The mid-Atlantic region of the United States was abuzz for days about the impending snow storm. My sister-in-law Kate and I, both having lived in areas where serious snow is neither unusual nor a cataclysm, started swapping drama-nuggets from the nightly news as the storm headed our direction. I began the exchange with “a meteorological explosion.” She countered with something like “Northeast Mauled By Snowstorm,” and then “snowpocalypse,” and “snowmageddon,” and it was downhill from there. I’m still waiting for “DC Area Groped By the Abominable Snowman.”
But we were groped, and hard. I laughed at the storm, and the storm laughed back in all our faces. From Friday to Saturday we got 30 inches (76cm) of snow, more or less. Half the county was without power by Saturday. The temp. fell to 15F(-9.5C) overnight and the single digits in the outlying areas. It’s 35(1.6C) degrees right now in our neighbor’s kitchen. All the hotel rooms filled quickly, and then all the shelters. There were rumors of a high school auditorium open (if you could get there). By Friday night the power was out on the streets all around us, but ours stayed on.
So today’s post is dedicated to the Big Cheese, who gets an (Amouage) Gold star here, because he isn’t going to get it anywhere else. He spent hours canvassing our neighborhood, shoveling walks and helping the heatless, particularly the folks who are older and had nowhere to go. We’re housing three neighbors and a guest-dog, and people have been stopping by all day to warm up and charge their cell phones. But one elderly neighbor who is in a wheelchair and her husband refused to leave their house. So the Cheese scared up a generator (!), helped haul and install it, no mean feat in the snow, and found them some space heaters. Then he got up twice in the night and early the next morning to make sure they weren’t dead in their beds. He’s doing so again tonight. We’re supposed to get another five inches of snow on Tuesday, so my guess is this could go on for awhile. I have to say, it’s stunning to look at.
In the meantime, I thought I’d do a post on snow-scents, and solicit your suggestions.
Powdery Snow. At the top of my list is Lorenzo Villoresi’s Teint de Neige. Powder. White powder. Powdery white powder. Powdery white powder of Death. I wouldn’t wear it at gunpoint, but it has tons of fans. I’m talking talcum powder, not the Nasomatto China White, a different kind of white powder. For a more intellectual, spare powder, there’s Frederic Malle L’Eau d’Hiver. And of course there’s Sienne l´Hiver by Eau d´Italie, which smells more like smoke, dank earth and hot Italian boys on Vespas… but I digress.
Pure Snow. My favorite: CB I Hate Perfumes’ Winter 1972. The perfect snowstorm. Scent of damp mitten, frozen earth and snow. I dig it out sometimes in the summer when I need some air conditioning.
Cashmere Scents. The weather outside is frightful, but you’re inside, wrapped up in a cashmere throw, looking at the idiots digging their cars out even though there’s nowhere to go. We all have a ton of these. I nominate: Barbara Bui; Estee Lauder Amber Ylang; Prada L’Eau Ambree. For a related, warm-radiator scent, and a great bottle to boot: Fendi Asja in the EDT.
Boozy Scents. You’re trapped inside with your kids; school is cancelled for the foreseeable future. Why not get liquored up? There’s the cognac of Frapin 1270. Ginestet Botrytis smells of candied fruit and wine. If you need something stronger, how about Ambre Russe by Parfum d’Empire, with its notes of vodka and sin?
White Floral Camphor. I rag on Serge Lutens Tubereuse Criminelle all the time, but who can argue with a camphory tuberose in this weather? If you’re a camphor weenie like me, step down and go with Frederic Malle Carnal Flower, a soaring tuberose with the camphor reduced to a florist-shop chill. Having dug up my sample, I’m ashamed I’m not wearing this more often. Stunning. March the Maleficent Decrees: those who say they hate big white florals cannot be sure until they’ve sampled Carnal Flower.
Green, Green, Green. Many of you have sorted this already: like the right white floral, the piercing green scents can work on the snowiest day. This isn’t really my category, but I nominate vintage Carven Ma Griffe or Balmain Vent Vert; JAR Bolt of Lightning; Chanel (Les Exclusifs) Bel Respiro.
What are your suggestions for Snowpocalypse scents, in these categories or others?
I don’t have a single snow-related scent to add….I just wanted to ask you to give your husband a hug for me(*)
People who care for others like that are what makes this crazy ride worthwhile. You are a lucky girl!
Good luck with the snow! I hope this next storm doesn’t hit as hard!
