By March
Our mid-Atlantic summer has finally arrived with a vengeance. It’s 98 degrees and humid, and I … could not be happier, really. I’m a summer soul. I don’t want to go run a marathon or anything, but sitting on the screened porch at night with some lemonade, watching the fireflies and the occasional shooting star, suits me right down to the ground. The teeny, massively fragrant Darlow’s Enigma climbing roses I planted two years ago are scenting the porch and pretty much entire back yard. They’ll bloom until October, even in the shade, for those of you who are looking for a versatile climber that isn’t a big long-limbed space-hog from hell.
The weather now hardly seems more wrong for a new floral-oriental perfume discovery, but it’s actually (weirdly) working in the heat, and I can’t resist its charms – Femme by Sabon.
Sabon is a soap-n-scrub outfit I’d never heard of, they have several retail stores in NYC, as well as Chicago and Boston, here’s a link to their website. They have a few perfumes. I got a decant of Femme from Anita. Notes are: ylang ylang, Italian bergamot, floral notes lightly spiced with cloves, Egyptian jasmine, vanilla, sandalwood and musk, leaving “a soft, lasting, powdery aroma.”
There is an exception to every rule, apparently. I am not a fan of powdery scents, and while Femme is fairly powdery at the outset, it doesn’t overwhelm me the way that, say, White Death Teint de Neige by Lorenzo Villoresi does. The powdery top feels dry rather than cloying, and it’s balanced by the bergamot and cloves; it’s playful. It’s a powdery-floral for the first half hour or so, and it reminds me a bit of Habanita during that phase. Then the powder settles and the dominant notes are cloves, vanilla and sandalwood, with the floral notes in the background. Again, that doesn’t sound like a winner in hot weather, but somehow it really does work. I put it on tentatively the first few times, then threw caution to the wind and drenched myself, but it never did overwhelm. There’s something suede-like in the drydown that makes it interesting. The jasmine’s clean, and so is the scent, but it’s sexy in a way I can’t quite put my finger on. Or maybe jasmine, ylang, spicy vanilla, and sandalwood with a hint of suede is just a flat-out sexy combination. But you can cuddle up with it too. It’s like a really well-made white cotton summer nightgown that manages to be sweet and flirtatious at the same time. The longevity is decent; after five or six hours it’s a spicy-woody vanilla skin scent that isn’t massive but doesn’t smell thin or cheap, either.
The kicker? This stuff’s $42 for a big ol’ 100 ml bottle. Isn’t that bottle cute? It’s kind of retro, yes? Retro, just like the price. Seriously – I am often sampling fragrances at the $200 mark or more (retail, tax + shipping), now that $200 is the new $100 in perfume-ville. To find something so pretty at a quarter of that price brings a smile to my face. Now, would one of you go get me some more lemonade and maybe a teensy little slice of that red velvet cake from the icebox? Thanks, I’ll be right here on the porch.
Gaaaaaaah – March, I hate DC weather the way you hate White Death! I’d shudder but that would only make me hotter :-( But I DO always LOVE hearing about a good affordable perfume – thanks for putting porch time to such good use, and thanks to Anita for surfacing this gem!
You’re welcome, and now I kind of want to try their other scents. As the shops are all over NYC I should be able to do so the next time I am up there.
Last night was hilarious — hotter than hades, then it rained for about five minutes. I thought it might cool things off but it just made the air that much more like water. It was ridiculous.
Oh, it was – and the air quality was horrible. But today was PERFECT – what a huge relief!
I hope you’ll try more and report back.
I’d go in on a split of this, or host a split. References can be provided.
Yeah, but will people PAY UP in time? Will they measure the mls with a micrometer? 😉
March, I missed you!
As a former East coast dweller, I was charmed by your review (though I’ll probably never buy the stuff). Fireflies! They still exist! There must be a God.
Thank you for bringing some joy to my troubled days.
