Out of Pocket

I really thought I’d get a post done tonight, but my mother had surgery this morning to fuse her ankle, and she was in surgery for four hours, then in recovery for five hours, and we finally got home about an hour ago, and I’m just pooped.

I did make it into Barney’s in Las Vegas and sniffed quickly Malle’s Portrait of a Lady and the two new ouds from Byredo.  The Malle had some promise on the open, little skank going on, but then it settled into a really pretty rose fragrance that I’m sure will work for plenty of people, but it’s not one I need to spend my money on.

The new ouds from Byredo were okay, the Oud Immortel appealed to me most, and I would like to spend some more time with it, but neither struck me as some great new take on oud.

The most interesting/entertaining smell in India was when the plane landed.  We had barely landed, and Delhi’s smell started permeating every square inch of the plane – smoke and humanity.  Smoky, pungent, feral. I laughed out loud when I figured out what it was.

So are any of you wishing for a fragrance for Christmas? And what is it, if you are?

  • Carla says:

    I’m wishing for Lumiere Noire (femme) by Francis K! And I think I’m getting it…

  • Juliet says:

    My best regards for your mom’s health,

    by the way – I liked your page, very classy

  • nozknoz says:

    What a day – very much appreciate your finding time to post these mini-reviews!

    I ordered up some vintage bubble lights from ebay and some AG Noël room parfum pour la maison, so I am READY for the holidays.

    Wishing for: an obscure perfume that I failed to win a year ago has just popped up again on ebay. I have trained my sniper sights on it and am hoping Santa will distract everyone else with other tempting offerings keyed to their tastes!

  • Vintage Lady says:

    Defintely I will go to India….

    The perfume that I wish for Christmas is Habanita

    Wish a full recovery to your mom

  • Louise says:

    Speedy recovery to your mom!

    For Xmas, I want…um, very little. I’ve overindulged, as usual, as really just want some time. Can you help with that? Anyone??? : )

  • Tamara*J says:

    I hope when I’m old and white haired that at least one (or all?) of my daughters will be as sweet and good as you are to your mama.
    May she be well soon<3
    And as for Christmas I just want to be able to get everything my girls wanted on their lists,if I make out with something I'll be pleasantly surprised but I'm not expecting that, their wishes are much more important.
    But I always want Une Rose Chypree -always, always ;)
    Some vtg. Chamade would be grand too!

    • hongkongmom says:

      tamara..u r such a good mom….u r girls must adore u!
      if i were santa, i would give you urc…just because of ur selflessness!!

  • lemonprint says:

    I want a bottle of Tihota to call my very own. And I guess a bottle of Clive Christian No. 1 while we’re wishin’. :-)

    Hope your mom heals up quickly. And I would totally buy a perfume called Smoke and Humanity!

  • Connie says:

    What a lovely daughter! Sending warm wishes for a speedy recovery.

  • March says:

    Hey, there. Hugs to your mom, I hope she’s up and about soon.

  • Rappleyea says:

    Patty – sending best wishes for your mother’s speedy recovery and for some R & R for you!

    My Christmas perfume wish/lemming won’t happen until some time after the first of the year as it is one of the new scents that Laurie at SSS is working on. I am lucky enough to be a tester for her and I have to say it is one of the most beautiful scents I’ve smelled in years! My sample vial is drained and the scent is haunting my memory! I can’t wait until it goes into production.

  • jen says:

    My swappage has left me swimming in wonderful scents, so I’m savoring those and educating my nose. But a fb of bvgari omnia amethyst would be lovely. Also, I have noticed on our recent travels across the Midwest that even individual states have their own scent. Anyone else notice this? IA to me smells like pigs and corn and straw. Not necessarily bad pigs either, just – pig-ish.

    • Musette says:

      to me, IA smells like warm horse and clover! IL smells like :@) (as you said, not bad – just pig-ish).

      hey! I got a haaat! I got a haaaat! zoooot! <: -p (let's see if PG works for me - he usually only works for Mistress March) xo>-)

  • maggiecat says:

    Patty – like everyone else, I hope your mom (and you) recover quickly and easily. I did ask for perfume from my mom and sister – NR Musc for Her Intense, which can be found in major department stores. I’m actually lusting for some niche scents, but it’s too hard to explain how to find them to people who have maybe two bottles of perfume tops. It would be like my buying golf paraphenalia for DH – not a good idea for the uninformed and inexperienced.