Bravo to the Big Cheese! and you. I’m beyond tired of snow and refuse to wear snow scents any longer! Yesterday wore Le Parfum de Therese to shovel (again) cuz I am “essential personnel.” Today I got up effing early to go 20 miles west and arrived at work on time at 8 am (still waiting on a thank you) wearing Daim Blond. Last Tuesday night at 10 pm drove home in that now forgotten snow storm so booked hotel nearby for tomorrow night. I might just pack No. 19 or Vetiver Pour Elle as my sotd!!!! :d
Smelling good IS the best revenge!
March, I am also in DC and, after hearing that we are getting potentially another foot of snow tomorrow, have gone into deep denial. I am wearing mostly green sparkly scents like vintage Dioressence and Y. Today, however, since the sun was out full blast, I went for Poivre 23, one of my favorites to wear in snowy weather since it actually has the effect of making me feel a touch warmer when I inhale it.
Other blizzard favourites are DSH Cafe Noir, Iunx Eau Sento (delicious as a cup of well-made cappucino and chai, respectively), very vintage Emeraude, which I just discovered thanks to the lovely Jana, and Tabac Blond parfum.
NB. i know it is the done thing to complain TB is not what it used to be, but having recently tried the vintage version, I really don’t think they are enormously different. the vintage is skankier and a little less sweet, but I really do think TS oversold those points in her merciless review.
No, they’ve upped it — to 10 to 20 inches!! :(( We’re still digging outselves out from the first batch. Poivre, that’s a great scent. And I never tried the Iunx, it sounds wonderful.
Isn’t vintage Emeraude amazing? And that’s funny about TB. Perhaps their review bottle wasn’t up to snuff.
Central Minnesota chiming in here….with 6″ on the ground and more to come. I think this may be the next storm to hit your area? I work at home during weather like this, for which I am eternally grateful. Road conditions don’t scare me; other drivers do!
My snow scent is Annayake Yukimi. To me it smells like the embodiment of winter and snow.
Bless your family for pitching in with the neighbors – I’m sure they appreciated it 🙂
Ugh, they are now predicting another 10 – 20 inches for tomorrow!!! Someone make it stop! I did go to the grocery store tonight, which was busy and crowded but really, not bad at all. Fingers crossed our power stays on.
Yukimi is a lovely, lovely thing, and nobody talks about it.
Oh March, you and your husband make me feel all fuzzy inside. Seriously, you guys are wonderful to do that for your neighbors. We had an awful lot of snow here in Philly by Philly standards, made all the worst since Philadelphia has an aversion to plowing. Seriously, they do. not. will. not. do. it. But(!) we all had our energy, and our heaters running, so there wasn’t any threat of any imminent danger. Plus Friday night/Saturday morning was seriously just lovely (once we were no longer on the road, that is.)
Fingers crossed that this upcoming storm ends up being one of those times when the newscasters predict doom and destruction and we end up with a dusting that doesn’t stick. I don’t think I can take much more of driving to work praying that I don’t skid into the car in front of me.
Huh. No plowing? Is it a religious thing? 😉 Srsly the issue here which I totally understand is, you have to invest in the infrastructure — the plows, etc., salt, blah blah, and who knows if you’ll need it? Here it’s a crapshoot. They have used much less road salt than they typically do because it’s actually been so cold it’s snowed, instead of our usual craptastic “wintry mix”, slush turning to ice.
I hope the storm misses you.
Will have to come back to read all these wonderful comments more thoroughly, but just wanted to say I’m glad to hear everyone in your parts made it through the storm OK, and that I love your picks.
I’ve been having a little mad love affair with Lutens Fleurs d’Oranger of late. I feel completely crazy. I don’t even like orange blossom! Didn’t. Until now…
Off to go dig out my sample of Divine, too.
Coming back to say about the Divine — holy retro-powder Batman! Everyone always says tuberose, tuberose, tuberose about this one. They left out all the womanly powdery dirty bits… Honestly, I’m home working in my sweats today and I feel like I’m leaning over someone with a cocktail glass in my hand, flashing a generous expanse of warm cleavage and some diamonds…
Oh, I don’t remember the dirty bits! I will definitely have to dig up my sample now. And FdO is so, so amazing. I think it is sort of beyond orange blossom, don’t you? I feel kind of silly that I don’t have a bottle.
Here’s to you and the Cheese =d> Finding and installing a generator? Kinda renews my faith in people.
I don’t know if Mr. Apartchick is up for being kind to neighbors after a hurricane evacuation here a few years ago. In a fit of neighborliness I invited our elderly neighbor to come with us to a hotel about an hour away. Sure, bring your dog, I said, not knowing that it was the fartingest dog ever and that all of us (Mr. A, me, the neighbor, our two unhappy cats, and the farting dog) would be stuck in that hotel room for 3 nights. Live and learn.