Oh, you are so welcome. The fireflies seem fewer than they used to, which makes me sad. But one of the joys of my parental life was when we moved back here when the “big girls” were 6 and 4, and they’d never seen fireflies before (when we lived in NM). They were enchanted.
i miss fireflies!!! waaaah!!!
this sounds nice. reminds me of something bourbon french does = tonight. also a great scent for a decent price.
Fireflies are special. Too early for them yet, at least here…
Hi March, thanks for giving us a cheap thrill. Not sure where around here I could ever smell this, but will be on the lookout.
I’m glad you like the heat/humidity, but as for me, I’d rather be in San Francisco (Recchiuti chocolates and better perfume shopping there, too) …
P.S. March, does your Anthropologie carry the SIP and Histoire lines?
Uh. I haven’t been there recently, but they had Histoire, and NOT SIP. They did have those great tea ones too — history of tea or whatever they are called.
San Fran is lovely but often a bit chilly for me :”>
I love the chill! Of course, I also prefer fall/winter clothes to summer styles.
Aw heck! Throw on a coat! We’ll go eat dim sum at Yank Sing and Ton Kiang until our eyes fall out! We’ll go to Miette, eat some sables. We’ll suck down Fleur de Sel caramels until we can’t breathe! We’ll walk it off on our way up the Filbert Steps to Stella. Then we’ll walk down to Market (again) and catch the trolleybus to Noe Valley. We’ll go to XOX Truffles, then Firefly, eat mac and cheese and take the trolley-bus back down to Market (it has one of the most breathtaking views of SF in the whole city, imo)….and then, at SFO, you can =)) watching me will the TSA folks into letting me bring 50lbs of cheeses and 20 bottles of growers’ champagne through carryon (it fits into a small, wheeled suitcase)
TSA: “uh, ma’am? Where are your clothes?”
Me: “oh. I sent them back via the PO”
TSA: “huh?”
Me: “6 pr of underwear and 4 tshirts weigh about 2 lbs. This lot weighs the carryon limit. Imagine how much it would cost to SHIP this stuff”
They let me, my cheeses and my wine, through. Bless their hearts.
xo >-)
That’s it! I’m stowing away in your suitcase for sure next time. I love your SF agenda and am fond of all your stops, but have never been to Stella or Firefly however. Which trolley line is this? Not Market, right?
I think it’s the Castro line – maybe the J? Or the …heck, I dunno. 29? Something like that – anyway, you pick it up on Castro @ Market (or before) and take it up the 2 hills to 24th St. Then, when you are sick of eating and shopping, etc you take it back down – one of those is sort of like a funicular, with the kinds of switchbacks you have on steep inclines – at one point there is a breathtaking, nearly 180o view of the Bay Bridge all the way over to the GG (though I cannot remember if you can see it in its entirety) – the view lasts as long as it takes for the trolley to switch back, then it’s gone, then it’s back again then it’s gone for good, as the trolley heads back down to Market and over to the Embarcadero.
Somebody who still lives there can give you better intel – I am prolly giving you totally wrong info!!!
xoxox >-)
I don’t miss humidity, but boy do I miss having a porch.
Porches and thunderstorms. The dog hated them (scared him; he’d get so close to you he was practically in your shirt) but the air was heaven afterwards.
Being a hopeless Yankee I prefer iced tea, unsweetened. I know, the horror.. :d
I don’t do sweet tea either, although I’m always charmed when they ask which I want. And I love the Arnold Palmer… lemonade and tea. Is that a southern/eastern thing?
Hecky, naw! You can get an Arnold anywhere! Those are phenomenal (made even more phenomenal with the addition of a touch of bourbon – just sayin’)
This time of year, our fridge looks like a beverage cooler, with 2 half-gallons of sweet tea AT ALL TIMES (I have El O and a Very Large Cub in residence)..plus a lemonade jug…..plus a leetle scrab of Constant Comment iced tea, which El O and Cub recoil from as if it were plutonium!
Weird.
xo >-)
OMG. I’m going to go make Constant Comment iced tea for me. (The CEO drinks sweet tea at every meal – lately I’ve been making a gallon every 36 hours or so. CC would be good.)
