A nut ‘n’ honey Monday

By Ann

Well,  I knew this day would come sooner or later, but I was really hoping for later (much later). Alas, I’ve been working every spare minute while my company has projects to be completed and so it pains me to do this to all you lovely Posse peeps but … I got nothin’.

So let’s just call this one of those free-for-all days, where you can weigh in on anything you like: what scent you’re wearing today, what you’re looking forward to trying, what’s bugging you fragrance-wise, questions for other perfumistas, or whatever strikes your fancy. You could even go very literal and share your favorite nut- or honey-containing fragrances.

Anyway, happy Monday to all!!

  • nozknoz says:

    La Via del Profumo Mecca Balsam has the most wonderful honey, to my nose.

    There was a pistachio ganache scent by Calice Becker for Payard (a French pastry chef and famous patisserie and bistro), but it’s no longer available on Luckyscent (his other two are still there). It was rather light and fleeting if I recall the sample correctly. And, sigh, I try to stay away from nutty scents because they make me HONGRY! :-)

    • Ann says:

      Hey, Nozknoz, I think I remember that Payard. Should try to find some for my DH, as he’s a pistachio fiend. And I hear you on the HONGRY … I’m craving the nuts now.

      • Rena says:

        I think Laura Mercier had a pistachio scent but I never tried it on skin so I don’t recall what it smelled like

  • Milena says:

    Hi Ann,

    Amoureuse and Cologne Pour le Soir are my favorite honey note perfumes.

    Free-for- all day posts are just wonderful :)

    • Ann says:

      Hi, Milena, thanks for stopping by, and glad you’re enjoying the post. I like both of those you mentioned, especially the Pour le Soir, so guess I can wear a little honey after all. Enjoy!

  • Ms. Christian says:

    Big 5-0? I’d recommend Bandit.

    And yes, life really does get fantastic in your 50s.

    • Cheryl G. says:

      Ya know,I’m jumping in head first.
      I’m comfortable and confident in my own skin.
      It’s a good thing.

  • Cheryl G. says:

    Ladies I’m looking for inspiration. It’s been awhile since I bought a bottle cuz I’ve been soooo uninspired.
    I’m turning the proverbial big 5-OH next Tuesday. Some would think 35-40. (Really!, Hopefully?)
    I need to treat myself to something.
    I’m letting/making/forcing my hubby to take me to SF this week,so there’s Barneys, NM, SFA, and the usual. On-line, out of country, any place is fine.
    Perhaps something pretty, powerful, intoxicating.
    Gourmands and heavy vanillas make me queasy.
    I think Malle’s Therese is a work of art but the melon makes my stomach roll. I think I’m feeling chypre-ish, but I don’t know.
    I turn to you Posse masters. Kick my butt.

    Hey Musette, when I stop at Miette, I’ll eat something sinful for ya!

    • Cheryl G. says:

      Oh, and soapy, laundryish is blechh.
      Now go and solve my problem!

      • Milena says:

        Hi Cheryl G.,

        There are two chypres I would suggest for you to try – Montale Chypre Fruite (no melon note to my nose) and Canturi by Canturi.

        I can also reveal what perfumes I bought for my 5-OH birthday, that happened a few months ago …well, Lyric for woman, Tubereuse Criminelle and MdO Musc. The last one however was a gift from my brother, but he does not know that – he gave me a golden earrings, that I returned and got Musc instead. Getting older is the better alternative and I was very excited.

        :)

        • Cheryl G. says:

          I’ve been curious about the Montale. I’ll make an effort to find it. I’ve never heard of Canturi. Hopefully it’s hard to get therefore, making the hunt even more exciting!
          Thank you.

        • Cheryl G. says:

          Happy, Happy to you too.
          I’m kind of feeling the Lyric, gonna hunt down my sample. I love that you swapped the earrings for fume instead. Duh, who wouldn’t. Geez!

      • Ann says:

        Oooh, you lucky, lucky girl!! My fave city in the world! Musette and I are just green with envy, don’tcha know. Please stop by Recchiuti chocolates and have a fleur de sel caramel and a burnt caramel for me, won’t you? Have you tried Malle’s Portrait of a Lady? Perhaps something from Diptyque? Or the new Amber Oud from By Kilian, or one of their other nice ones (I think the line is there at Saks). Or one of the Guerlains at Neiman’s? Have a ball shopping for your treat and have a wonderful birthday!!