Wonderful Snowpocalypse ideas! Snow would probably send me running for L’air du desert marocain because it’s a comfort scent for me and that lovely dry quality would allow me to convince myself that I was standing in a Moroccan desert.
I can’t believe he found a generator. No, seriously. They weren’t exactly being advertised around. So in addition to parking karma, he’s got that going for him as well.
Marocain would be a lovely choice, wouldn’t it? And it might even have covered the smell of farting dog?
I am one of those who is wondering what’s the what with the weather this year…I’m in Great Lakes snow zone, gosh darn it, and there’s snow all BELOW me on the map!! Just weird.
OTOH, you truly are in the midst of a Big Event, and bravo to all of you for handling it with aplomb. Being from the Nearly Great White North, I tend to be more like ErinT, and think everybody should just suck it up. (A kind of suppressed pride, I suspect.) It’s got to be more of a challenge for y’all who are in a zone where this just isn’t supposed to happen.
Okay, scents:
POWDER. Hiver is more about the almond on me, but I am frequently fond of a powdery scent, so it may just fly low on my radar. You know I love it. (FB worthy!) OTOH, I have a spouse who finds so many of the scents I try to be “talc-y” that we represent the yin and yang of powder detection. Hang on, I think I’m meandering…oh, yeah. Another powder scent I like would be…the crazy mash-up in Habanita.
BOOZE. For me, Havana Vanille is about the booze. So, I’m going to put that one in this column. While I sip a Jameson’s or a good scotch (blended or single) or some Drambuie by the fire.
WHITE FLORAL *CAMPHOR*. Now what did you do, sneaky miss? Put the camphor in there, and it’s all about the Criminelle. If I can take the caveat off the category, it occurs to me I might want to get out the Songes in preparation for our upcoming snowstorm. I think I might call that one White Floral Cashmere, if I could warp the category to my own uses.
GREEN. ♥ that Bel Respiro. And I love to toss around the galbanum (I know, you not only duck, but run away), so I’d try dirty green galbanum like Silences. Or the one that seems to read differently for others, another Chanel, No. 19, which is a total morpher…from the opening blast to a warm(ish) green floral. Though on an apres-storm snowed in kind of day, I might play with the idea of green, and go to that which suggests green is about to come out of the ground, one of my favorite spring teasers, CBIHP Wild Hunt.
Oh, good, you’re making me do my homework for the paltry 6-12″ they say is coming our way. :d/
Hi March,
This is my first post to the site. We’re having a snow day here in Memphis, although it looks like we only got three inches. Because the city only owns half a dozen plows everything is shut down. SOTD is Sel de Vetiver. Every time I get a whiff of it it feels like my nose is freezing up, which matches the scene outside. Perhaps I can indulge the cold-meets-cold sensation because I know the snow is only temporary.
Electricity and generosity–good things to have in abundance during hard times especially.
Hey March,
I’m in the area, too. Job in DC opened at noon today; guess who isn’t going to be in?
I was revisiting samples throughout the weekend. The most interesting was Rossy de Palma (its rose/blood accord really jumped out at me when hit by the crisp air while shoveling). Not something I would normally wear when cozying up, but it was very interesting.
Couldn’t decide this morning whether to go the incense route, the spicy gourmande route, or the amber route. Went with the incense and am happy to be wearing bois d’encenc.
Good on ya (and hubby) for your neighborly concern. If more people were like you, the world would be a much better place.
You know, I think sometimes the best perfume experiences are when you wear something completely unexpected for the circumstances or weather. So Rossy de Palma might be perfect for right now, cozying up or shoveling snow. Hell, I’d wear Mitsouko to shovel snow.
Incense makes some people comforted but right now seems too cold to me … all I want is sunny warmth! Love that BdE though, it’s the only one of that collection I bought a bottle of.
March, the Washington Post has a photogallery where readers are sharing snowstorm photos – there some amazing pics! Anyone who is interested can google the Washington Post and click on the photogallery. (I THINK one can look at the photogallery without signing in – in any case, signing on is free, though annoying.)
Since my office is closed today, I’m going to spritz on a protective force field of PG Coze and see if there is anything left at the nearest supermarket. I know they are open but I wonder if their big supply trucks are getting through…
Oh, I should have looked at those! Their main photo gallery, I thought the pics were awfully dull.
Our corner market is open and being raided, everyone in a cheerful mood. Their bread is gone and their milk is going fast, they said they have no idea when they might get stocked again. We should try to get to the regular grocery store, but neither of us can face it.