  • Suzy Q says:

    I wish Santa would bring me a bottle Traversee du Bosphore. Since that’s not gonna happen I’d settle for Grand Neroli. I see it’s available in the smaller size at Neiman Marcus and BG.

  • Alice C says:

    Wishing a speedy recovery for your mom. I’d love a small decant of MKK…

  • Shelley says:

    Fragrance for Christmas? Why, wet woolies (smell #1) drying by the fire (smell #2) while my family and friends enjoy libations (smells #3 [cocoa] and #4 [other]), with pine drifting over from the tree (#5).

    In a bottle? Besides #4? Um…you know, my swappage has me pretty sated. That, and knowledge of elfin activity. ;)

    Best to Mom. May she be mobile, then dancing, soon.

  • Victoria says:

    Hope that your mom is going to recover quickly!

    As for the smell of India, I know exactly what you mean. The smell of bonfires around here these days really makes me think of India. And NYC has plenty of its own smells of humanity…

  • marina says:

    Wishing for speedy recovery for your mom!

    As for ouds, there are so many of them, can there even BE a new, exciting take on the genre…I dunno…

  • tania says:

    Wow, that’s a long old day! I’m glad your mum is recovering ok.

    I know the smell of Delhi all too well, having worked there for a month a few years ago. A colleague told me that Cairo smells pretty much the same, though – he said it was smoke, humanity, open sewers and pollution. Well, whatever it is, it’s evocative as all get out!
    I don’t ask for perfume for Xmas. We generally don’t spend more than £15 per present in my rather large family, and friends seem to do the same.
    But I did just buy myself a Clinique Wrappings gift set from Harrods. They have it exclusively, and I love the hard-to-get-otherwise Wrappings, so I buy one every year.

  • Musette says:

    Patty!

    Great gravy! What a loooonnnng day you had! I’m glad to know your mom is on the mend and am sending out big, healing thoughts.

    I was surprised to find I actually LIKED the Accord Oud (Byredo). There has not be one Byredo, save Tulipe, that I could stand to smell, let alone wear, so the AO came as a pleasant surprise. Prolly not a FB but I would be willing to test it prep to maybe doing a split or decant.

    For my Christmas Wish, it’s always the fond hope that Dior will come to their senses and send Diorling to the States (most specifically Chicago, most specifically SFA, most specifically in perfume…hey, Go Big or Go Home). I got a bit of vintage Diorling in the swap and compared it to the current edt (I have a decant that is fast-disappearing, alas)……… I could be happy with the current, really I could!

    xoxo >-)

  • Ann N. says:

    Hi Patty, what a trouper you are to post after a trying day! Hope your mom is doing great and you can soon get some much-needed rest. No perfume under the tree for me as DH (sweet and kind as he is) doesn’t “get” my perfume passion and says I’ve already got enough to last two lifetimes. However, a VERY kind friend gave me a gift certificate, so I will enjoy that immensely, but not sure what scents just yet.

  • Francesca says:

    Wishing your mom a speedy recovery and take care of yourself, too. I wish I could have a FB of IUNX l’Ether. Meanwhile, I’ve got plenty to wear so I’m not complaining. I actually have to do some reconfiguring in my perfume cabinet because I’m running out of room! I’d have laughed my brains out if you told me 4 years ago I’d ever have so many fragrances.
    I can’t believe I can still smell the Coromandel I put on over 12 hours ago!!

    • Ann N. says:

      Hi Francesca, I adore Coromandel as well. And that drydown is simply to die-for. I’m eyeing it in the new smaller bottle that Chanel is now offering …

      • ScentRed says:

        Hey Ann & Francesca – this one is at the top of my list, although the 100 ml bottle hasn’t arrived in Canada yet :((

        Chanel SA at Holts says maybe in Feburary – fingers crossed.

        • sharyl says:

          Here is another big and loving vote for Coromandel. It was my first true love after heading down the purfumista trail and it is at the top of my Santa wish list this year. I believe I could even use up the giant bottle if Santa brought it for me!

  • Sherri M. says:

    Patty, I don’t know how you do all you do! You must only just be recovering and getting back to your routine after your trip! And waiting around in a doctor’s/hospital does seem to somehow be more tiring than working all day–I just hate that! I hope your mom is okay and that you get a chance to do more relaxing, fun things today and take it easy young lady!