        • Cheryl G. says:

          Seriously chocolate is always the one thing that never disappoints in SF.
          I’m feeling certain to come home with a bottle of Guerlain. (And a small fortune in chocolate!)

    • Perfumista8 says:

      Hope you have a beautiful birthday! Sounds like you’ve planned for a wonderful way to celebrate it – I love SF this time of the year. Doesn’t get any better than birthday cake from Miette!

      To help narrow down your search, are you looking for something for spring/summer so that you can wear it right away or is it more important that it be powerful (not that they can’t co-exist)?

    • HemlockSillage says:

      SF for is lovely, and a great place to hunt for perfume. The Neiman’s has Guerlains in extrait, so I’d treat myself to Mitsuoko or Chamade in extrait. No, wait, I did last time I visited–I fell in love with Chamade in the lovely upside down heart flacon. Go big or go home, I’d say; so try Amouage Ubar, Epic or Lyric. All lovely womanly fragrances…I’m not sure who would stock Amouage in SF, though. Barney’s? They have SL and Malle.

      Hoope you have a wonderful trip, and an absolutely fabulous 50th birthday. Have fun!

      • Cheryl G. says:

        Nope, no Amouage at Barneys. Jacqueline on Geary has been known to carry some on occasion. By stepping in though you run the risk of making the cantankerous French owner even more cranky.
        You may have read my mind about the Chamade extrait.
        Hmmmmm is it a sign?

  • Teri says:

    I’m lucky in that I love honey and it loves me back. I’ve never had an evil experience with a honey scent. I used the Perlier honey body products back in the day, too. I used to rub the hand cream in until it was almost absorbed, then run my fingers through my hair with the last little bit of it so that my hair would smell like honey, too.

    In college, I swore by Faberge’s Wheat Germ and Honey shampoo. Gosh I loved that shampoo! I think I may actually have cried when they stopped making it.

    My fav honey scent is Ginestet Botrytis which was love at first sniff-of-a-sample and that love has never waivered.

    And yes, I love the real stuff, too. Hot, homemade buttermilk biscuits slathered with real butter and clover honey may just be the world’s most perfect food, albeit a little high in calories, cholesterol and all those other horrible ‘c’ words.

    • Francesca says:

      I always thought I didn’t much care for honey scents til I tried Botrytis, too. It’s lovely.

    • rosarita says:

      I loved that Faberge shampoo! Wasn’t that the one where the commercials told you to tell two friends about it? “and they tell two friends, and they tell two friends, and so on”

      • Ann says:

        You guys are really triggering the memories today :)
        That Faberge shampoo was lovely — it always smelled so rich and creamy that I was tempted to drink it, ha!

  • Hilary says:

    I found an old decant of FK Cologne pour le Soir and wore that today, layered over the drydown of Cuir de Russie. It definitely has a rich honey note, but it doesn’t smell skanky to me – just deep, warm and comforting.

    • Ann says:

      Hilary, that MFK is a nice one. It’s not too skanky on me either, which is surprising, as even a trace of cumin usually does me in. Would love to have smelled it with the CdR — mmmmm!!

  • Joanna says:

    Was playing with a sample of Nez a Nez Hiroshima Mon Amour this weekend. I think it’s a scent I need to spritz to fully appreciate but there was something about it that made me keep dabbing and dabbing. It is sweet and sheer and unusual. I think I might like it as a summer fragrance.
    I have a jar, (Ha! I’ve been playing with storage. Jar for honey scents, an old jewelry boy with roses painted on it for rose scents…) of honey fragrance samples but recently my favorite honey scent has been a half bottle of Tokyo Milk’s Honey & the Moon that a friend gave me.

  • Eldarwen22 says:

    I haven’t really thought about what I’m gonna wear today. But I did end up wearing Bal a Versailles in vintage form. I’m contemplating getting a large decant of Serge Lutens De Profundis. I have a few drops of that left and remember enjoying it. Or I could spritz on Sarrasins today, or something.