I so wish I could love Sienne L’Hiver. I got a sample after hearing multiple rave, ecstatic reviews. For me it was stinky celery seed and rotting wood :-((
Here are my Snowpocalypse suggestions:
Pure Snow – Dementer Snow – for all the scientific talk about this being like snow and dirt, it’s also a very pretty, delicate winter scent
Boozy Scents – Bois des Iles – is this boozy? Ida know, it is to me and love it in the snow
Cashmere Scents – Fendi Theorema – like a cuddle by the fireplace
White Floral Camphor (but without the Camphor) – Divine by Divine, wore this yesterday in the piercingly cold wind and snow and it was beautiful. Not as sexy, high-heels and stockings feeling as it is in the summer. I found it beautiful and elegant, but more refined and restrained in winter weather. Nothing like a big white floral to cheer me up on a bitter day.
Green, Green, Green – Dior Escale a Portofino is a new discovery for me. Thanks/blame to you, Joe and a few others, I’m very close to taking the plunge on a 75ml bottle of this one. It is oddly appropriate in winter, but I have a feeling will really sing in the warm months too.
Honorable mention to M. Micallef L’Hiver for a scent that is both light and warm, fresh and cozy. Notes according to TPC: notes of jasmine, ylang-ylang, violet, iris, orange blossom, citron, petit grain, cinnamon, cumin, elemi, cedar, sandalwood, oak, white musk, benzoin and vanilla.
Bless you March, and your generous family. Hope things improve soon 🙂
Didn’t Duchaufour do Hiver? All his stuff smells like old vasewater on me. But on a paper I get the woody, earthy stuff.
Divine!!! I should dig that up, I remember swooning and thinking, how do I love this thing that is not “me”? And of course everyone should at least try Theorema. One of the few things I have a backup bottle of (fingers crossed it doesn’t go bad.)
Oh, the Escale! Did you find it had amazing lasting power for what it is? I was really impressed. I think of it as a spring/fall scent, but it wouldn’t be bad any time. Wondering if it’s showed up at the discounters yet? It seems like the sort of thing that would … I got mine on eBay, mostly full, for not much money at all.
The Hiver I can’t remember much, except for the cumin. Several of hers are quite cuminy, which I like.
They’ll “improve” if we don’t get too much snow on Tuesday — they’re calling for 5 – 8 inches, ugh.
Yes, Escale did have impressive lasting power a scent that’s so, not heavy. 4-5 hours on my skin, forever on my sweater. Last summer I had been layering Guerlain Mandarine Basilic with Divine Bergamote to knock back the sweetness. Escale achieves all that I wanted with MB without the sweetness PLUS a more interesting drydown. I found it at The Bay for $65 for 75 ml, where I still have a leftover Xmas gift certificate and all I need is someone to tell me to go for it… anyone, anyone?
Hey!!! Tell me you bought it!!! I somehow missed your comment and failed to do my perfumista duty of coming back here ane enabling you!
Divine is indeed Divine, all year ’round.
I’m glad you and yours made it through “Snowmageddon” OK. And kudos to the Cheese for being such a caring neighbor. We used to be known as “that house with the snowblower” back on Long Island, and my hubs got a real kick out of helping the neighbors.
I can totally relate to the power situation. That was always my worst fear because our power used to go out on bright sunny days with no precipitation. Go figure…
I tend to go for the cashmere and booze in weather like that, and I second your choices. I’ll add in DK Cashmere Mist because, how can you have a cashmere category without it? :d
Here’s hoping all my friends in the MD/DC/VA areas are warm and safe. 😡
Hah, we were the house with the snowblower when I was growing up! My dad had one, and we lived on a short street (5 houses) where every other neighbor was elderly. I remember him doing the entire sidewalk and everyone’s front walkways, which were concrete.
Of course DK Cashmere Mist, how silly of me.
I remember when Chanel 22 smelled like baby powder, at least to me, way back in the 80’s when you could buy it easily, next to no. 5.
I like oils when its cold, Eygyptian Musk from Sonoma Scent Studio or the Jalaine Amber
I never tried 22 back in the day. The new version has a lot of incense in it, which I like. And oils sound great.
I’m stunned that NoVa got more snow than us poor Mountain Folk… we got about 13-14″ this go-round (with more to come tomorrow, they say), and we’ve still got power.
For Snow Scents, I love La Myrrhe and my vtg No. 5 parfum. For warm-n-fuzzy, I’ve got Parfum Sacre, Alahine and Organza Indecence. But I’ve been testing the heck out of tuberose stuff for a series of blog posts, and Carnal Flower is the absolute Queen, I say. (Fracas is now Dowager Queen.) Greenies are not enticing me lately, except in the case of green-white florals like Climat and Diorissimo.