    I also think alot of people will like PoaL’s drydown. I got compliments from (the ulimate test) my 18 year old daughter, and dh proclaimed it “delicious”–this was after about five hours mind you, DABBED, not sprayed on. PoaL is definitely not shy, and I actually didn’t care for the open (probably in the minority there), but maybe I’ll order a spray decant of that one after all! Sometimes these Malles take time to fall in love with. I still haven’t decided whether I love or hate Une Fleur de Cassie! :-)

    I’m too fussy and expensive for anyone to buy me perfume–I did put a bottle of Habanita and samples of Amouage Opus series on on the kids’ gift idea list. If I have money after Christmas, I’ve been saving for Oriental Brulant or Coeur en Mai (even though it’s the wrong season) or Love & Tears or Enlevement…and so on…Lots of best wishes for a quick recovery and happy holidays to everyone!

  • Fiordiligi says:

    Hope your mum gets better soon Patty.

    I’ve been put off going to India by a friend who told me that the smell hits you and stays with you…..

    No perfume pour moi for Christmas I’m afraid, although we will be visiting the Musee de la Parfumerie in Grasse so that I can lust over the vintage vats of Guerlain etc. Do you think they would miss that giant Apres l’Ondee?

  • hongkongmom says:

    hope your mom feels better…and you too…its hard work to support someone u love through surgery!!
    i love the sound of the smells of india….but perhaps i would prefer more of the smoke and less of the feral!!
    right now all i want is a gorgeous sable scarf/hood seen at a fair… far out of the budget…far from out of the mind…..so perfume is at the back right now!! so absurd…we hardly have a winter…oh dear, i am so dooooomed

    • Musette says:

      Sweetie, I would be more than happy to trade you some Illinois winter (-4 degrees right now, before you factor in the wind)…you can test out that sable scarf..and when you come to your senses you can send it (and the winter) back here to the Land of Insane Weather.

      xo >-)

      • jen says:

        Word. The weather here is nuts. I called my
        Brother in IA yesterday and he has a 12 ft high drift across his driveway. Makes me glad i live in suburbia!

        • Musette says:

          Nature really seems to dislike IA, have you noticed that? 😕 Constant flooding in warmer weather, blizzards and record cold in the winter…

          …they need a break – they have all my drafts over there!

          xo >-)

      • hongkongmom says:

        am tempted….but i think i would rather test the sable in the hongkong winter…come to my senses and just send it without the cold trade!!! no no no, methinks such cold and I will not be friends…not even with wearing sable!!!

  • violetnoir says:

    Patty, you are a great daughter and a great perfumista! Thank you for posting after a trying and lengthy day. My best to your mom for a full and speedy recovery.

    I felt the same about PofaL, too. And, there was something in the very bottom that bugged me a bit. The ambroxan, maybe? Oh well. Further testing is warranted.

    Hugs!

  • Madea says:

    I’d like some Bal a Versailles and some winter boots. I’m taking the coming semester off for health purposes, and so I need some winter clothes for my exile in the frozen wilds of Upstate New York.

    And a pony.:d

  • Winifreida says:

    Heh, first on! Its afternoon here in Australia, so goodness knows what time you wrote this Patty. You HAVE been busy, hope your Mum will be good for Christmas…
    It is amazing how places have their own unique smells, especially to we ‘first world’ types; a lot of my travels have been to hot steamy places and the heavy scented air can hit you like a Mack truck!
    For Christmas I only want Killian Rose Oud, Amouage Homage, Eau d’Italy Au Lac, Djedi, more vint Mits, and a big bottle of Nuit de Tubereuse, Jasmine Full, PG Fauve Ombrie (or whatever its called), a vanilla to end all vanillas, just in case Tihota isn’t the ultimate (and my bottle has been discovered by daughter and is alarmingly receding!)…uuuhmm Ok that will have to do!

    • Musette says:

      W –

      You live LARGE! I like that! ^:)^

      xo >-)

    • Shelley says:

      It’s L’Ombre Fauve. And it’s wonderful, isn’t it? Good time of year for it up here. :)

      If that Djedi arrives, I’m going to take a page out of Oprah’s book and have my pal fly me down under just so I can smell you. :)