    • Ann says:

      Oooh, great minds think alike! I wore the Profundis yesterday and liked it; thought it kinda worked as an earthy, spring scent. Lucky you to be able to pull off the Bal!

  • pam says:

    Hi, Ann!
    My “honey” scent experience was trying the Tom Ford Tobacco Vanille. All I could smell for at least two hours was honey, and a very heavy version. Then it began to morph into the tobacco phase. Which was IMO better. The honey smell I got was as dense as actual honey is thick.
    And I’m not ready for Spring scents either. Wore Diorissimo the other day (although you don’t have to wear that in Spring), and it reminded me that I’m still into the Winter stuff.

    • Ann says:

      Howdy, Pam! Maybe that wallop of honey was what I got, too, in the TF and it kinda bummed me out. Glad you liked the rest of it at least. Here’s hoping we get just a little more chilly weather (but no snow or ice storms!) to get more mileage out of our winter scents.

  • mals86 says:

    Have been wearing Amoureuse lately, and the honey note is coming to the fore for me. I go through spells of LOVING Amoureuse, which then subside back to just liking it and finding it a little too much, but I always seem to cycle in and out with that one.

    • Ann says:

      Hi, Mals! Thanks for mentioning that one — that’s one of the few DelRae fragrances I can actually wear. I’d forgotten it had honey in it, so guess I CAN wear at least one honey scent, after all. Yay!

  • Sherri M says:

    This is one year, not having had a real winter, I don’t feel ready for Spring, fragrance-wise (and certainly not yard work -wise, but theres no hiding from that!)! I still want to snuggle up with my rich Guerlains and hibernate, but my tea roses, like children, are demanding attention, budding even now which is way early for them. Who would have ever thought the day would come when I am not in the mood for Spring?!

    I tried TDC Osmanthus over the weekend and was very impressed–delicate little apricot flower would be perfect for summer! I also think, or at least hope, the new Myrrhe et Delires will be better in Spring or Summer. I bought an unsniffed bottle, and though I like it, it is very shy and short-lived. Maybe warm weather will help draw it out of its shell.

    Ann, I hope you have a great day in spite of its busyness! Thanks for taking time for The Posse! :-)

    • Ann says:

      Hi, Sherri, thanks so much! I know what you mean about not having had a real winter. We needed some chillier days to get the most mileage out of warm and cozies. So excited to find someone who’s actually tried the new Guerlain. Maybe, as you say, it will be bolder later on in the year. Did it remind you at all of SL’s La Myrrhe?

  • Rena says:

    Lollia Relax is my honey perfume, though I’ll probably also eventually get Costume National 21 and Guerlain L’Instant. As a note, honey and my skin seem to like each other

    • Ann says:

      Lucky you, Rena!! I, too, like L’Instant, but haven’t worn it in awhile — must remedy that.

  • Olfacta says:

    I recently bought a handful of samples from LS, and one of them was “What We Do in Paris is Secret.” (If, when I’m wearing it, anyone ever asks me what it is, I think I’ll just try to mumble something in French and then say I can’t pronounce the name. But maybe that’s just me.) Anyway, it has a nice honey aspect, and I’m not usually a honey note fan, so don’t have any other honey-heavy scents to compare it to. But it is really nice, and wouldn’t require a second mortgage if I ever decide to buy a bottle.

    • Musette says:

      Olfacta,

      I think you should do just the opposite: say it in a sultry voice, with a 😉 – if you can say it in French, so much the better!

      xo >-)

      • Olfacta says:

        My French is laughable. My “other” language has always been Spanglish, and when you try to say a French word with Spanish pronounciation, you’ve just murdered a perfectly good word.

        • Ann says:

          You guys are cracking me up! Reminds me of a Spanish class I had in college, taught by a French woman with a very strong French accent. Yikes, talk about confusing! No wonder I was happy to get out of there with a C-.

  • rosarita says:

    A rainy Monday, and now dark thanks to Daylight Savings Time. I live in IN, where we’ve just opted out of DST for years until recently. I really hate it. Farming and manufacturing jobs start very early, which requires going to bed earlier……now work starts in the pitch dark again, and it’s hard to adjust to going to bed while the sun’s still shining. Not that I’m working, alas. However, poor DH drives a school bus and has been enjoying being able to actually see where he’s going during the sunny mornings of the last month or so, only to have it taken away.

