Labor Day Monday

LaborHappy Monday, everyone, and if you’re in the U.S., happy Labor Day to you! Since it’s a holiday here and many folks are in and out, traveling, etc., let’s keep this short and sweet. What are your plans for today, and what are you wearing? Which scents are your favorites for holidays and weekends?

What’s your choice to wear to your neighbor’s backyard barbecue, to that picnic in the park, or to a friend’s pool party? Or around the firepit or fireplace, for those of you who might still be a bit chilly in the Southern Hemisphere?

This Labor Day will find me cleaning for a while, going to visit my mother-in-law and then picking up my son from his weekend at the beach with his aunt, uncle and cousins, so it’ll be a fairly low-key day for me.

Today, instead of my usual hot-weather staples, I was craving something a bit different. So I’m trying out a recently obtained sample of Jo Malone’s Wood Sage & Sea Salt scent. The Jo Malone line tends to be so-so for me, but I do try to sniff each of them when I can because you never know when you’ll discover a gem. I find the Wood Sage nice enough; it’s soft and a bit comforting, not too sweet, with a beachy-kind of vibe (but not like falling into a bottle of tanning oil) with an almost bittersweet aura, without sliding over into melancholy. Its vibe is fitting for today’s Labor Day holiday weekend, which tends to be seen as the last gasp of summer here. And even though I’ll be nowhere near a beach (or any large-ish body of water, for that matter), I think I’ll enjoy it as a drive-time scent.

Have any of you tried this one, or any the line’s other newish ones? I have a tiny dab of the Saffron Cologne Intense but haven’t gotten around to sampling it yet, although one of my perfume pals has and really likes it. The only saffron scent that I’m familiar with is L’Artisan’s Safran Troublant, and that one is lovely. In fact, that reminds me to go dig it out and enjoy.

  • Jaime says:

    Hung around at home today for the long weekend day off…toddler with a cold (runny nose), so i was trying to help the poor little gal stay comfy and distracted. Wore a sample of Keiko Mecheri Loukhoum eau poudre and it was so lovely and comforting. Quite a bit sweeter than what i’m used to, but yum yum!

    • Ann says:

      Oh, no, Jaime — hope your little doll is feeling better and getting over that icky cold. It’s hard to see our little ones suffer. But glad you found a nice, comforting scent to help you. Sometimes sweet is just what we need, I think.

  • Liz K says:

    Heading back home today after our little weekend vacation. We needed to get the trailer useable so spent most of our time removing the metal scrap that had been tossed in it, removing the old rotten tires and having them changed (which took all day with the 150 mile round trip and delay when we found that the place we had an appointment hadn’t ordered the tires), re-packing the wheel bearings, and trying to find the missing tools necessary to accomplish the above. A pox on whoever walked off with the grease gun and every pair of needle nose pliers. We also took the wheels off my truck and modified the fender liner to make room for new tires. I’ve been wearing the heck outta SMN Nostalgia to compliment the gasoline, rubber, rust, and axle grease. Also, my nails look like crap. I advise against the gasoline and Lava soap manicure 😉

    • Ann says:

      Liz, so sorry to hear that the fixing up took so much time out of your weekend, but hope you were able to have a little fun anyway. Hopefully now the trailer, etc., will be all ready to go next time so you can just get out there and enjoy yourselves. Glad the Nostalgia helped, and thanks for the manicure warning — we will all steer clear, ha!

    • Musette says:

      Liz, I bow to thee.

  • Dina C. says:

    I’m wearing a bit of vintage Emeraude today. It’s a soft, powdery oriental on me…very cozy. I think it’ll be a low key day around here. It’s the last day of vacation before school starts tomorrow. I need to buy groceries and get my car inspected, so that’s what’s on my to do list for the day.

    I don’t bother sampling the Jo Malones usually because their longevity is so weak. Their names sound good, and they usually smell great at first sniff, but then they quickly fade on me. Happy Labor Day American Posse Peeps and Happy Monday to everyone else! 🙂

    • Ann says:

      Mmmm, Dina, that sounds lovely. I know our Posse pal Mals loves Emeraude, too, so you’re in good company. Hope she stops by. You guys are so lucky that school starts tomorrow; ours have been in since the first week of August … grrrr. If I do find a JM I like, I try to get a sample or two and a decant, enjoy it for as long as it lasts and then don’t worry about it. One of life’s little fleeting pleasures, I guess. Have a great day!

