every day! I already see the clear difference for my skin, and this is just after two evenings of green smoothies..
All this was accompanied by two perfumes: on Saturday — Masque “Russian Tea”, a great rendition of black tea (as opposed to tame green tea scents), thinking about buying a bottle… on Sunday it was Amouage Attar “Tribute” — as I was alone at home, my husband cannot stand it, and it is my drug so I was just getting high to be under anasthesia for the pain of working on Sunday…. 😉
Monsieur Li is nothing like Mandarine Ambrée to my nose. But it is a mostly linear composition that is pretty but not spectacular. A nice clean fresh jasmine.
Too bad you had to work on the weekend, but you seem to have made the best of it with the help of perfume. 🙂
I was in San Francisco Sat. researching fabric for my niece’s wedding dress. The fabric store is a direct neighbor to Chanel. I got to try the new Maisa which is still lingering on a card in my purse. Very nice. I then went half a block down to Hermes. I will never feel comfortable in that place. I would have loved to look at scarves, but they are so cold in there. I did get to spray the other arm with Cuir Ange. It is weird in a different and good way. Not what I expect from the watercolor approach of Hermessence. I would love both but alas, no small travel size for these houses. I know they have a travel at Hermes but it is 4 at a time. So until I find a friend to split it with I just have to brave going in their on my trips to the city.
Oh, that is so sad they are so cold and snobby at your boutique. A nice SA makes all the difference. There are a few here too that make me feel like I don’t deserve to even walk on their hallowed floors. 😉
Hope you had a good weekend anyway!
Bingo Birgit, we also had chinese (without the champagne) on Friday night! This weekend I switched from Frederic Malle Iris Poudre, which is sublime and I have been wearing it since Christmas, however I had an urge to wallow in roses for Spring, and dug out my Diptyque l’ombre dans l’eau Funnily enough, people noticed straight away that I was smelling ‘different!, though my husband was probably wondering was I buying more perfume, rather than any olfactory sensitivity on his part!. The changes in the weather always make me yearn to different scents.
Both such beautiful perfumes! The first days of spring make me want to change everything too (perfumes, shoes, coat, bag, scarf… it’s great! 🙂 )
A quiet weekend finishing an order for America ,working on Saturday surrounded by a cloud of Guerlain Vol de Nuit ,and on Sunday by Chanel Beige,….bliss
Beautiful scents, you smelled great this weekend!
I thought I was sailing through the eclipse quite well,but the weekend managed to surprise me in an unpleasant way,in spite of the lovely weather.Ah well,better times are on their way I hope.On Saturday I wore Chypre Mousse,for its comforting and elegant forest shadow nature,and on Sunday I was in the gorgeous Trayee for the day and changed to Noix de Tubereuse in the evening.
Sorry about your negative surprise. 😦
But as you say, this too shall pass.
A lovely sunny weekend, I wore Baiser Vole on Saturday while driving around town distributing leaflets for my exhibition, then Aria di Capri by Carthusia for a walk along the coast with family and friends on Sunday, the tides and waves were high after the eclipse, flocks of birds swooping among the rocks and dunes in the bright sunshine, Aria di Capri was perfect
Oh the beach sounds wonderful! Glad you had a good weekend, Rose.
It was a quiet peaceful weekend here in South Carolina. I spend time introducing myself to
Byredo’s “Oud Immortel”..It was an interesting process. At first I thought that I might have
made a mistake, but then it started “speaking” to me, and I ended the weekend in awe of
its beauty and quality. The book of the weekend was “The Hotel on Place Vendôme” The
Hotel Ritz had a fascinating history and a side story about one of its occasional occupants, the French actress, Arletty, the star of “Les Enfants du Paradis”.
What a great book, I must look it up right away.
Your weekend sounds lovely, Anita.
I flew to my parents this weekend and spent a very quiet and relaxing three days with my father (who has a serious progressive illness, so I try to visit frequently nowadays).
I wore Hermes Paprika Brazil for the first time, very nice and typical JCE. I’m looking forward to trying Mr Lie. Ended the weekend in Amouage Journey Woman, possibly next FB.
Glad you enjoyed Paprika Brasil, Eva.
I hope your father is well considering the circumstances.
A weekend of some shopping (shoe…), work, culture (theatre) and girlie chat with my neighbor on Sunday evening. All accompanied by Black Gemstone – the parfum of the last few weeks, haven’t been tempted by any other scent since I bought it. A revelation.
That sounds like a very nice weekend (well, apart from the work! 🙂 ).