Hee, glad to know the Arnold isn’t a regional thing. And do you make your iced tea decaf? I can’t take all that caffeine, it wires me up.
Ho, yus. A hopped-up El O is the stuff of nightmares. I’ve been on decaf (maybe a touch of caff) for years! Keeps me out of the pokey.
😉
xo >-)
I had no idea Sabon has perfumes in addition to its lovely scrubs and other bath products. There’s a store not too far from my apartment that I think I have to check out again soon. I see a little retail therapy in my future. Yeah, March, take the Bolt Bus up here and save on the shipping charges!
You should definitely pop by, they’re raving about the body products above, and the store sounds really nice.
Sigh. I passed the bus this morning and wished I were on it, although maybe NYC is a million degrees too.
Ugh, if it’s a million degrees up here in Kent, I’m guessing it’s two million degrees in NYC.
That one time Patty and I went it was 103 degrees, that was brutal.
There’s actually a Sabon store about a mile from my place. I’m pretty sure it’s the same “Sabon” as the ones in NY. I visited the Long Island store a couple of times, but I think it was before they sold fragrances. They had some pretty amazing body products, IIRC, including solid shea butter bars that you could pinch little pieces off of and carry with you. They sold them with little pots for just that purpose.
I love when you unearth inexpensive finds. It reaffirms the sentiment that not all fragrances have to be over $200 to be impressive.
I am sure it’s the same place — drop by and do a blog post on the body products!
On to the perfume part of the comment:
I wore this yesterday and LOVED it. I am always surprised when I get a whiff of vanilla – I would’ve fought to the 8-x at the notion of me liking vanilla (I am a moron – of COURSE I like vanilla. Especially vanilla sticks) ….weird that this, too, is called ‘Femme’ as it reminds me of the current Rochas Femme – only WAY lighter. Way. I could wear this to a meeting without feeling like I was unshowered and clad in last night’s negligee (a terrifying visual b-(
😕 I’m wondering what it might be like, layered with contemp (pre-reform) Mitsouko. 😕
btw – the store (at least in Chicago) is adorable. They have this fountain where you can try the scrubs – very Old World-looking. You step off scruffy N. State Street (up by Division) and suddenly you are in this quiet, dim little jewel box. When I was there, there was no music, no sound – just..quiet. Weird.
xo >-)
(Unshowered and clad in last night’s negligee… love the image!)
I didn’t get any sweat at all — it also reminds me a bit of vintage Coty Chypre, which is waaaay more sweet and powdery than I expected, at least the ones I have tried.
I didn’t either (the sweat, I mean) which is why I said Femme Lite. Well, I sort of said that. Oh, never mind. I’m not making any sense. It does bear a vague resemblance to Chypre. I’mo check with Carol, AKA Coty Chypre Quing, and see what she says.
Mals, you really would NOT like that image. =)) b-( esp. not at a meeting!
xoxoox >-)
Anything that reminds one of Coty chypre I gotta try…
Chypre was not what I expected either March – but I love the 70’s version . The older ( 40’s ? ) version was …WHOA ! agressively green and animalic .
I tried one I think even older, and who knows about what it was supposed to smell like originally, but it was just kind of sweet and powdery.
Okay, well, I like the image in my MIND, you showing up at a meeting all deshabille and femme fatale…
and I thank you for that. I hope I look somewhat like Lena Horne in that image. 😉
xo >-)
Y’all aren’t going to liiiike this but I have to defend the shipping costs. Here’s the other side: I own a small biz and do not jack my customers on s/h but I absolutely have to at least break even. On a whim I went and calculated a quick time/ship from my business to a residential address on the East Coast – Ground. I have a bottle of Femme – packaged, etc, it weighs just under 2#s (UPS will round UP, trust me /:) – JUST FOR SHIPPING it’s $11. I have yet to add in the cost of materials needed to package it safely and the cost of hiring the person to do it (even if it’s me or my partner (and it often is) it costs money to do that). If they have a bargain/bulk rate the cost might be $9 just for shipping – but not much less. Factor in the shipping materials and the labor and it sounds to me like they’re, at best, making about 45 cents on each shipment. Since they are not running a charity it is not unreasonable for them to want to make at least a small profit (they have to have lights on, etc, for their employees to see by, as they wrap the packages. Believe me, it all adds up)
xo >-)
FWIW, as a customer, S/H drives me 8-x, too! Even though I know that most companies make a very small profit on it, somehow it just seems so ……..much.