And The Cheese is some kinda guy… Three cheers.
I think we are in agreement — Carnal Flower is the tuberose queen for me. (Although that VC&A Gardenia might be my ultimate White Flower scent, along with SIP Lady Day…)
Alahine somehow is not calling out to me. Perhaps because I tend to wear it to fancy parties (don’t worry, not ones where anyone has to sit next to me to eat!) And OI is always good.
Whenever I hear of people travelling throughout the world helping people in need, I always think, but what about the needy people in ones own backyard. Why not help out at home..and he does…bravo. Kudos to your whole family, for taking people in, you have kind and generous hearts. Don made sure elderly neighbors had street access. I watched from the window, with tea & toast. We were all okay, out here, we kept power right thru. We have 5′ deep snow drifts, but we’re plowed, and can get out.
Can I say? I just realized our next door neighbor’s holly tree fell over in our yard! But the drifts are so darn deep I hadn’t even noticed it, I kept looking over there thinking, why does that look weird? 😕
Tea and toast from out the window sounds just right. I’m so happy you kept your power. We’re surprisingly well plowed. Perhaps I’ll venture out later today, or tomorrow, before we get the next round of snow. :((
Hail to the Cheese,
He’s the King of all Fromages!
What a lovely thing to do. Both of you are just wonderful people. You really walk your talk, baby!
It’s weird but all the things I love in winter I hate in winter fragrances so, no vanilla, musk, warmy stuff for me, alas.
I, too, have been trotting out the aldehydes. Trying not to wear a hole in Cartier Brilliante, I decided to work in some Nos 5 and 22 as well as my vintage L’Aimant. In a Six Degrees scenario w/ Carter, one thing led to another and I found myself craving real Bandit – just perfect in the cold.
I get a Rose thing going every now and then and I dunno how this happened but somehow I find myself craving Delrae Roth’s Amoreuse, with that weird, plasticky note – but only at night.
Teinte de Neige scared me half to death!:o like getting stuck in 30 inches of powdered sugar.
Long may you reign over the snow, March and El Q!^:)^
xo >-)
The vintages, and those aldehydes, would be perfect in your frigid weather. Something with some heft to them, to help propel you out into the wind and snow…
No. 22. I wish I’d bought a bottle back in the day. I admit I like the increased incense in 22 in Les Exclusifs, but I don’t want 200 ml of it!
Poor Cheese. He’s still in bed. Fortunately the neighbors have their heat back on now, at least for the time being, so he’s catching up on sleep. And can I say? The Post and the NYT have delivered! And I’m laughing, they are being very careful to toss the papers into people’s shoveled paths, not out (to be buried) in the snowdrifts in the yard.
Like Leslie and Chicago above, MN and I are getting dumped on today and tomorrow. It’s begun, but the snow is big and fluffy and my boyfriend says it’s gorgeous outside. Maybe this will be a good “big” snow. There are no threats of power outages, however, so we’re safe in that regard. But if a power outage could help introduce me to people in the area like you, March, and the Big Cheese, I’ll get over the lack of internet and perfume blogs for a few hours. 🙂
My snowpocalypse scents: First is Iris Poudre. My bottle doesn’t get touched until snow piles up, and then it gets sprayed with abandon. Somehow, it turns iris and powder into a warming (if not warm), comforting melange akin to incense.
Second is one you’ve mentioned: Carnal Flower. A good eight sprays or so creates a tropical bubble that withstands the smell of frozen life.
Third is Iris Ganache. This is the one sweet, vanilla-ish scent that I adore; it’s my olfactory version of a pink angora sweater worn with a boyfriend’s scarf.
But today as the snow falls long and hard, I’m pulling out Baccarat’s Les Larmes Sacrées de Thebes parfum. This is my favorite scent to wear when stepping outside into the sharp, still cold.
Keep warm!
Well, it’s about dang time for the midwest to get clocked, that’s where the snow belongs!
Man, eight sprays of Carnal Flower?!?! That would be a bubble, all right.
Thebes. Sigh. I had like 2 ml of that. Again, another one I was too cheap to buy, but it was so beautiful.
Hail to the Cheese!
(has anyone said that yet?)
You’re the first! How are you holding up, btw?
Holding up! Zero snow but 6-10 inches predicted tomorrow when I’ll be on a business trip (so, I’ll be staying over for 2 nights). Yee ha.
Is it Spring yet?
