Here’s the family! Photo on the right — Alex is on the left, then Warren (wonderful husband, in his Tilly hat, which he always has) me, then my youngest son, Harry.
The photo on the left — That’s Harry on the left and Alex on the right. Love the disparity in height. Harry’s about 6’4″ and Alex is about 5’7″. Isn’t that fun? I had that picture made into a dry erase board too. When they were growing up, people couldn’t tell them apart. I still look at them and know how much alike they are in all the places that count and how very different and unique. That’s the beauty of kids, watching them become persons, flawed and perfect.
I adore my boys and my husband, and you’ll probably have to put up with more pictures over the next few weeks. I’ve waited forever for these. Both boys hated school pictures, so they wouldn’t bring home the envelopes. It’s been since both of them were in 8th grade I’ve had new pictures.
So what’s new? I’ve got a couple of the newest designer releases — Sarah Jessica Parker Covet and Fendi Palazzo.
Covet has notes of wet greens, geranium leaves, Sicilian lemon, lavender, chocolate, honeysuckle, magnolia, muguet, musk, vetiver, bois de cashmere, teakwood and amber. I think Lovely, her first effort, was really nice. Covet just isn’t doing it for me. Nothing is really wrong with it, and I’d certainly wear it with little complaint, but the notes seem to wind up in a jumble, and I can’t really find the character of this perfume — nothing completely unique or different or memorable. Maybe with less lemon or lavender, I would like it more. Or maybe more musk? I doubt those who really liked Lovely will be disappointed, but I think I was hoping for something a little more out there.
Palazzo has notes of orange blossom, rose, tangerine, bergamot, lemon, pink pepper and jasmine. Have you see this bottle? Like all Fendi bottles, it’s another masterpiece: clear with the palazzo windows in gold outlined on the backside of the bottle so you see it as you look through. A gorgeous stone-shaped cap made out of clear acrylic with a gold Fendi insignia shaped inside. Looking at that bottle, I wanted to fall in love with this perfume, like I’m in love with Asja and Theorema, but I’m deferring judgment for good reason. First, this, like all Fendi perfumes, is rich and over the top, which is the thing I love about Fendi. They don’t leave anything on the table when they make a perfume, and you don’t have to dance around figuring out whether you like it or not because it’s too subtle to get a read on it. There’s a little more fruit than I like on the open, which is a minus, but the florals bloom up rich and full shortly after the open. And that’s where my review stops. I need cold weather to make a final judgment. This is not a hot weather perfume, it needs the fall temps outside before I think I can evaluate it properly. I like it right now, don’t love it, but I have that nagging feeling that I will move it into the winter love column, despite that fruity open.
Patty,
You have a beautiful family and you should be proud. They are lucky to have you and then, so are we. I can’t wait to try the Palazzo. I think Covet is beautiful, but not as edgy as I expected. I don’t think I’d risk jail for it.
Love to see the family !
I never weary of them…
A window into your world, and so welcome.
Kisses to you all.
Hi Patty,
It’s great to see pictures of you and your family.
I love Lovely and have to agree with you about Covet. It just doesn’t come together as a unified whole. It’s not unpleasant, just kind of wobbly to me.
Such a lovely family you have, P! It’s also lovely to see your pride in them all shine through.:)
I have been lusting after Palazzo since Robin wrote about it earlier in the summer. I’m not usually a bottle person, but the Palazzo bottle, just, I dunno, SPEAKS to me. Can’t wait to try it.
Had to wait till I got home to see the lovely photos as work computer wouldn’t show them. The warmth in you all shines through, Patty, thanks for sharing. Hm, Covet. Something in it worried me alot – lavender? Pine? chocolate? It was a bit of a mess to my nose. And that brown plastic top thingy.Not terrible. Just no. The Fendi sounds a must try. I do love the original leathery one though subtle it is not! Oh if you came to London it would be wonderful! Silvia and I are meeting up in a couple of weeks – I can’t wait.Anyone else in London saturday 1 september very welcome to join in.
And everyone needs to know, not only are the boys handsome, they’re NICE. (I know, the kiss of death!) But they are. Good, polite, and fun. And of course, our Posse Mistress is a livin’ doll. 😉
I’m not going to try any more celebrity fragrances… ever. I spent the day yesterday with 4 teenage girls, one of whom had Britney Spears “Curious” and “Fantasy” (or whatever it is in that pink bottle)in her purse. I stupidly thought “oh, how bad could it bed?” It was new levels of badditude. I had to keep my wrists away from my face as the atrocity was giving me a headache. Well, that and the forced smile as I responded to “tee-hee, isn’t it GREAT?!” So SJP can keep her juice – and I’m going to go wash again.
Be-yoo-tee-full!!! 😡
Patty, you have a lovely family. Love the photos of your men. Please keep ’em coming!
Hugs and love!
What a lovely photogenic bunch you have there! Keep ’em coming.