Maybe I should take a sniff of Black Gemstone, you seem really infatuated.
I’m afraid you wouldn’t like heavy, smoky, woody, incensey Gemstone – but we won’t know it for sure until you don’t try it 😉
champagne and Chinese, what an interesting combination! I am more of a prosecco guy.
I’ve been intrigued by Dior homme of late, so spent the weekend spraying Dior homme intense and then eventually buying it. I keep promising myself not to buy anymore but end up buying one every month, what an expensive hobby.
Dior homme intense is quite similar to prada infusion iris which I also have. it has a bit lipstick like smell which I do like. Unfortunately it doesn’t not last for more than four hours but I’m fine with that. Love the bottle too which has a nice heft. I will see how long it keeps me hooked 🙂
Dior Homme is a great iris scent, although it has suffered a lot since the last reformulation. I like the bottle as well, clean lines amd a strong statement.
Have a good week, Mahesh!
Hey Birgit,
All about friends this last weekend, lunches, dinners, sniffing, the Art Gallery, a bit of shopping. Jin worked Sat & Sun and he’s having his weekend now so I feel like I’m having a 4 day holiday.
Fragrance? I have some new ones that got a good test drive: Vintage Cabochard parfum, some Vintage Arpege parfum in a spritz (WOW!), Montaigne by Caron, Rima XI and I wore Auburn by Andy Tauer.
Portia xx
Hi Portia, a four day weekend sounds ideal! 🙂
Enjoy yours!
I had a great weekend. Saturday I went to a friend’s birthday party wearing Chic Shaik No 30 (I need to write a post about this perfume since I owe its addition to my collection to you 😉 ). On Sunday we had a dance lesson for the group of friends and I wore La Femme Bleue (Hmmm… If to think about it, there was your hand in me getting this one as well – you’re so influential!)
🙂
Dance lessons! How great ! I hope you had a really good time. I love dancing so much!
I finally ran on Saturday (after a break during winter) and I already feel better for it. The rest of the weekend was basically spent with family and doing chores around the house (and yes, some singing too). 😉
I didn’t wear anything on Saturday and now I can’t remember what I sprayed on Sunday – something floral but no, total blank as to what it was. 🙂
Running and singing – perfect! 🙂
Hello – This weekend has been a true one-off (I hope!) and has re-raised a persistent Chanel dilemma!
Friday featured the solar eclipse (fantastic!), the solstice, our wedding anniversary, and an ACL knee reconstruction. Surgery required an uscented day, and that theme continued through Saturday and Sunday until the pain and queasiness began to settle.
Monday gave me a rare opportunity to relax in bed with time on my hands, and out came the perfume shoebox and the iPad 🙂 – what a treat! My sense of smell seems wonderfully heightened… But what I’m really craving is the Chanel Exclusifs – does anyone know where it’s possible to buy samples or decants in the UK/Europe?
I’m a Chanel customer, having worked my way through Bois des Iles in EDT and extrait, but am torn between the other offerings – their limited distribution means I don’t feel as though I’ve got know them well enough to discern a favourite, and my finances can’t accomodate a regret 😉 I’d like to live with them on my skin, scarf, cuff etc for a few days before I commit, and play around with application levels. The local SAs are generous with sprays, but not samples… although they often offer samples of Chance, and Bleu, which I politely decline and then step away wondering if they heard any of what I just said 😉 Bois des Iles covers my autumn and winter cravings (more so than CdR). I’m always drawn to 31 RC, No 18, No 22 and the delicious cologne. Coromandel is beautiful but not what I’m looking for. Love the initial blast of BR and LP but they are always lost up my sleeve somewhere within the hour. Sycamore – I prefer the freshness of vetiver extraordinnaire.
For those lucky people who’ve managed to really experience the full range and live with an exclusif, could anyone tell me their favourite spring summer exclusif? And perhaps the one they consider to be a classic – of real quality.
Many thanks for all the lovely hours of reading your blog and your contributors offer up x
Hi brainfodder,
I hope your knee is recovering well!
Re Chanel: it is a shame indeed that your SA is so stingy with samples. I had some good experiences at Selfridges in London, if they have it, they are always generous with samples (and they do not know I am a blogger!)
My personal favorite Exclusif for spring is 28 La Pausa, a beautiful iris, next up is Bel Respiro, a green fragrance and for really hot summer days it is the classic Eau de Cologne all the way. (You can find reviews of all the Exclusifs on the blog if you’d like to read up.)