    Ok, enough of that. I’m going to dig out my bottle of Bulgari Au The Rouge this morning. It has a very pleasant walnut note, iirc; been ages since I’ve worn this one. Enjoy your day, Ann & everyone.

    • Ann says:

      Hi, sweetie. I’m with you on the time change — it’s hard to get up in the dark again. And your poor DH — bless his heart.
      So the Bulgari has a walnut note? Very cool. After I posted the blog, I wracked my brain trying to think of nutty notes in perfume, but didn’t come up with much, except for a few almonds. I’m always learning something on here and I love it! Have a great day, dear, and hope you’re feeling better.

    • Musette says:

      First Shift is a beyootch in the dark, innit? And I have to be up and at ’em BEFORE FS, lest my customers call and catch me unawares (I have a couple who consider 6:45 to be FS) :-< I will say this, though, when it lightens up now, it comes in a FLASH! xo >-)

    • Barbara says:

      Rosarita,
      Are you the one one recommended the Forsyte Saga in a previous post? If so thank you it was wonderful. One of the libraries I frequent had both series. If you haven’t found series 2 yet it would be worth it to buy it.
      I love Au the Rouge as a light scent to wear to work. Even bought an unused tester on the Bay as a backup.

      • rosarita says:

        Hi, Barbara! So glad you enjoyed the Forsyte Saga. I will have to break down and buy series 2 at some point. Damien Lewis as Soames is too talented and creepy to resist. :)And the Bulgari lasted all day and smelled so nice. I’d forgotten all about it. 8-|

  • KirstenMarie says:

    I love free-for-all’s! Good job, Ann.

    Wish me luck, Posse Peeps. I start my new job in the Federal Triangle in DC today. I put on a couple squirts of Ormonde Jayne Woman and thought, “Ah, now I feel like myself again.” After a solid week of unpacking boxes and setting up my life, it’s hard to go face the world wearing a suit when I feel…un-suit-like…on the inside. But perfume makes it better!

    • Ann says:

      Hi, lady. Thanks, glad you’re enjoying it. Sometimes it’s good to just chat about whatever’s on your mind, without being constrained by a topic. Congratulations on the new job and best of luck today! Knock ’em dead! Glad the OJ Woman is working for you.

    • rosarita says:

      Congratulations on your new job and life! Smelling wonderful helps everything :)

      • Musette says:

        Best wishes, KM! You are going to do great! And you smell LOVELY!!!

        ^:)^

        xo >-)

        • KirstenMarie says:

          Especially compared to musty old buildings – HA! :o) (Then again, I like that smell. Like old marble and dust percolated in time, know what I mean?)

    • Sherri M says:

      How exciting! I wish you lots of luck, KirstenMarie! Ormonde Jayne is so elegant! You’ll impress everyone! :-)

    • Francesca says:

      Good luck with the new job!

    • Perfumista8 says:

      Good luck! Starting a new job can be intimidating so I’m happy for you that you found a perfume that boosts your confidence!

  • Francesca says:

    Don’t know yet what I’m wearing today, but yesterday was warm and sunny, so I broke out Le Temps d’une Fête. For the first time I ever noted it, it skewed a bit skanky (in a good way) maybe because I spritzed in abandon and not in the restrained way I do for work.

    • Ann says:

      Francesca, I guess your happy spraying unleashed the scent’s “inner skank,” eh? Probably good that you found that out on the weekend and not on a workday. It’s supposed to get into the 80s by Friday here, and I’m not sure how I feel about that. I really don’t want to be breaking out the hot-weather scents just yet, even for a day or two. Mother Nature is definitely playing the trickster with us lately.

    • rosarita says:

      That’s what I wore yesterday, too, and for the same reasons. I have found that spritzing this one more heavily than I do most perfumes makes it smell even better. :x

      • Ann says:

        Hi Rosarita, I really envy you two being able to wear and love that scent. It’s a beauty, but, alas, it lasted about two seconds on me and then pulled a vanishing act. Oh well, that’s life in perfumista-land, right? :)

        • Musette says:

          I love that one upon first sniff, then that base of hers does something just vaguely irritating….:-? – I think I might like it more if it were REALLY irritating but this lies just under the nose, tickling in an annoying way. Damn shame, too, as I really love the basic scent!

          xo >-)

    • mals86 says:

      Narcissus!!!!

