We are having……WEATHER!
But this time we’re having what looks to be typical Midwestern Spring Weather, where it’s 70F on Monday and every window open ..Tuesday the heat is back on, it’s 40F with a gale-force and I’m in 3 layers. Even though it’s really not that cold, the extremes make it seem either broiling or sub-zero.
But! the relatively moderate ACTUAL temps make it the perfect time for what I think of as Transitional Leathers. You know, the ones that get eaten alive in extreme cold or heat. I love these leathers best in the spring, when the coolness is transitioning to heat, rather than the other way around. They are not flimsy leathers but they do require a more temperate climate in order to strut their stuff, like those fab fashion leather jackets that you could never wear in a Chicago January.
Ramon Monegal Cuirelle… this soft, slender leather has a lovely vetiver base that keeps it grounded and cool as it rides the waves of the flip/flop weather.
Neil Morris Leather Garden…I’ve spoken of this one before. Another cool, slender beauty. I wrote about its unfolding in 90F weather. In 40F it’s a totally different garden, cool and grey green with the touch of rose.
Oooh! speaking of rose…this is the short window for Rosine’s Secrets du Rose . Any warmer and the oils of the rose and leather combine to become a bit urine-like. And not the pretty little cassie flower, either. I don’t know why rose is always thought of as a Sweet Thing – it will stomp all over you and pee on your shoes, if you’re not careful. I like the subtle darkness of Secrets and this weather allows the leather to flex a bit of dominance over the rose. The body cream is divine, especially on a long walk in this brisk weather.
The Ultimate Cool Weather Leather: Daim Blonde. Uncle Serge. Oh, Uncle Serge……you can steal my lunch money, pull my hair, step on my little toe. I will forgive all – heck, I’ll even take off my suede stilettos for you…… Uncle Serge…this is the most beautiful suede ever. EVAH! Worn in the dead cold of Winter, it leaves me feeling a bit uncomfortable, as if my car broke down on a lonely back road in a January blizzard and I’m wearing a gorgeous buttery suede jacket. And some thin Italian glove-leather boots. But now? With the snow gone and the hint of buds on the forsythia…the promise of that golden glow is reflected in the warmth of Daim Blonde…of course, I’m wearing a cashmere scarf and some soft leather gloves with that buttery suede jacket. Hey! It’s cold out there!
What’s working for you in this wonky weather?
Currently in a getting to know you phase with L’Ambre des Merveilles-it’s outside of my usual floral comfort zone. Now’s the time, because I think it’ll be too much in another month or so. Oh Musette, I thought of you when I read an article on the NYT site about specialty bakery trends: one company called Dana’s Bakery makes Mallomacs, essentially a Mallomar, but homemade and with a macaron instead of a cookie!
O.M.G. LALALALALALA! (sound of me shutting out that image LALALALALA!)
oh. my.
and Ambre is the only Merveilles I can wear! Great choice! xoxoxoxoA
Last night I went to bed wearing Debut by Parfums DelRae on my left hand and vintage Je Reviens parfum by Worth on my right hand. Both gave the spring flower vibe I wanted, but Debut had a melon note and Je Reviens was…buttery? I don’t know why I though of butter when sniffing Je Reviens. The weather here is in its usual spring mode – warm, windy, & sunny one day and cool & rainy the next day.
I love Je Reviens! Every time I wear it I think of the view from Rebecca deWinter’s bedroom window! xoxoxoA
Rebecca is one of my favorite novels of all time, but I did not remember the detail about Je Reviens. I had to look it up.
It is a cool spring day here with the hint of warmth in the air. In a heartbeat, however, the wind switches direction and comes in cold and blustery. I’m wearing Portrait of a Lady — it is gorgeous beyond words — and “The Lady” can hold her own against capricious nature, be it cold wind or rain or sneet (that nasty collision of rain and snow)!
POAL is not a leather fragrance but every time I wear it I can envision an elegant woman wearing leather. It simply seems the type of perfume a woman would wear because she also enjoys soft suede, fine leather shoes, handbags, and jackets. Isn’t it interesting how fragrances can be so evocative? Bringing to mind places, settings, images and dreams….
Speaking of Cuir de Lancôme – I added a spritz of L’Artisan Traversee du Bosophore as I was wearing CdL. They play well together. I like the combined synergy.