  • Audrey says:

    *ignore bad spelling, 5 AM and typing on a phone….

  • Audrey says:

    I’ll be spending the day shopping for bathroom fixtures for a remodel, and buying what I’m missing for my middle school son’s back to school camping trip (he goes to a charter school that’s an Outward Bound offshoot, so their first 3 days of school are at a lake). I’ve been obsessed with Kurkdjian fragrances lately, and we’ve had a cool spell, so I’ll probably wear APOM……but Aqua Vitae has been my fallback almost every day. APOM should go nicely with the weather though, the scent turns into a slight, bright incense on me.
    Love Safram Triublant, finally bought a FB after putting it off for years…. Curious to hear your thoughts on the JM!

    • Ann says:

      Audrey, that sounds like it could be fun, picking out new fixtures and creating a whole new bathroom. We had to do it out of necessity a few years ago when a water pipe burst in our half bath and flooded the downstairs. After the original shock and (nerve-wracking noise of dehumidifying) wore off, we decided it would be a blessing in disguise and worked to turn it into a nice powder room. BTW, your son’s school sounds very cool; my son would be so envious. Enjoy your Kurkdjians, they are lovely. I hope to try his new Pluriel when I visit the big city next week. Have a great day!

  • Portia says:

    Hey Ann,
    No school here and it hit Spring today down under so I wore the weirdest little frag ever. Ombre Mercure by Terry de Gunzberg. Plastic flowers and fruit. Freaky stuff but fun.
    Happy Labor Day.
    Portia xx

    • Ann says:

      Hooray for spring, Portia! I think you’re the one who originally sent me scurrying for a sample of the Ombre: I like it and think it’s a fun scent but have to in the right mood for it. I see she has several new ones out — have you tried any?

  • Sylvia Long says:

    Hi Ann,
    I’m in school too, so it’s catching up on studies and housework for me. My husband bought me a bottle of the new Terracotta. I love it! It smells like vacation. Happy, relaxing, lasts well, and wasn’t unreasonably expensive. Win-win!
    Has anyone smelled the newly repackaged Eau Premeier number 5- did they change the juice- or just the bottle?
    Hope you all have a lovely holiday!

    • Ann says:

      Oooh, lucky you, Sylvia! I really need to sniff that now, so thanks for the reminder. Not sure about the No. 5 but someone around here surely will know. Have a great day, too, and enjoy your holiday in a bottle!

  • eldarwen22 says:

    I will be working on Labor Day but did have time for the county fair and just got back from the air show. I don’t know what it is about fairs, air shows or any where there is going to be fair food, I gotta wear vintage Bal. I have no idea on what I will be wearing tomorrow but nothing vintage.

    • Ann says:

      What fun, Eldarwen! I haven’t been to a fair in ages; you make me want to go to the state fair next month (our county never has a fair, but they do have an air show in Oct.). I wonder what it is about vintage Bal and fairs — the animalic-ness just seems so perfect, perhaps?

  • Angie says:

    Unfortunately, I will be reading and catching up studying. I’m back in school. It is supposed to rain so most likely I will be relishing in MariaLux’s Deeply. It is heavenly and makes me happy when skies are grey! No pun intended! I love to wear whatever strikes the mood on weekends and mainly spicy or resinous scents during the holidays! Unfortunately, this particular Jo Malone does not intrigue me in any way and these scents usually don’t last on me! I do love the Rosewater and Vanilla though and I have a decant of L’Artisan’s Safran Troublan. Maybe I should wear that instead. Have a great holiday!

    • Ann says:

      Hi, Angie — thanks for stopping by! Do try to have a little fun or treat yourself a bit in between studying or after you’re done, if you can. So glad to hear that the MariaLux scent is such a mood-booster for you. I’ve not tried that one, so would love to hear more about it.