There's an article about me on the Nights and Weekends site--I'm their featured e-author this month! Come read it and learn who I cite as my influences and what scents I would capture and stick in a bottle if I could.

And since it mentions the occasional perfume giveaways on my blog, let's do one now to reward anyone who comes looking for one...

Today's double header:

Cafe Noir by Dawn Spencer Hurwitz - has notes of bergamot, black pepper, cinnamon bark, pimento berry, benzoin, Bulgarian rose otto, jasmin, labdanum, coffee absolute, tolu balsam and vanilla. A rich, luscious, peppery coffee scent. It is an eau de parfum.

Labdanum 18 by Le Labo - Le Labo Labdanum 18 eau de parfum features the soft, lingering scent of labdanum (cistus) with a slightly animalic base. This is a lovely, intriguing scent.

Both are sampled, but mostly full, 1 ml vials from The Perfumed Court, who provided the scent descriptions above. To enter to win the samples, comment on this post. I'll choose a winner by random number on Sunday. International entrants welcome. Non-LJers too, as always, though you'll have to leave me some way to contact you. Good luck!

That's right! The one, the only, Chanel No. 5. Now is your chance to sample it, in the usual little 1 ml vial from The Perfumed Court. And if you like it, the good news is it will almost certainly never be discontinued within your lifetime.

TPC's description: This is the EDP of Chanel No. 5, the classic that this legendary house has been known for. Created in 1921, No. 5 has notes of aldehydes, Grasse jasmine, rose, ylang-ylang, iris, amber, and patchouli.

To enter to win the sample, comment on this post. I'll choose a winner by random number on Sunday. International entrants welcome. Non-LJers too, as always, though you'll have to leave me some way to contact you. Good luck!

Due to childbearing and such, I had put the perfume giveaways on hiatus, but the little vials are still sitting here, waiting for new homes. So let's start up again!

Since they've been around a while through a heat wave or two, and that can affect quality sometimes, I'll do them in batches of two to get through them faster and hopefully find them appreciative homes.

Today, two citrusy scents that are both lovely, but, for me, not quite worth the hard-to-acquire quality and price. Both are 1 ml sample vials from The Perfumed Court, and here follow their descriptions:

Un Zeste d'Ete by L'Artisan: A sparkling, bright, summery concoction of lemon rind, orange bergamot, grapefruit and lemon blossom. A citrus lover's dream! Un Zeste D'Ete is an eau de toilette. Feminine.

D'Orange Verte by Hermes: Hermès introduced Eau d'Orange Verte in 1979 (the original name was Eau de Cologne d'Hermès; it was renamed Eau d'Orange Verte in 1997). It was created by perfumer Francoise Caron and has notes of bergamot, lemon, mandarin, mint, jasmine, orange blossom, patchouli, moss and cedar. Eau de cologne; unisex leaning toward masculine.

To enter to win the sample, just comment on this post. I'll choose a winner by random number on Sunday. International entrants now welcome! Non-LJers too, as always, though you'll have to leave me some way to contact you. Good luck!

To reward those who are actually checking LJ on Memorial Day weekend, today's giveaway:

2000 Fleurs, by Creed, a 1 ml sample vial, tested but mostly full, from The Perfumed Court, donated by laleonaenojada. Their description: The essence of 2,000 flowers ~ to name a few ~ violet, magnolia, rose, and lilac, with a touch of green tea and sandalwood. Creed's 2000 Fleurs Eau de Parfum is a floral lovers delight.

To enter to win the sample, just comment on this post. I'll choose a winner by random number next Sunday. International entrants now welcome! Non-LJers too, as always, though you'll have to leave me some way to contact you.

Good luck. Now go back to your lazing around!

It's...return of the perfume giveaway!

Today's offering: Ambra Nera, by Ortigia Acqua di Colonia. As before, it's a little 1 ml sample vial from The Perfumed Court, tested but mostly full.

Description: From a Sicilian line of fragrances, Ambra Nera features notes of spicy exotic woods, vetiver, patchouli, and cedar over an amber base of labdanum, oak musk, galbanum and resins.

If you like dark, mysterious, incensey amber, this one may be for you. I'm not sure of the concentration, but it's definitely strong, so probably at least EDP.

Enter to win this sample by leaving a comment here. I'll select the winner at random in one week. If you're not an LJ user, leave an email address where I can notify you if you've won. LJ users ought to be able to find out via the usual comment notification. International entries welcome. Good luck!

Hokay, perfume giveaway time!

Today's offering: Fraicheur Muskissime, by Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier, graciously donated by laleonaenojada. As before, it's a little 1 ml sample vial from The Perfumed Court, tested but mostly full.

Description: This accord of musk and bergamot, with its subtle notes of blackberries and raspberries, wraps you in its intimacy like a second skin. Sensual and discreet, it will shroud you in a veil of beauty. Fraicheur Muskissime is a ray of sun--a walk in a forest filled with wild berries!