I like that visual! and I like all of those things, which is probably why I like PoaL!!! xoxoxoxoA
i so wanted to fall in love with serge lutens. i wanted him to force me to throw my naturals perfumes to the floor and stand stunned in the shining light of revelation. well, i didn’t. in fact, one of them smelled exactly like a wet band aid. anyway… the weather here is bipolar… 60 one day , three inches of snow the next. Pan from Anya’s Garden is reminding me it’s too cold and white outside to get very spring feverish… although it promises of more appropriate rutting weather. then i reach for some cinnamon and bergamot essential oils just to get me through the white death falling all around me. *sigh* i’m not sure how much this is about perfume and how much about the fact i so desperately want winter to be over.
Yikes! on Uncle Serge! Yikes! Though I admit to not being a huge Uncle Serge fan, meself. So much not that when I DO find one, like Daim Blonde….I’m stunned.
Hang on darlin’ ..Spring is a-comin’!!! xoxoxo
I’m with Mals re: Jolie Madame! Also, I don’t currently have any Daim Blond. I feel ya on the weather front; like me, it is trying hard to be nice but just can’t help lashing out once in a while. 😉 Today I’m wearing Montale Orient Extreme, just because it seemed the most fitting sample picked from a little pile of them on my dresser. The spicy rose is working pretty well, so far.
Hugs for Bruno!
XO
oh, QC… I do love you so! You = Weather is the perfect analogy! I actually left the office today, so as not to replicate the bitey weather! LOL!
Bruno sends hugs right back!!! xoxoxoA
We’re having that wacky weather too – snow last week. Buckets of rain over the weekend. Breeze and sun over the last couple of days. It’s Jolie Madame weather if you ask me…
Have been wearing my spring florals, mostly, and testing the Oriza L LeGrand things (the line is a complete fail for me, btw). Le Temps d’une Fete, Chamade, No. 19, Violetta. Cuir de Lancome, too.
wow! that’s a rainbow of flavors right there, sweetie! I haven’t tried any of the Oriza yet…..(she says, as if she could even get to them right now! lol!)
Got any calves yet?
and yes, JM is definitely on the horizon. xoxoxoA
Plenty of calves!
Was taking Gaze to school on Wednesday, and there was one in the field behind the house that was Brand New. Had to have been on the ground less than ten minutes – it couldn’t even stand up. By the time I got home 20 minutes later, it was trying to nurse, and wobbling around. Precious.
Hey there Musette,
The weather here is doing the hot/cold cha cha too. Wednesday is House Cleaning day here, then I did my Wednesday night Trivia gig and I just went for a very cool swim in the pool and am now drying off nicely.
Earlier today I was wearing Reem Acra to clean the house, for work I wore Milly-la-Foret by Dior spritzed heavily over Halle Body Lotion and tonight I’ve put some vintage Bandit Parfum on.
I smell fab and am now in calm time with most of the house asleep or studying, now I can read and blog. Life is good. Hope yours is too.
Portia xx
Yay, Portia! So glad you got some Reem Acra and like it. And that bottle is a beaut, isn’t it?
Hi, my darling! I love reading about your life! And you smell divine!!! And I adore you!!!
I’m also in love with Daim Blond right now. So gorgeous. I wore a small amount of Clair de Musc yesterday and really liked it, too (too much and it starts smelling like Tide). Otherwise, I’ve found myself in the mood for gauzy florals like Parfums DelRae Coup de Foudre or La Chasse Aux Papillons.
SO with you on the Tide Accord there…it’s still a bit too cold for gauzy florals here (I’m in wool and wish I were in FLEECE) but when the time comes I’ze BUSTIN’ THEM OUT!!! xoxoA
I live in Canada and have recently moved to the very cold Prairies. Talk of forsythia had me weeping. I ran to my bedroom and doused myself with Cuir de Russie, which I think is wonderful at any time of the year. Oddly enough I’ve been wearing Prada Iris Infusion, partly because I’ve recently been in situations that require a quiet fragrance. The iris though makes me think of spring creeping up softly. Then one day you notice the buds and Halleluiah, Spring is here!
I like wearing Prada’s iris as well. It has a cool winter into spring way about it that I really enjoy.
Hiya, doll! So glad you’re seeing some glimpses of spring. Hold on tight and it will be in full swing before you know it. Mmmm … I had almost forgotten the beauty that is Daim Blond. I so need to go pull it out and give it a whirl again. Thanks for the reminder! And I’m seconding (thirding?) the ladies above on Cuir de Lancome.