I must be losing my mind – wore two spritzes of Cinnabar today and 30 minutes ago wondered why I hadn’t fumed myself today. Hello – the Cinnabar is still going STRONG.
March, you and your family are just fabulous for taking such great care of your neighborhood!
So far as Snowpocalypse Scents, I’m seriously considering my *Total Denial Scents* for the next couple of days. (My area, the outskirts of Chicago, dodged the bullet on your storm, but we’re going to get some snow starting tonight and all day tomorrow.)
We are into late winter, I’m going to Pretend Snow Is NOT Happening, and I will pull out summer frags! Osmanthe Yunnan or perhaps Bergamote. Liquid sunshine for when it’s all about the cloudy!
This blog is weird. It’s not showing new comments unless I close the browser and re-open it, even though I know they’re there, because they show up in my inbox. Grrr. :-w
But Chicago is READY!!! It’s a hanging offense for the Mayor if the roads aren’t plowed. And y’all have the gear for it. I went home with a roommate in college several times to Chicago and was always impressed (and freezing.) And I miss the old Marshall Fields. 🙂
Total Denial is a perfect category! Those would be citruses and tea for me. My orange scents. Mandragore, of course. And figs, a lot, for whatever reason.
What about
Blanc d’Hiver (Stephanie de Saint-Aignan) – sweet Williams pear compote and clean woody muscs
Musc Bleu (Il Profumo) – white flowers on very soft clean musc
Nightscape (Uli Lang) – very cold silvery patch – like stepping out on a rooftop into a winterscape
Daim Blond – (SL) – apricot suede which does need below zero to work properly
Hermeline, Zibeline and the other vintage Weil -furries. If you don’t take out your furs by now….
Andrea
Oh! I should retry that Daim Blond, I can see how it would bloom in cold weather. And the vintages are almost always perfect — heavy on top, some good skank at the bottom. 🙂
I have to admit, I’ve not tried the first three you mentioned. Always something new (to me) out there to sample.
I just received pictures yesterday from my closest friend who lives just west of DC, and WOW! It’s up to her horses’ bellies. You and the Cheese are good people, March. 😡
Fiordiligi already mentioned my fave for this time of the year – Spiritueuse Double Vanille, but I’ve recently fallen in love with Guerlain’s not-for-sale scent, 180 Ans. And for staying at home, wrapped up in a wool blanket – SSS’s Encens Tranquille – a beautiful, chewy and warm incense.
I wish I could find a site with some good photo links — there are lots of aerial shots, which I find kind of dull. Yes, it’s mighty deep! Our smallish poodle is not delighted, we had to shovel him a path.
SDV, 180 Ans (yum!) and Encens sound perfect.
The front page of the NY Times had a slideshow. Can you link to that?
You guys are my heroes.
Getting liquored up sounds good to me, but I’m going to go with Ambra di Venezia, the warmest fragrance I own. Brr.
I met that guy who makes Ambra, I am pretty sure, at Tak. He was delightful. He was handing out their hand cream, which made me swoon. I want some of that.
Bravo for the Fromage! And all your generous warm family:x
My little condo village has not lost power, but all the neighboring areas are out. I had the chance while sledding yesterday (got to see the upside of this mess!) to hear wonderful stories of campstoves and blankets and food shared all around. I’m a bit embarrassed that my only good deeds have been to check in on elderly neighbors, and to entertain 2 rather difficult but sweet neighbor boys-their mom needs a break :d/
I remember you giving me an unlabeled vial of something a few years ago and saying “smell this cr**” Well, dear, it was Teint de Neige, and it’s now a bedtime scent for me…I guess all it lacks is a diapered tush to make me feel secure.
Otherwise, it’s been Tonka Imperiale, various ambers, Coromandel, and the oh-so-fabulous new Balsamo della Mecca. With an occasion bright counterpoint of Colony for instant transport to the Islands 😉
I’m waiting for the busses to start running so I can meet your for coffee ~o) 🙂
Wait! Wait! March-where is Courtesan in the Nasty but Great Powder section?
Have you dumped her:o ???
Courtesan is not powder on me! [-( It’s warm, delicious, skanky goodness.
Today is nicer, eh? I’m going to chase the kids out to go sledding. I wonder if they’ll ever go back to school? Not this week, maybe, if the next storm happens.
Oooh, that Balsamo! If we ever get back to Starbucks I want to smell it.
That TdN, shudder, is that what I did with it? Better you than me, doll.
PS This shoveling has ruined my mani. Glad your heat is on.
Oops! I didn’t see Pimpinett’s post about Chanel No. 5 until after I submitted.