      I just picked some daffodils for the house the other day, and my teenage daughter walked by and sniffed them, mentioning that from six inches, they smelled wonderful but if she stuck her nose in them, they smelled like diaper. I agree.

      Le Temps d’une Fete is a big favorite of mine – Top Three All-time, but yeah, that narcissus is a skank-fest when spritzed wildly. (I usually do two sprays.)

    • Sherri M says:

      Wow! First thought: LTdF Skanky? Huh? But after Mals mentioned the daffodils, I can see it!

      Mals, if that one is one of your top 3, you might try Lady Primrose Tryst. It is very different but still in that Spring-y green floral genre (though I can’t see it misbehaving, maybe you need more excitement…lol). They have another, Royal Extract, honey and orange blossom, but even the honey in it has always been well-behaved for me.

      • mals86 says:

        Lady Primrose is the brand name? Hadn’t heard of it… must check out.

        It does take about six sprays of LTdF to get to the naughty range for me. Lesser applications are well-behaved. :)

        • Sherri M says:

          Yes, Mals, Lady Primrose is the brand name. They make primarily bath products, and are sold in gift stores, mostly in the South (Dallas-based). I can send you some if you like. I have beaucoup.

  • reglisse says:

    Ah, don’t worry. It looks like we’ll all be helping you out, and it’s early yet!

    I am so not a honey person. At least, not in perfumes. Every one I’ve tried that features a honey note turns nnnnnnasssty on me. And not in the good way, either. Sigh.

    But I love, lately the Histores de Parfum scent 1725 (Casanova) which is pretty and unusual. And (wait for it!) has an almond note.

    • Ann says:

      Thanks so much! You guys are the best. I’m with you on the honey — I’m skeered it will go “nnnnnasssty” on me, as you say. I’ve not tried the Casanova, but it sounds good.

      • Musette says:

        yes, honey is one of those notes that can either smell totally divine or totally b-( – not a lot of middle ground!

        xo >-)

        • reglisse says:

          And what is it about honey, I wonder? I know Luca and Tanya say that the end notes are the same for everyone, but I’m not sure I believe it. That and leather, not happy campers on my skin, at least not so far.

      • reglisse says:

        Everything I’ve tried so far, I’ve been pleased with, and by pleased I mean, at minimum, “not disgusted by” which is more than I can say for a lot of lines. Some scents are more to my taste than others (Ambre 114, you will be mine some day) but none of them made me cry.

  • dinazad says:

    I baked rolls today and put in a tiny bit of mahlep (ground kernels of some wild cherry variety used in Turkish baking). Smells divine (tastes great, too) – the smell ist warm and caring, like mom tucking you up or making you your favorite food when you’re not feeling well. There’s home and security and love in that smell. Now I wish there was a perfume with mahlep in it. And a shampoo. And bath oils….. but without addes sweetness – just this smell of mahlep in a freshly baked roll.

    Until somebody comes up with it (on your toes, dear perfumers!), I’ll be wearing Miel du Bois (yes, I love it, and it smells of honey and nothing else on me)…

    • Ann says:

      Mmmm, Dinazad, I’m not familiar with that, but it sounds absolutely delicious. I’ve never tried the Miel and frankly, I’m a little scared to get anywhere near it. If there’s a naughty or unappealing note in a perfume, it’s more than likely that I will amplify it (that’s why no cumin for me).

  • Jillie says:

    Free-for-all is good, so don’t worry! Gives me the chance to ask the following:

    My bugbear (which I’ve boringly gone on about before) is the smell of detergents/fabric softeners which quite literally sickens me when I sniff it on people’s clothing – makes shopping a nightmare. I know it’s down to laundry musks, but I wonder if anyone else has my weird experience, which gives these musks an overwhelming smell of kidney?? I have been having taste/smell problems which I suppose might skew my perception a bit, but this is odd! Is it just me?

