You didn’t think you would escape me talking weather too, did you? No we have not had anything (knock wood) like the spectacular storms lashing the Midwest with torrential rain, tornadoes, and Kardashian-sized hail while the East coast digs out of 34 feet of packed powder. Just some rain.
Our weather has been.. slightly inconvenient. We had rain this past weekend and although we didn’t get as many of the TV warnings shrieking about “Storm Watch: 2026!” on Action McNews, that may be that I am simply not watching the news much these days in the interest of keeping my blood pressure lower than my zip code. We also didn’t get (thankfully) a big soak, which is a good thing.
Why is the hazardous air the same color a the good?
LA was founded on water. (See “Chinatown”)
The whole city is being fed from the Colorado and the snows in Northern California. The area was always subject to seasonal and severe flooding from storm runoff- so much so that the city and the Army Corp of Engineers boxed the LA river in concrete, giving us not so much a river as a filming location (Terminator 2, Grease, and about 12,347 other TV shows and movies) that you have seen 12,347 times.
We are expecting rain today, Tuesday the 21st. Nobody quite knows whether it will be a light mist or a drenching soak. It’s not such an issue for us: we aren’t near a downslope or a burn area. Southern Californians have the sometime deserved rep for not being able to drive in the rain. Which is fairly amazing considering that we are almost all transplants. It’s like when we got our California drivers’ license they quickly lobotomize the part of the brain that handles driving in inclement weather, hands you a wheatgrass juice and a coupon for a test drive of a Prius at Keyes on Van Nuys and sends you out into the world.
So what to wear? I came across a sample of Duel that I was sent as a gwp and it’s nice. I have to go spelunking in my closet for the actual bottle that I reverently hid when it looked like it might be discontinued (I think I got it from Loehmann’s, which dates me) It’s nice: not the Duel I remember but then what is what we remember?
Look out, Storm Watch 2026!
On the subject of green scents, early history, and oversharing I do remember when Cristalle was the favorite of every girl over the age of 14 of a certain type. (He wore soap, if he wore anything) I loved it, but was steered away from it from sales people at the Steiger’s in the Hampshire Mall who looked as if I was asking for Fracas or My Sin. With a side of clubbed baby seals.
Another free soul thwarted by the patriarchy and hetero-normative indoctrination. Chanel should send me a gallon as reparations. Want to add to the list?.
So, Tonstant Weader, I put myself in your hands. It’s 1;30pm on Tuesday, it’s starting to rain and my 1pm appointment has seemingly stood me up. Which makes me want to close up and have some hot chocolate while watching “Judge Judy.” In bed.
Well I am still trying to reduce so the hot chocolate might end up being beet juice and ginger (don’t laugh, it’s a craving) but the sofa and the TV are at the ready. As are my friend Marietta’s xmas and bday presents to me: Bombas sock thingies and a yummy warm faux fur throw. No I am not taking pix.
So what are you wearing? Imbibing? Watching? Are you shoveling out, hunkering down, or just maintaining? Let’s chat in the comments.
Images: Pexels, my iPhone
We are woefully short on water and I’d love some of yours, thanksverymuch. I continue to entertain myself with Carolyn’s sample stash. Omg I remember when EVERYONE was wearing Cristalle including my BFF and I tried and it was sooooo not me. I do love the Eau Vert version though. I sucked it up and went by the auto glass place — my 14-year-old factory-original windshield has been no match for NM. It’s been cracked for quite some time, but I told myself this spring I’m getting it fixed with some added UV tint.
Shouldn’t your insurance pay for the new windshield? I don’t like being a scold but a big crack in it actually is not safe: the windshield on modern cars is structural and a big crack is not good. Not “the car will explode and kill everyone I ever knew” bad, but “get it fixed soon, especially if insurance pays for it” bad.
Nope, the car’s so old and I have a big deductible. And I know it’s both unsafe AND illegal but it wasn’t in my line of vision etc. but I WOULD really enjoy some UV protection!
Oh that stinks. Well I guess if you aren’t climbing Pikes Peak or volunteering for crash testing you’re okay.
As I mentioned yesterday, our weather has had dramatic shifts also. Crazy unseasonably warm (which was welcome!) and then plunging back down into the freezing zone (very unwelcome!). Today is supposed to be rainy. That’s fine as it washes the pollen out of the air. I’m wearing some Vent Vert today since you mentioned it. Cristalle is a nice citrus-y green and totally unisex to my nose. I don’t see why those SAs clutched their pearls when you wanted some! Shame on them. Two powerful greens I’d recommend: Malle Synthetic Jungle and PG Papyrus de Ciane. Both are very galbanum forward. I had a cup of cocoa just the other night. My throw is tartan, but your plan sounds A-okay to me Tom!
The sun is out today and it’s very nice out. So I am looking forward to trying to carve out some of it.
I like Synthetic Jungle, but just not enough for a full bottle. I am just not lemming every little thing.
That is until you people mention something and then “Bam!!!”
Northern England has sunshine & occasional showers but is still cool. Around 13c (55f). The sky is blue & has floofy white clouds.
We are watching the all day coverage of the Snooker World Championships. It’s enthralling & as much a part of UK springtime as showers & tree pollen.
That weather sounds wonderful to me! I’ve never played snooker. I’ve played pool in the US (of course) with the stripe and solid balls. I’ll have to look that up.
I adore your history/civics posts. Learn so much.
Sun’s out here, a bit windy, not quite proper spring weather yet. We live in hope.