I’m so happy (if that’s the right term) to hear that I’m not the only mother of a son who refused to be photographed. After grade school, mine became as camera-shy as your average vampire. If it weren’t for his participation in sports, I’d have no pictures whatsoever of his high school years. :-< I couldn't even get him to agree to graduation pictures -- or to graduation ceremonies, for that matter. He wrote all of our friends and relatives asking them to donate money to charity in his name, in lieu of graduation gifts or a party. I suppose I should applaud his altruism, but with only the one child, I felt rather cheated out of my maternal glory-moment. Thankfully he's finaly gotten over being camera-averse. :d It was the advent of the camera phone that wooed and won him.
It’s all about cracking their technology codes. Once I figured out the MOS on IM meant “mom over shoulder”, I knew I was on the road to better understanding the lad. Not that he wants me to!
Louise, you are so right about that. There are two websites that have helped me stay in the game when it comes to understanding ‘kid language’. Those are http://www.netlingo.com and http://www.urbandictionary.com. Without those two assets in my back pocket, I doubt I’d understand a word the kids say. lol
I’ll add in with the thanks for the pictures- a handsome family indeed!
I was amused by the commercial for Covet (for about the first 300 times I saw it that is…) but I am not going out of my way to smell it. The Fendi? I’ll go out of my way. Just perhaps not this weekend, since I plan on sucking up all of the AC that the Beverly Center provides on this hot, hot weekend.
Hi Patty! Thank you for the pictures! What a handsome family!
You are just as pretty as I imagined someone so generous would be, you are the one who got me to sniff and appreciate the older Guerlains.
I thought Covet was meh, just okay, didn’t inspire either love or hate, but that bottle! I love it.
So nice to have faces to go with all the stories 🙂 We haven’t had good professional family photos done in a very long time either–in fact I think the youngest two still had their baby teeth in the one hanging on the wall. Now my kids (kids??) are 21, 17, and almost 15. Jeeze. . .we’re way over due!
I have also tried SJP Covet and was not moved to buy or to smash through the display case with my Christian Louboutins (like I have any! hahaha!)
So that’s the lovely family I support with my shameless frequent buying sprees. At least you guys are good looking!
Someone mentioned Caron or et Noir, which is being shipped. I can’t wait to be a Caron slave. they are all so lovely. ANd I’ve been coveting Covet, though afraid it would be disorganized too
Or et Noir is gorgeous! Caron will get you if you let it. Don’t say you haven’t been warned. :d
Maria,
I’ve already been gotten! Except for Narcisse Noir, that one doesn’t like me. Nuit de Noel was my gateway Caron and it runs neck and neck with Tabac Blond as my favorites to horde and wear on special occasions. Or et Noir will be my next, followed by Voeu de Noel… I expect one or both of them to make me drink the Caron Koolaid and be completely slayed.
Yay! So happy everyone’s posting pics; Lee–you MUST go next! Your family is so lovely, Patty!! I have to say though, that I Covet (only way to get today’s fumes in) Warren’s hat. I used to have a Tilley hat that I used for hiking, but I lost it, and since I don’t hike so much any more, I haven’t been able to justify the expense (sounds funny when you consider what I spend on perfumes, but one has to make choices). :d I loved that hat though. . .
We need Commenter pictures now too! Or we should just do a Posse Sniff somewhere so we can all meet up.
You need another Tilley. I have one that I very rarely wear, but somehow I feel more secure knowing it is in my closet and ready to go when we finally get to Costa Rica in a couple of years, where I’ll need it desperately!
Posse Sniff, for sure. I’m there (wherever it may be)!!!:x (I’m thinking London, so we can see Lee and visit RDove’s collection)
Oh, Patty-about that Posse meetup-wouldn’t it make most sense to rendezvous somewhere in the midwest, say, oh Colorado??? Actually, barring your desire to house several hundred sniffers, what about Chicago?-we can all get there relatively easily and cheaply, we can commandeer a block of rooms, bring over Lee and other overseas buddies, do some decent sniffing together. NY and LA may have better shops, but let’s be egalitarian…
I think London would be great, Judith! Totally on board for that.
Louise, I’d do Denver in a heartbeat. There’s not a lot of good shopping around here, except for my house. 🙂 But we’d have such a great girlie time!!! I think I could fit like 6 people in the house if no one minded comfy couches.
Thank you so much for sharing the wonderful pictures, Patty!! 😡
You’ll be tired of them by the time I get done sharing. 🙂
P, those are GREAT pics!!! I believe Alex is a couple years older than Harry, right? 20ish and 18ish? I find their size difference hilarious. As someone who stands a full 6 inches taller than my teeny, tiny older sister, I felt her wrath. Did it aggravate Alex, I wonder, to have Harry so much taller?
Also, Warren is a dish. And you’re lookin’ good, too. The once-in-a-lifetime pic where everyone looks good — eyes fully open, at the camera, etc.!
Covet — I thought it was abominable, like Pine-Sol or something. But both Victoria and Robin have endorsed it, so I’ll have to re-sniff. I’ve seen the Fendi bottle, it is gorgeous, and I second your decision to wait until cooler weather.