Want REAL pain? Have chocolates shipped in warm weather. Go ‘head. Call me when they pick you up off the floor, from the sticker shock! =))
xo >-)
Yep, we’ve talked about this before — looking at you, Recchiuti Chocolates! (Not knocking them at all, all companies do it — but that all that extra packaging to keep the chocolates cool costs big bucks.)
Same with our green chile from New Mexico. Chile: $30. Cryo-ship: $60.
Yep, exactly. But it does kinda bug me when the shipping costs more than the item itself. So I make myself wait until Oct./Nov. and then indulge my craving.
Last summer when I visited, I packed an entire separate suitcase with tubs of frozen Bueno chile, wrapped in a big garbage bag. They are totally used to that at ABQ airport and don’t bat an eye, and it stays frozen in the cargo hold. Doesn’t really work for the chocolates, though.
See, this is perfectly okay, and I am always up for someone arguing the other side of an issue. It’s not an OUTRAGEOUS amount.
No, it’s not – I mean, it sucks, but it’s reasonably legit.
xo >-)
Thanks for the explanation, Musette. I won’t be nearly so crabby about shipping prices as I have been in the past (though I’ll still complain at a hefty UPS charge for a light, flat, non-fragile item that could just as well have been sent USPS Priority mail).
You’re welcome. I’m not an apologist for s/h charges – I hate ’em just as much as the next person – but I didn’t want everybody hatin’ on Sabon, thinking they were jamming us with hefty fees.
Don’t those lightweight pkg charges just make you 8-x That’s when I start giving companies the stinkeye.
And I’m with Ann and everybody else on here who tries to plan around free shipping (or more reasonable shipping rates).
xoxo >-)
Just to add on, in a heated discussion with the USPS about a missing “priority mail” package they actually admitted that there’s no real priority there, it’s all marketing. Just sayin’
Also, the two times I tried to file a claim for something I had insured that got lost, I never heard anything back. If it’s a package I really care about that way, I send it UPS or Fed X.
After 15+ years back in the South I’m getting used to the humidity again. But the bugs! Not just mosquitoes, either — the little demons from hell that jump out of the grass and bite your legs as you walk across the lawn. I read that catnip EO is the Next Big Thing as far as insect repellents go. That’s good because my cats see the bottle and run away and hide.
The shipping surcharge reminds me of ebay sellers and catalog merchants I’ve known.
Catalog merchants are the worst, I always wait for “free shipping” deals. Ebay used to be bad but I feel like we all caught on to that and I see jacked-up shipping less often now.
I hate bugs. And when I was growing up we only had night-time mosquitoes, not the hideous Asian tiger imports we have now (so the skeeters are out all day long.)
Air conditioning has spoiled me. Or maybe age. There was no A/C in our house when I was a kid, and I don’t remember being terribly bothered by summer heat. The mosquitoes bothered me, but not the heat. Now? Urgh. Headaches and nausea if I’m outside in 90F for more than an hour or so. (Guess I’d better go mow *now* – it’s 78 at 9:15am, exactly the same temp inside and out.)
Sabon Femme sounds lovely; I tend to have a tolerance for “powdery” so long as it’s not chokingly-dusty-dry. (The shipping sounds ridiculous, though. What’s up with that?)
I think I want that climbing rose… off to check that out, too. It’d be perfect climbing up the side of the porch, no?
