So, wave bye to September. I woke up Saturday morning, did the general errands required, got home and just felt like a wet noodle. Beyond autumn into winter not being my favourite time of year I think I’m just weary waiting to finish with this part of my work life (even though I keep saying to myself: be in the now). Anyway, I’ve got a good book going and that’s what I focused on for most of the day.
Did get pizza in the evening.
The plumber comes tomorrow (Monday) to get the boiler and heating system ready for colder weather.
I am looking forward to Halloween.
Autumn. I used to love the season in NY. Cool, crisp – beautiful falling leaves – Halloween, Thanksgiving. Here, autumn marks the beginning of rainy season and then really cold rainy season. If I could hibernate from November through end-January I would.
I’ve finally finished the last three Teo Cabanel samples so a bit on them first.
Et Voilà. Neroli, aldehydes, clean accord, white flowers, heliotrope, rose, white musk cocktail, sandalwood. “… the chic simplicity of soap bubbles and cleanliness captured in a bottle”. Sigh. Opens, very briefly, with nice sharp neroli. Then, we’re into laundry detergent – which is where it stays. Clean, de-fanged musk. I’ve never been a ‘clean’ fragrance person. If you are, this might be up your alley.
Rondez-vous. Mimosa, violet leaf, almond, violet, rose, jasmine, orange blossom, white musks, vanilla, tonka bean. “Shining mimosa”. Uh, no. Opens almond-violet leaf powder. Maybe deepens into a bit of rose, maybe jasmine. As the scratchy violet recedes it does get more floral and nicer. Definitely not for me.
Alahine. Bergamot, pink pepper, rose, jasmine, ylang, orange ‘tree’, vanilla, labdanum, iris, benzoin, musk. “Sweetness and richness of Mexico”. I can barely smell this – as ever, maybe due to my low body temp. Spicy amberish then floral cinnamon (not in notes). Smells a bit like Mexican hot chocolate on me but it’s so incredibly weak. I was so looking forward to this given it gets a lot, and I do mean a lot, of love out there in perfumeland. What a disappointment.
So, all in, Café Cabanel is the winner and is on the want list. Oha, the chypre, is quite good. That’s it for me.
I managed to buy a velvet pumpkin this year.
I think I mentioned at some point that I missed these last year. A shop in a nearby village stocks them and they sell out very quickly. I already had a mini glass pumpkin from a glass blowing company in Bristol, northeast of here. I’m thinking I will participate in the pumpkin pick in the farm shop’s field this year to get my proper pumpkin.
Otherwise, I get to get my hair cut soon, get my covid booster, try to keep myself from buying yet more samples …
And thinking positive thoughts for all the New Yorkers having to deal with a lot of rain.
Hope your week was good. Please tell us something fun and distracting – about anything: perfume, food, etc.
Pics: Pexels and mine
Our weather warmed back up over the weekend, so it feels like summer again. I have one of those velvet pumpkins, too, Cinnamon. They’re so pretty for a fall decoration. I’ve been busy cleaning up a large corner of our basement where our son’s drum set has lived for many years. He came and got it last night. So much dust and soda spills in this area! Blegh!
Those pumpkins are so tactile along with being beautiful to look at. I am trying to figure out a way to display it in my front window come Halloween time. Ah, the detritus of children 🙂
I love your little pumpkin!
I don’t know how fun or distracting this is, but we had a bit of weird weather this weekend- rained a bit overnight Saturday leaving Sunday cold and clear. Since it was going to get hot again later in the week I took the car out to “charge the battery.” Top down or course. It was brisk and a little humid and clear as a bell and for a moment in my teensy little car zipping around I felt about 16.
It helped that the radio was playing Blondie and Talking Heads..
🙂
I used to love driving back from work in the dark with the radio blasting (years ago now). I never had a convertible though …
I hate to write it but due to age I prefer not to drive in the dark if I can help it. Sucks, but there you are. When Medicare kicks in I can get it taken care of.
That’s a gorgeous pumpkin! I was also underwhelmed by Alahine (much prefer Barkhane). Et Voila was a bombastic laundry detergent on me, and I doubt I will ever thunk these two samples.
I went to a craft fair yesterday, and was badly influenced by my daughter. We came home with a massive ceramic mushroom house for the garder, six pairs of gloves, a bag full of knitting yarn plus a massive bag of random arts&crafts stuff. ”At least it was not perfume” was the comment from the long-sufferimg mr f.