I’ve been moving between testing new things and wearing, well, weird — because the weather is irritating though not a madness. So, one day was Heretic Nosferatu with that really really really weird lilac-ish something cold (the lilacs are out here and they definitely don’t smell cold). Might do Black Salt today …
Thanks!
“Irritating” is a good word for our weather right now. But the sun is shining and if I can get stuff by noon I can close up early and go to the museum
I love learning about L.A. and your new fragrance trials.
Miami has been putridly hot for spring, on the 80s and looking at 86° later this week. For those in Celsius land, that is melt the lipstick hot. ??
I just received Shalimar Millesime Rose by Guerlain. It is already out of stock. I wanted to order more after the first spray and I’ve never been that way after a Shalimar purchase.
Imagine that Guerlain’s Rose Barbare and Cuir Intense had a baby. ? Without macerating long enough I suspect, within 20 minutes I was picking up that ?ambergris while sitting outside.
I’m going to let mine sit for months so the rose ? is more prominent for longer, but it is like they say, a Shalimar for people who don’t love Shalimar.
I have several Shalimars, but I always spray them with the feeling that I will smell like my grandma or someone else’s. Finally, a Shalimar that I don’t fear will age my perimeter.
I really really encourage anyone who gets it, and I ordered directly from Guerlain, to let it age a bit before using it with regularity. This will let you fully enjoy the rose as it rises in the formulation over time.
And did you readers know Guerlain has had some of the best birthday gifts and samples with purchase? I got a gorgeous candle one year. That’s a benefit of ordering directly from them.
I also recently ordered Lancome’s La Vie est Belle Vanilla Nude. I tried it on at Ulta and was stunned at the gorgeous sandlewood and white musk sillage and headspace. It was familiar, but different. So I returned to Ulta the next day and ruined my life temporarily by shaking the darn bottle before spraying so it was a weak nothing. The poor thing hadn’t macerated enough. It’s shelved to age beautifully.
Then, oh spring is for perfumes, yes? I tried and bought Francis Kurkdjian’s creation, Dior J’dore L’or, and finally one that I felt had toned down the ylang-ylang, which can date it.
AI overview of them:
J’adore Eau de Parfum: Features a vast array of notes including bergamot, jasmine sambac, rose, and ylang-ylang, with a fresh, airy quality.
J’adore L’Or (2023): Strips back the complexity to focus on an “overdose” of three main absolutes: orange blossom, jasmine grandiflorum, and centifolia rose. It is described as softer, rounder, and more “solar” than the original.
L’or is airy and gorgeous. The Mother’s Day set on Dior’s website has butterflies and even on the travel spray! What a yummy collectible! It is So much cheaper in the set, and has the lovely touches. It’s by far the prettiest travel spray I own now.
I’m bummed that everything I bought directly from the manufacturers needs to age! I find think thry treat perfume as wrll as wine anymore. It’s formulate and out the door! But if you’ve made perfume as a hobbyist, you learn as I did that letting them macerate makes a huge difference.
Reviews nowadays corroborate my experience. Users put the fragrances way, take them out much later and discover they love them. I hate the wait but we must sacrifice for art. ?
The commas were emoji, so lesson learned.
Why does it do that on some browsers? It’s weird.
I’ve always wanted to see Miami if only for the architecture. I just cannot take humidity- it makes me want to bite people.
I have notices that about some perfumes. (the aging thing) Another reason to always sample and never impulse buy (although I assume the testers have aged enough to be the real thing)
Tom, I have a friend who calls it Judgy Jude, which makes me laugh every time. Since we found out how disgustingly rich she is I can’t watch anymore. Somehow her wealth takes away from her ability to snark for me.
Good luck with the weather.
We continue blissfully Autumn here.
Just had a bottle of Guerlain Epices Volees arrive. LOVING it.
Portia xx
She is Judgy Jude, but I enjoy her. Even if sometimes she is really spectacularly off the mark.
Ah autumn. Do the leaves change in Sydney or is the climate too warm?
After all this weird weather, we’re having a lovely week of mid-70F days and average mid-50F nights. Heavenly! Your solution to a rainy day is perfect. Too bad on the no pictures though. 🙂
Never tried Cristalle. By the time I might have tried it Chanel made everyone stop selling samples. So I decided that they were not going to force me to go to stores to try their perfume. lol. And I haven’t. I do have a pristine bottle of vintage Chanel No.5 edt that I decant into a pretty little sprayer, so I’m good.
I will comment on the LA River. I’m already laughing remembering the first time I saw it. We were driving around LA and I saw a sign that said “LA River”. All we saw was a concrete canal with an occasional little puddle in it! When we finally realized that this was really the LA River, we laughed so hard it’s lucky we didn’t get into an accident!
Oh the river. It is kind of comical but necessary. When it rains here it really pours.
Chanel ought to send muffin baskets to decanters. Oh, I’m sorry, are they making your product more available to try when you won’t? The fiends!
I do get that the “river” is necessary. I did experience some serious rain in Santa Barbara. As for Chanel – money saved to go to perfumes I can easily try and fall for. Win for me.
Oh yeah, SB has that too. We had rain where I grew up but.. That river is crazy when it’s in full run. I think Phoenix has them too. They used to have ropes strung across them in case you fell in (they were narrower than the LA river as I remember it)
Cristalle is lighter than No.5, cool, and happy. It is such a clean fragrance and one of my favorites too. It has changed over the years, but it is reminiscent of its former self.
I guess I may have to brave Chanel. Pray for me.