Hah, yes, we had no a/c either. We used to sleep on Army cots on the screen porch when it got like this (the whole family!) Now I admit I would be miserable during the day without A/C although I feel like most public venues are WAY over air conditioned.
No comment on the shipping, other than I agree, it seems awfully high for a bottle of perfume.
Here’s a link for the rose — the stalks are smallish and the flowers are small and open faced. But the blooms! Man, it blooms like crazy from May to October, and it’s heavily perfumed. I like the plant because the size and shoots are manageable and it doesn’t spread.
http://www.heirloomroses.com/roses/ramblers/darlows-enigma.html
This rose is a big fave of The Silver Fox. I don’t think they can survive the winters where his house is, but he told me he has them in pots all summer long. Me, I don’t have enough sun for them.
I think our zone is okay for them – and I’m thinking the south corner of the porch. Should be plenty o’ sun and good drainage there.
I only have landscape (knockout) roses so far, and I love that I don’t have to do anything for them except the occasional feeding. And not mowing over them.
I think these would be perfect for you. They do fine in sun too, I have one in full sun. Other than digging it a REALLY nice hole when it got planted (our soil is crap) I haven’t done a thing.
Makes me love him just that much more! Although I don’t know its zone, it probably says on the site… the deer don’t eat them either which is a big issue here.
we have the same thing here- extreme AC. I mean, it’s nice that the #14 bus and the Beverly Center are cold when it’s 100 out (did you see we had one freak day last year where it hit 116 before the official thermometer broke? Utter hell..). But when it’s in the mid 70’s there’s really no reason for it to be arctic.
There’s no reason for it to be arctic anytime, IMO. Set it at 75 and let it go, for heaven’s sake…
We’re 78 – 80 here. :d I hated working in an office for just this reason. TOO COLD.
Agree. My house thermostat stays at 77-78, but I know most people like it a little cooler, especially when there’s going to be a lot of people in the building (movie theaters must set theirs to 65, I swear).
Well, most people are wrong. [-( :)>-
I of course am the weirdo you see carrying a sweater in my hand all summer.
I think it’s a vanity thing? The coldest AC I’ve ever been in was Dallas in the summer, and Bangkok. You could have hung meat inside the Bangkok malls.
Thanks for the link! I know I won’t be able to find them locally.
I think you need to order them, and it is probably too late now, you’d plant in the fall? I don’t think they ship in summer.
What kind of scent does this rose have? Is it spicy? I love spicy roses. What’s crazy is, if you follow the link, the web site says that this variety doesn’t have any scent!
Let’s see. First of all, lol, on the no scent. It’s got PLENTY of scent. I think when I bought it it was advertised with scent, you could always email. It seems like a typo. But would not describe it as “spicy” like a spicy tea rose, for instance. More honey-sweet. I can smell it sitting seven feet away.
Tell you sthg weird, March: I went to the web site and it says NO fragrance for this rose – what’s up with that? But now I’m sunk, of course, bcs I *have* to look at everything else on offer there. Moreover, my Blom’s Bulbs fall catalog just arrived…
Oh duh – sorry – was just replying as I read down the page and hadn’t seen that Jirish already reported the weirdness on the site.
Yeah, the heat and humidity this May have been a bit much. If we make weather-dependent plans for Memorial Day weekend, then you know it will be cold and miserable. So, no plans made, it’s bound to be beautiful.
Do you find Chamade at all powdery, March, because I do, and I like it. A lot of the greens that I like seem to have a bit of powdery drydown. Not sure if that is the oakmoss or some other note that reads as powdery, but I like it.
It’s great to discover a gem that’s going for less than the usual rate. This one sounds nice, though I’m not keen on vanilla.
Sometimes our Memorial Day weekends are miserable — too cold and rainy, and I feel sorry for people at the beach those weekends, making the best of it.
I do find Chamade powdery, but it’s more like a great fragrance with a bit of powder, rather than a powdery fragrance, if that makes any sense at all! If you are not keen on vanilla, this is probably not for you.