    I don’t like honey in fragrances, but love almond. Zillions of years ago Vidal Sassoon had a lovely hair range which was marzipan scented (and made my hair shiney). Anyone know any other shampoos with an almond scent? To my horror, those laundry musks are creeping into more and more lines and some of my old favourites are now “new and improved” – and you can bet they’ve changed the fragrance by adding the dreaded chemicals!

    • Ann says:

      Hi, Jillie. Those laundry scents don’t bother me so much, but I have a friend who has trouble with them, so I feel your pain, sort-of. It’s almost like you need to wear a surgical mask in the grocery these days. BTW, was the Vidal Sassoon shampoo you speak of the one that came in the tall, cylindrical, dark-brown bottle? If so, then YES!! I remember that as smelling so fantastic. Another lovely scent memory!

      • Jillie says:

        Yes, Ann! It was the dark-brown bottle. There was even a finishing rinse to use after the conditioner – extra work, but worth it as all the products really smoothed my long hair. Such a shame that VS is no longer made.

    • mals86 says:

      I remember that Vidal Sassoon shampoo, too. It was a bit of a splurge for me, but that almond scent! Lovely.

    • Sherri M says:

      Jillie,

      I also get irritated with the scents of shampoos and conditioners. Hair really holds scent, and most of the shampoos are very harsh and obnoxious (can you tell I spend a lot of time around teen girls)! Some of my daughters have sensitive skin, so now I am on a quest for affordable (they slather it on) unscented products (two have had rashes on their shoulders), other than baby shampoo which is too drying. I’m surprised there are not more unscented options out there.

      • Jillie says:

        Sherri, I sympathise with your girls as I have these problems too. Baby shampoo is far too alkaline – I was told that they make it that way so that it doesn’t irritate babies’ eyes, and that we should actually use shampoo that’s more acidic (hence vinegar/lemon juice etc being good for our hair) for shine etc. I am beginning to think that all the baddies, like sodium laurel/laureth suplhate, parabens etc that they put in a lot of commercial stuff these days might be the cause of my sensitivities, so am trying out lines that are free of them. They are gentle, and a lot hardly have any fragrance, which is probably a good thing – but I would still love to have the old VS back!.

        • Sherri M says:

          Jillie,

          I hear you! I myself struggle with a dry, scaly scalp, but not dandruff, and I wonder if there’s some sort of allergy issue coming in to play. Resolved: I am going to visit the shampoo aisle at Whole Foods this week. Have you found any good brands? I’d love it if they still made VS. I need to check Dollar General because a few months ago, I stopped in for birthday supplies and noticed they had Revlon Flex shampoo that I used to love. Wonder if it’s still the same…even if not it’s not exactly high-risk investment…I’d love to stumble upon VS or Lemon-Up; I loved those!

          • Jillie says:

            Oh Sherri, it’s a pain isn’t it (quite literally)? My scalp is immensely sensitive and can get really sore – particularly if I use anything by Pantene. Sadly, as I live in the UK I’m not sure just how many brands we share. Funnily enough, I found some Revlon Flex shampoos and conditioners recently (loved the smell of those too), but my hair didn’t like them any more and they left it feeling sticky. We have a company here called Liz Earle which makes wonderful, gentle shampoos and conditioners without any nasties and full of natural good things – and they smell really good too (a lemony/herbal tang). Do you have LE there? Aside from that, I guess a health store is the best place to look. And I strongly believe that hormones and stress have a lot to do with our scalps’ condition, but it’s almost impossible to alter that!

    • Ms. Christian says:

      I purchased kidneys ONCE for the cats, and the ammonia smell was so strong I gagged over the sink. Needless to say, I did not prepare that ‘delicacy’ for feline consumption. Can’t say that the laundry/cleaning/detergent musks smell like that type of offal, but I have never been able to tolerate most musks in perfumes, soap or household products. When confronted with that smell, I literally feel like my lungs, nose and throat are being filled up with some kind of insulation, I can’t breath and I start to panic. Allergy? Ummm, I don’t think so.