That’s okay, it’s well worth mentioning more than once.
Being from Maine, I can sympathize with you! I remember one cold winter when the power was out for several days and we all huddled around the kerosene heater (our only source of heat) in the living room. How lovely of you to look out for your neighbors.
Funny you should mention white florals and greens for winter: I have recently discovered Bill Blass, which is a lovely green and tuberose perfume. And for powdery snow, don’t forget Chanel No. 5, which I believe was inspired by the scent of the Arctic.
Well, at least in Maine (which is where Kate is from) you all are prepared for the snow, individually and governmentally. You’d have things like woodstoves and kerosene heaters. Here, we’re just not prepared on a household basis for power outages and super-cold weather. And I have no doubt that in ME, as in places like MN, the neighbors look out for each other.
Is this the Bill Blass Nude? Or regular BB? Angela blogged on Nude, and it sounded great.
I’ve been getting a lot of wear out of a vintage bottle of Chanel No 5 EdP lately, the chill of the aldehydes and the soft, powdery base feel just right with the lovely winter weather we’re having in Sweden at the moment. I’m surprised by how much I like powder in fragrances, I may have to sample Teint de Neige and some other big powders.
I don’t end up blogging on powder too much — it ends up reminding me of baby powder, no matter how nicely it’s done, and babies do not equal comfort to me, even though I’m glad I had them (and that they’ve moved on past that stage.) 😉
Chanel No. 5 would be a perfect scent.
I think it appeals to me partly because I tend to like that classic, powdery smell of cosmetics. Powdery fragrances remind me of face powder and lipstick, especially aldehydic powders, comforting and exciting at the same time.
In theory I totally understand that face-powder and lipstick ideal. But the only one that works for me that way, and which I ADORE, is the Lancome Cuir, the new one. It smells like powder and very expensive leather gloves, with a hint of lipstick and perfumed hankie. It’s a bitter disappointment to those who remember the original, which is more bitter/animalic, but it was love at first sniff to me.
Cuir smells like Proper Ladies. (I’m getting a bottle for Valentine’s Day!)
I just got a bottle, after getting an intro from Mistress Shelley. It smells just as Mistress March describes – imo, it’s what Lipstick Rose was sort of aiming for (again IMO – LR lovers, don’t beat me!;) SO glad I checked back here tonight – Cuir will be my apres-bain scent.
For a hot minute this evening it looked as if we were gonna get slammed but I guess the flakes missed their cousins in the Northeast, so they prolly headed there instead.
stay safe!
xoxo >-)
xoxox >-)
That sounds really nice – lipstick and leather should be a killer combo! I haven’t smelled either the current or the older versions, I tend to forget that Lancome even has perfumes, for whatever reason. Don’t think those reissues are available in my part of the world, but then I haven’t looked for them – clearly, I should!
What a great man you have there, March. How marvellous of him (and you) to offer such practical help and comfort. Of course, we don’t really get much in the way of snow over here in the UK so I can’t really imagine what it is like (we shriek at three snowflakes).
Teint de Neige is indeed an icy, powdery one. I think the boozy scent idea is a good one and would recommend Spiritueuse Double Vanille in this category.
Stay warm!
Well, we shriek at three snowflakes too. Nobody here drives regularly in the snow, so most everyone is unprepared.
That SDV. I was too cheap to buy it, but I loved my sample.
G-d Bless you both!!!
I cannot even imagine the cold and think I would die in my bed!!!
My coldest weather (like 15 to 18 C…)scents are all the heavy hitter ambers!!!amber sultan, amber fetich,ambraliquida, and shalimar vintage edt
Today is slightly warmer and I have hauled out plus que jamais. I so need to try this ISM Carter writes about!!
Those ambers do work nicely in cooler weather, although your “cooler” is different than ours. And I know I have a decant of ISM, I should dig it out. It’s lovely.
I’m actually surprised with the hyperbole machine that is LA News that they hadn’t coined Mudmageddon for the burn areas…
But god love The Cheese for doing his part. He should be cloned. I’ll take one in Gay please.
Since we don’t have real winter here I like L’Eau d’Hiver to remind me. Then I want Diorissimo to bring me out of it.
But I do like wearing heavier scents like Rahat Loukoum and Patch 24 during this time..
You can do a Mudmageddon post! Whaddya think, lots of earthy scents? Smell of rain?