But see, March, that’s what’s weird. I HATE vanilla (V Galante nearly brought up my lunch – and let’s not discuss my reaction to Havana V)….I’m thinking this might be one for those of us who tend to not like vanilla overmuch. Of course, if you really loathe vanilla then stay away – but if you’re neutral-negative, like I am, it might be one to try.
xo >-)
Well, there you go — I got a lot of vanilla, but VGallante has a whole separate barf-inducing thang going on, that “watery” note. Urg.
Ain’t summer grand? Had first 2 days at Rehoboth, and it was surprisingly uncrowded for Memorial Day weekend.
(have nothing to say about the perfume, sorry)
Everyone else hates it but we are not complaining, are we? I’m glad you had fun at Rehoboth. It was pretty quiet around town, which of course I love.
I haven’t had my usual craving for florals this spring, so I’m wearing a lot of fragrances that wouldn’t normally be associated with summer. This includes orientals, though not the heavy, amber/vanilla-based spicefests of the bunch. That would feel like wearing a velvet cape in the summer heat, which I don’t seem to tolerate as well as you do. But the Sabon sounds fine. And affordable! Actually, at that price, it’s free!
Definitely not the ambery orientals for sure! Today’s a killer… and you are right, Sabon is practically free.
Sounds like my type of fragrance. :) But what’s up with the $14.00 + for UPS Ground Shipping?
I did not see that, where’s my eyerolling emoticon? 8-| I wonder if online ocmpanies realize how much jacked-up S/H fees irritate people? I thought it would be $10ish. To be honest, I shop the gray market enough that I am not sure I have a sense of what average retail shipping fees are, but yeah – for a few more bucks I could take Vamoose to the city and pick it up myself.
See below. I broke it down for y’all. Irritating as it is, the s/h really isn’t exorbitant – especially when you consider the weight of that honkin’ bottle.
xo >-)
You do like it hot, dontcha, babe? I bet you are blooming, in the most beautiful way.
I have adapted, and even come to appreciate the 90-ish weather. Still an Oregonienne, though, and love it drier.
This Sabon sounds like a must-sniff, especially since I’m loving florals in the heat. I wore Amaranthine the other day-and it’s so much better with a little over-heated skin and sweat mixed in.
And $40? Might need to take an unsniffed leap here!
Lol, check the shipping comment below — $15! I can throw some at you next time I see you. And I know, this isn’t really your kind of weather, is it? Most people would agree with you, no doubt, rather than me.
Well, yes, I did check that shipping! And the notice that the 25% off sale ended yesterday ; (
Last summer I found that I could adapt to the heat, and did quite a bit of hiking in 95F temps-but it took about three weeks. I’m going to work it again this summer, but slowly. One round of heat exhaustion was enough for the decade.
I’d love a tiny taste of Femme when I see you (that sounded a bit dirty)!
Honey, 75% of the most innocuous things we say to each other sound dirty. :)>-
years ago I discovered that your perspiration pores actually enlarge and get more efficient at cooling as you acclimatise..
Hey March! I’m with you… I’d love a Mid-Atlantic summer. Or anywhere rather warm, for that matter. I know I shouldn’t complain since we don’t get any real extremes of weather or temp, and yes, that’s wonderful beyond compare. But when you rarely even feel *warm* in the summer, something is wrong. Give me one of those soft, humid nights anytime… and sure, I’ll take the fireflies, lemonade, and red velvet cake with it. I’ll just have to look forward to (hopefully) the usual family get-together at the Jersey Shore in July.
This Sabon stuff sounds intriguing. I checked out the site and I’m loving the look of the products and most definitely the price. I’m curious about those Lily and Jasmine perfumes. Who doesn’t love a cheap thrill? Femme sounds pretty nice too, even though I’m a little askeert by the mention of Habanita. Thanks for bringing the line to our attention, and Happy Summer!
Habanita skeers me too. I think some of their scrubs look delicious, I’ll have to check it out next time I’m in NYC.
The Jersey shore! Sounds so perfect. I can smell the tanning oil from here…