I don’t understand the attraction of a laundry detergent perfume. Just why? Sounds like you came out well from the craft fair. I will need to look up a ‘mushroom house’.
Ooooh, I want a velvet pumpkin! I wonder if they have them at a particular store here … SUCH a bummer about Alahine! I’m one of the folks who can’t shut up about it, it’s pretty big on me. The leaves are starting to change here. It was breezy yesterday, in a nice rather than terrible way.
If I find the supplier’s name out from this ditsy woman I’ll post it next week. I’m really trying to talk myself out of a green one. I thought you might be one of the Alahine people. It was quite shocking how meh it was on me. I mean it smelled nice but not astonishing — and boy was it quiet.
google Simon Pearce for velvet pumpkins in US.
Thanks!
I took a break from the office work today and went for a hike in the woods for 2 hours. It was so liberating. I thought all the time of the nice quote: And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul…so accurate.
Of all the Teo Cabanel’s perfumes that I’ve tried so far, I wasn’t impressed by any. I have to try Oha because it sounds like I could love it. Et Voila is too much of a laundry detergent, exactly.
The velvet pumpkin is simply wonderful <3
That is a wonderful thing: to take yourself out of normal and do something that feeds the soul. I do think Oha is worth trying, especially if you like chypres.
Your velvet pumpkin is lovely, I especially like the long stem. If I had one it would have to be out of reach of the cat, who regards new soft things as toys. He’s cute enough to get away with all kinds of stuff.
I would like to be wearing my fall perfumes but we’re having a spell with 85F temps this week. No complaints, it will be cold soon enough.
Joe the Lab doesn’t seem interested in the pumpkin, thank goodness. It’s damp and boring here. However, noise is now that the weekend will be warm. No consistency.
OH NOOOOOOO Cinnamon,
I had such high hopes invested in Alanine for you. Tres BUM!
Today Monday is a Public Holiday in Australia. Jin is off work. We went to swim this morning early and it was gorgeous being submerged. I only did 400m but Jin did his 1km. Got some Vitamin D.
After that we went for brunch at the Charcoal Chicken store. In Sydney we have a Middle eastern family that owns a slew of these stores. They are all run by different branches of the family and each one has its own flavour. Our favourite is just around the corner from one of the pools we visit. SO DELICIOUS.
Now home, commenting on the blogs before Trivia Q&A writing and cleaning the house.
The weather continues glorious.
Portia xx
I guess this is what happens sometime — the dashed expectations. But I really was a bit shocked, in particular with how wan it was. That sounds like a wonderful time: the pool, the food, the company.
I’m having a Serge Lutens binge lately: Écrin de Fumée, Santal de Mysore, La Couche du Diable, Le Participe Passé, and today De Profundis. They are all great autumn scents. I’m enjoying the gorgeous sunny days and the changing leaves here in Montréal. Soon I’ll be flying south with the geese to California for the winter but I’m savoring my last bits of fall here.
I love the velvet pumpkin! Wish I could find something like that here.
Hmmm…. I’ve been wondering about what I refer to as the 3rd Reign of Serge. Would love to know more about the Écrin de Fumée, and La Couche du Diable. I did get Le Participe Passé and found it a kind of melange, an excellent review of prior boozy, fruity woodsy scents from his oeuvre. I’ll have to wear that when we cool down again in Cali. Today was cool/cold but we’re ramping up to 94 at the end, so no Serge until next week maybe.
That’s some serious warm. Ecrin de Fumee is definitely worth sampling but it’s also really really not a warm weather scent, IMHO.
Ah, Serge. These really do come into their own in cooler weather. The woman at the shop said the pumpkins come from ‘someone’ in either the US or Canada (she’s a bit ditzy). Will try to pin her down next time I’m there. I also really like the fawn green ones.
Not a New Yorker but I’m with you on UK hibernation. The last of the apples were picked & donated to the local Chapel’s food bank. The parishioner running it welcomed them but asked if any were left could they be gifted to Sunday School. Apparently fresh goods aren’t popular!
I’ve been wearing SL Ecrin de Fumee, what a beauty! I’m not big on chocolate in perfumery but who new tobacco flavoured cocoa would smell so good?
It’s just damp here today. Annoying weather. My apple tree was not happy this year. Hoping for a better 2024. Tobacco can do such nice things to other notes. Like it with honey.