Hiver and Diorissimo sounds like a good one-two punch. About Rahat … well, honey, you enjoy it. :)>-
I find the efforts and hospitality of you and the Cheese to be embarrassing. We’ve had a true snow drout here in Toronto, and temperatures that have hovered around the freezing point all winter. I go outside in a windbreaker and there are people clustering around the heated bus shelters in parkas, grumbling about winter and I feel like shouting: Lord love a duck, people, we’re Canadians! It’s two degrees Celcius! I’m wearing Thé Pour un Eté! Sometimes you need weather to rally around, I guess. The only ones having a warmer winter than us are the poor, bloody Vancouverites, who are at this very moment trying to construct Olympic bobsled runs out of haybales and Teflon.
Someone said this the other day — Nava? Where is the weather? All down here, I guess. I visualize Canada as covered in regular snow (and wandering moose) in the winter months. Yes, moose even down your finest streets. Drinking Molson and saying “eh?” Should I stop now? /:)
Please, please come take some of our weather!
March, sometimes I sit here and cry when I read your posts about your mom, or your kids, how the light looks in your yard-and now this with the snow shoveling, the generator and the open house.
I know the grass always seems greener, your life and marriage are real and not movie perfect, and I’m glad you and Mr. Cheese are in this world.
In the words of Robert Heinlein, may you never thirst.
Aw, thanks. :”> Perfect emoticon. We are doing only what we feel neighbors should do for one another. I certainly hope that if I make it to my mid-80s, somebody will help me as I need it.
And the good news is the power apparently came back on in the night sometime. I just walked sweet Alice home. She’s snug as a bug. It’s been a pleasure getting to know her better.
Good Lord, here in Michigan I was pretending I was in a cloister in the Himalayas! I even wore Dzongkha to complete the effect. But jeez, down south, I think I’d have to be pretending it’s The Day After Tomorrow.
I like the smokeys in the winter, too. Some Patchouli 24 and this interesting little sample of Fumerie Turque I have here are nice.
In this area it really does take on an Armageddon feel to it. But I just came in from walking a neighbor home, and it’s breathtakingly lovely out there. All that glittery snow in the morning light, on our funny little street. I can’t do it justice.
Dzongkha would be perfect, now that I think about it!
Love this post. The Cheese, is he Swiss by any chance? Give that man a (*) and a =d>
I’m sure I’ve said this here before, but I love the Criminy and Iris Silver Mist when the weather outside is frightful and I want to smell delightful :d
THE POWER IS ON!!!!! Woo-hoo!!!! Just walked Alice down the hill to her house. Her oil heat had kicked on, house was warm-ish. Fingers crossed.
ISM. Hm. I hadn’t thought of that.
Indeed you and your husband are very nice. I have never lived in a place where it snows, I can only imagine how difficult it would be to have a regular day with weather problems.
I love your idea about wearing Bel Respiro in such weather conditions. It is probably a psychological vacation.
Stay warm my friend and kudos for all the good works.
xo
This morning (Monday a.m.) all the govt. offices are closed, I think in a quite-sensible effort to get people to stay home. It’s funny walking around — you see these shapes that must be cars under there somewhere. Ours is about half dug out. I can’t see any point in rushing it!
Hi, March – I am also here in the “snowmageddon” zone and, though I’ve lived in Ohio and upstate New York, this is by far the most snow I’ve ever seen at one time! Even snowplows and Humvees are getting stuck! You and the Big Cheese both deserve Amouage gold stars for being such wonderful actual and virtual neighbors
I live close in and do have electricity and FiOS, so I’ve been warming my hands over evil bay and favorite perfume blogs all day. The scent I love to wear out in the cold is Fresh Pomegranate Anise. It just smells really good in cold air.
Please take care and don’t venture out on the icy roads too soon!
The plows got stuck. I wish I could find a link to better photos online, I wanted to put one or two up. Part of the roof of a Dulles hangar caved in under the weight. And they had to HAUL the dang stuff in trucks, not just shove it to the side of the highway. We’re all still esentially in lockdown mode.
Pom Anise makes me think of Guerlain AA Winter Delice. Those wintery blasts! Anise would be nice right now…
I think you and your husband are beautiful people. Period. I got chills thinking about how “warm” your home is. Good stuff.
I am tuberose-obsessed, I’ll admit it. But come on, Carnal Flower IS the perfect cold weather scent when you just want to defy winter. I describe it as a chilly blast of heat. Crazy, huh?
I have never tried the powder scents, but I think I’ll order some from the Court, just to see what the deal is about Neige and 1972. I enjoy powder, but even I had to give away my talco delicato because it was so linear.
Stay warm March. God Bless you and yours.
Weeell, I don’t know if we’re beautiful, but we smell good!
Carnal Flower I have fallen in love with all over again. I think I need a decant.