      For my laundry, I use Dr. Bronner’s Lavendar Castile liquid soap or Nancy Boy powdered detergent and in the dryer I use felted wool balls that have no scent but help to fluff up the clothes. When I was down items (heck yes you can was down!), I use the plastic dryer balls that are covered with little studs. When the weather is really pretty, I hang things out on the line (and yes, I ADORE stiff towels) and get high off that wind/sun smell.

      On 4 separate occasions, I have ceased dating folks who use fabric softener on their clothing because the smell is so hideous to me. A few years ago, I had to cull staff for budgetary reasons. The woman who was my assistant was not doing a good job, and she was on the “cull list” but on top of that, I think she bathed in fabric softener and overused it on her clothing. I could smell it more than 100 feet away when I came in the office in the morning and she was in before I arrived. i’d spoken to her about it and asked her nicely not to use anything so highly scented in a medical office, but she either didn’t care, thought I was nuts or could not smell herself. Possibly all three… I was very sad to have to let most of the folks on the list go, but I was rather relieved to see and smell the last of Ms. Downy Abuser.

      My favorite honey scent is Demeter Honey and lately I’m playing around with Lush Gorilla Old Delhi Station, which is in oil form. I have mixed feeling about it so far…

      • Jillie says:

        I agree, Ms Christian, it’s not an allergy to musks – in fact, there are a whole load that I actually like in perfume – it’s a specific type in laundry liquids that nauseates me. The other day I had to keep backing away from a softly spoken sales assistant who was trying to help me as her clothes reeked so much (she must have thought I was odd!). I can’t imagine how hard it must have been for you to try to work with someone who smelt like that every day.

        Thanks for the tips: we don’t have Nancy Boy here – does that really exist? I already have the funny little sputnik things for the tumble drier and they do fluff the towels well, although they are noisey enough to disturb the two kitties while they rattle around!

        • Ms. Christian says:

          Jillie, Nancy Boy is a store here in San Francisco and they also have a website where you can order their detergent. It’s pricey, but it’s only me making diry clothes so it winds up not being a big deal. If you have a family (read LOTS of clothes), you can try a wee bit of baby shampoo in the wash along with Borateem or just plain borax, and white vinegar in the rinse cycle. If you have Trader Joe’s, their liquid laundry detergent is decent. If you are out of the U.S. (your use of ‘smelt’ makes me think you are European), try Dr. Bronner’s liquid soap. I think it’s available almost everywhere.

          If it helps, I don’t think you’re odd at all. Who wants to feel like when they breath in, they might not ever breath out?!

          • Jillie says:

            Yes, Ms C, I am a Brit. Thanks for the tips. I shall search for Dr Bronner and mourn the fact that we don’t have a Nancy Boy here in the UK!

        • FragrantWitch says:

          I am in the UK as well and Sainsbury’s have started carrying Method laundry detergent which is very effective and free of a lot of nasties. Super-concentrated as well! Also, Ecover is quite effective and not smelly. Dr.Bronners is good as well.

          I miss Vidal Sassoon shampoo as well! MOP Organics Pear Shampoo is quite good for sensitive scalps and smells great- my daughters love it.

          • Ann says:

            Hi, Ms. M. Thanks for the suggestions. I think I’ve seen the Method line at Target here, as well. Maybe we could petition VS to bring back their shampoo, eh?

          • Jillie says:

            Dear Fragrant Witch – thanks for the info, and I am pleased to see that we have the Dr Bronner. That pear shampoo sounds rather appealing!

    • Olfacta says:

      That was great shampoo. I remember it too!

  • Musette says:

    Sweetie, don’t worry about it – happens to us all, from time to time. I’ll weigh in (no, I won’t – I have NO interest in knowing that particular number b-(

    but my favorite honey scent is Perlier Honey Hand Cream. It was my first ‘niche’ scent and all the cool gals wore it back in the early 80s. It’s one of those guy-magnet scents – dunno why.

    Nuts = almonds =Jergens (which I didn’t know was an almond scent, back in my youth (Jurassic Era) – I just knew it smelled wonderful!

    xo >-)

    • Francesca says:

      I never connected Jergens with almonds, but now my mind’s nose can smell it instantly, thanks to your comment. Of course! And I loved it, too.

      • Ann says:

        Thanks, M, good to know! And like Francesca, now I can smell the Jergens as if it were yesterday — fun scent memory!