I confess to not LOVING CdL, even though I have a FB. I like it – a WHOLE lot. But I don’t LOVE it. I think I bought it because I was ‘supposed to’……like you with DB, I need to give it a whirl again.
xoxooxA
Yesterday afternoon I wore a dab of No. 19 edp and it was so so pretty. Hadn’t worn it in ages despite it being my HG. Today I’m trying out some Bottega Veneta edp to test this “suede in spring” theory of yours. I am so pleased that the weather is warmer, a few of my daffodils are about to bloom, and the neighborhood kids are coming back outdoors to play again. All signs of life. 🙂
Oooh! that’s another one I should try, too! I’ve never ‘gotten’ one hint of leather/suede in BV. Ever. EVAH! Maybe I was wearing it in the wrong weather? we’ll see…..
xoxoxoA
I’m happy to hear that your crazy winter is finally staring to give way to real spring. 🙂 I absolutely have to try Daim Blond. As temperatures start to drop here a little, I’ve been reaching fur the SLs. Totally digging Boxeuses. Yesterday, on the other hand, I wore l’Heure Bleue and felt like Catherine Deneuve. (well, not quite, but you know what I mean.) Agree with the comment above, it’s perfect for equinoctial weather.
I have never been able to wear L’HB – maybe I should try it in this weather!!!
xoxoxoA
Daim Blonde!! I love love love it! But, you know, it’s getting toward late spring feel here. When we went to the beach on Sunday, there were a few people already in the sea and quite a few more sunbathing! Around my house, summer migratory birds have already arrived and the fields are filled with wildflowers like borage, thyme, rosemary, cistus, poppy, etc… I need my summer scent soon. 🙂
Oh, you wacky folks! 😀 ‘Late Spring’, indeed! And those scents!!! We’re just happy to not have snow on the ground! xoxoxoA
And we here in Nova Scotia Canada got over a foot of snow this week 🙁
I second Rosarita’s comment re Cuir de Lancôme. The more I wear it, the more I love it. It makes me feel very put together on a brusque, windy day with a chill still in the air. I’m glad I caved and bought a bottle. It may have to hold for quite a while. Spring has brought a whole set of new expenses this year and I don’t see anymore purchases in the near future.
CdL is lovely! I always forget about that one (and I have a FB so I need to give it some love). Sorry about the expenses – yikes! Know that one, alas. We’re still crawling out from under Bruno’s hospital stay. I won’t be buying much more than groceries (and his meds) for awhile…
xoxoxoA
Wasn’t yesterday just the best? Went for a walk this morning, so windy – but even though it’s colder today, there’s no ice in that wind, just fresh/cold. Bas de Soie smells so good, and Silences and Cuir de Lancombe. And I just got a little decant of Kerosene Black Vines which is dark, cold licorice and one of those weird things that you can’t tell if you like it or hate it, then you start to crave it; I put a dab of Kiehl’s musk with it and it’s addictive. I look at the forsythia around town and think, soon, baby! It’s finally coming!
I wasted yesterday, A. WASTED IT! Well…I didn’t, I guess, since I’m still here and kickin’ – but I decided to have a small nervous spasm – got all freaked about Bruno’s spine. Hey, guess what? It might be – just MIGHT BE – that I’ve been STARVING the poor thing! Lawd.
So I’m going to spend some Quality Time with the outdoors today. With Bruno. and his now-full belly. xoxoxoA
Today, it was about 70 and tomorrow it will be mid 50’s. I was eagerly waiting to break out the no. 19 (EDP) in all it’s rosy leathery goodness but I ended up rushing out the door and sprayed no. 22. I was kind of peeved because I really wanted to wear no. 19. The leather in no. 19 in EDP form isn’t plush like Cuir de Russie but it’s not as butch as the no. 19 in EDT. It’s hard for me to find a leather perfume that I like (too sweet, too fruity or too mutch). Daim Blonde was straight up stewed apricots and maybe a hint of leather but it was still no go.
Forgot to add that L’Heure Bleue seems to suit wacky weather just fine but I’m still waiting to bust out the Deneuve and Mitsouko because Deneuve just does better in warmer weather and Mitsouko just sings in wacky weather.
Dang! on the Daim… and yes! on the Mitsouko – I wore that last night for just that reason!!! In my opinion, transitional weather is the perfect time for Mme Mitsy!
xoxoA
I like it to be above 50 or so to wear 19 for the most part. I think Bottega Veneta has a little more warmth and suits those cold spring days really nicely. I need to revisit Daim Blond, it didn’t knock my socks off, but a year may have changed my mind.