Thanks! Those aren’t even the best ones, just showed everyone. We had them do a montage of pictures in black and white with Harry and his guitar that is so cool. Yup, you got the ages almost exactly right. Alex has been aggravated since Harry shot up about four years ago and jokes all the time about taking 6-7 inches out of his legs while he’s sleeping.
Yeah, this was the Perfect Picture. I’m not photogenic in the least, so that we all looked good in that picture is pretty amazing.
Covet, I won’t go as far as pine-sol, but it’s just not working for me.
I think you’ll LOVE Palazzo. You liked Fath de Fath, right? If so, Palazzo will ttoally work, though I still recomend waiting until some of the heat is out of the air. Thing lasts 4ever too!
What a great looking family! You’re beautiful!
Palazzo sounds like I will need it. Possibly now. I’m in the mood for winter comfort scents. Have been wearing Fumerie Turque in these 105′ days (but, remember that I habitually apply so little that I can get between 6 months to a year’s use out of one sample vial).
Oh, thanks! I think my boys are so handsome.
I think you’d like Palazzo. It has a Fath de Fath feel to it, I think. I’ve been trying to put my nose on what it was a little like. The staying power is just fierce as well.
Covet, I slept with it, and I’m still not feeling any love this morning…. at… all!
What great pics-lovely family. I know what you mean about trying to get the guys to fork over pics. I have a record that my son was born, and attended school, but not so much after that (he’s now 18). Only now have I discovered where (on the computer) he stashes the photos of himself he uploads to Facebook (shhhh-I raid them).
Oh-and lovely mom, too! Thanks!
I’ve run away from the (live female) sprayers at Macy’s-and will try Covet quietly in the future. The Fendi sounds good and loud, and very wintery.
That’s so funny! I know both of my boys have photos all over the place, but neither of them will let me near their computers. And they are both photogenic, even Harry with that mop of hair that he won’t get rid of.
He had a trauma when he looked at his 7th or 8th grade photo, when his hair was buzzed, because it did look terrible on him, but that’s how he wanted his hair, so now he barely lets them cut it at all.
What warmth in your words and in those photos. Truly lovely, Patty.
That daft Covet ad is on the tv endlessly here. I guess I should go smell it…
Does this mean I have to put my photo up on the blog? 😕 :-ss
Lee, your beauty must be shared…though you’ll need to change your phone number, address, etc.
Yes!!! You and Bryan both need to put up some snaps!
We want photos of Lee! We want photos of Lee!
I agree! Photos! 🙂
Hmm… I think Louise has oversold me!:@):@):@)
Oversold? Nevah! Besides, I thought the price was quite fair…
Patty, thank you for the family pictures!!! I love seeing you all! Is Alex older than Harry but shorter? (I know you’ve mentioned their birth order before, but I can’t remember.) You four look great together, like people I’d love to sit down and have a picnic with. Your husband’s hat… I’m going to ask an impertinent question. My husband is follicularly challenged, and he likes to wear hats a lot. Is that also the case at your house? Bald men are handsome in my book.
Before logging on I had been sitting around smelling Or Noir on my arm and thinking, “Patty has turned me into a Caron slave!” 😡 Thank you.
yes, Alex is the oldest, he’ll be 21 next month. Can that be?!?!?! Harry is 17 and a senior in high school.
No, Warren has a full head of spectacular black hair, though I have no objection to the bald and would welcome it too! He just loves that hat. We went on vacation last year, and he found a kindred spirit with one of my friend’s husband who wears a Tilley with the same slavish affection. They are BFFs now. So strange. He really is one of the funniest people I know.
Adorable pictures, Patty! Harry looks so much like you, right down to the smile!
Based on the Chandler Burr interview with SJP, a more masculine scent was delivered as promised with Covet, although I was expecting something even more edgy and dark. I thought it overly musky at first, very little development, but I managed to grasp on and enjoy the smooth transition between the nuances of the citrus and geranium, then the powdery woods and muguet, all played over a bare-all nuded musk.
I concluded it as Lovely in heat and Kiehl’s Musk-in-a-faux-fur-coat-over-lunch-at-a-Bistro. hehe.
For those who enjoyed CkOne Scene, I think they would enjoy Covet.
Of course I meant Or et Noir. Long day yesterday of workshops and freaking out. b-(
patty, thanks for sharing. i’m so out of the loop these days i’m perpetually in sit-quietly-and-observe-before-putting-in-my-thoughts mode. i heard somewhere about a posse sniff- count me in! it’ll be an adventure to finally get to see all you wonderful people in the flesh…. oh, but i digress… why am i adding this as a comment to maria’s? ahh… yes, i also want to thank you personally for turning me into a caron worshiper. i’m currently experiencing some tough times with people at work and have turned to the caron urn split decants to cope with all this. thank you. i know the carons are not immediately associated with strength of character and all that, but through them i’ve found a reassuring and safe private haven from pressures of work- right at my desk! so, to make the long story short…. thank you so much for everything. i wish you and your family best of luck.