It's a women's scent, though the muskiness is a bit unisex. It's quite lovely, and I give it away only because I see it's too expensive and hard to find for me to dare get attached to it! The above description, by the way, is from Luckyscent.com, since I couldn't find its listing anymore on The Perfumed Court. But I do notice Luckyscent also sells sample sizes. Hmm, could be convenient!

Enter to win this sample by leaving a comment here. I'll select the winner at random in one week. If you're not an LJ user, leave an email address where I can notify you if you've won. LJ users ought to be able to find out via the usual comment notification. International entries welcome. Good luck!

Congratulations to impetuousnote for winning the two samples from last week's drawing!

And, uh, the one I sent to 3secondfish, for winning before that, just came back to me because apparently those little vials make the envelopes "non-machinable" and thus I need to be putting on an extra stamp. Oops. I'll repackage and send that again. Go me.

Anyone else who should have gotten samples by now and has not, please email me!

Today I'm giving away TWO little sample vials, since actually they're only about half full each. (Or a bit more.)

Both are 1 ml vials from The Perfumed Court, tested a few times. The scents in question and their descriptions:

Sake, from Fresh - Fresh Sake EDP has notes of langsat fruit, grapefruit, ginger, white peach absolute, lotus flower, lily of the valley, osmathus, vanilla, musk, white sandalwood. It is a sweet, delicious fragrance!

Diorissimo, from Christian Dior - Designed by Christian Dior in 1956, Diorissimo is a beautiful, feminine fragrance, with notes of Lily of the Valley, ylang-ylang and Jasmine. [My note: I liked it well enough to get a bigger bottle. Very spring-floral.]

Comment here if you'd like to enter to win these. Non-LJers, please include an email where I can reach you if you win. Oh, and this time: I WILL try to send to foreign countries if that's where the winner lives. Why not, right?

Good luck!

Congratulations to 3secondfish for winning the wee sample of Shalimar! I'll offer up another scent for a lucky recipient next week.

---

Today we got a new plant. Here it is:



The one tied to the stake, guess what it is! Go on, guess! You'll never guess.

( It's a... )

Today's giveaway is a true classic in the perfumery world: Guerlain's Shalimar, this time graciously donated by laleonaenojada. As before, it's a 1 ml sample from The Perfumed Court, tested but mostly full.

Their description: First introduced in 1925 by Jacques Guerlain, Shalimar means Temple of Love in Sanskrit. Shalimar is an Oriental fragrance with top notes of lemon and bergamot; middle notes of jasmine and May rose; and base notes of iris, incense, opoponax, tonka bean and vanilla. This is the Eau de Parfum.

The Guerlain perfume house goes back to 1828, when the family made custom fragrances for high Parisian society, and Shalimar is considered Guerlain's flagship fragrance.

Enter to win this sample by leaving a comment here. I'll select the winner at random in one week. If you're not an LJ user, leave an email address where I can notify you if you've won. LJ users ought to be able to find out via the usual comment notification. Good luck!

Time to give away another ever-so-slightly-sampled teensy decant of expensive perfume! And this one's for the menfolk, though it's certainly on the unisex side...

Today's sample: Millesime Imperial, from Creed. It's a 1 ml sample vial from The Perfumed Court, who describes it thus: Creed Millesime Imperial has notes of crisp fruit notes, sea salt, Sicilian bergamot, mandarin, Florentine iris, musk and woody notes. A Mediterranean delight of citrus flowers and salt air. It is Eau de Parfum strength.

Other sites also say that this scent was originally created for King Faisal of Saudi Arabia. Some even claim Harrison Ford wears it. Come on, you've got to try that!

If interested in winning this sample, simply comment on this post. I'll pick a winner by random number generator next Sunday. If you're an LJ user, I'll be able to contact you via comment notification; if you're not, please leave an email addy where I can find you. Good luck!

Today's scent sample, going for free to a lucky winner:

Envy, by Gucci. 1 ml sample vial, tested but mostly full, from The Perfumed Court. Their description: "Envy is a floral green fragrance with top notes of bergamot, freesia, peach and pineapple; middle notes of hyacinth, lily of the valley, rose and jasmine; and base notes of cedar, sandalwood, orris and musk. It is an eau de toilette, edt, and was created by Maurice Roucel."

To enter, comment on this post. Non-LJers are welcome to enter too, but be sure to leave an email address where I can reach you if you win. You can enter all this week, and next Sunday I'll randomly choose a winner. Shipping on me. (USA only. Sorry.)

Good luck!

Sorry for the delay in the announcement, but nehi won the perfume drawing from last week. Congratulations! I'll announce a new drawing (again a perfume) in a few days.

My question for the world: why is it seemingly impossible to get decaffeinated chocolate? I'm talking dark chocolate, now, not "white chocolate," which isn't exactly chocolate anyway. I assume there's something about the chemical makeup of cacao that creates difficulties in separating the caffeine-containing components from the good stuff.

Chocolate very seldom keeps me awake from caffeine content, but once in a while it does, in the case of a particularly rich, dark dessert. And for those who are seriously caffeine sensitive, a decaf version of chocolate would probably be a godsend.

A new year, and time to clean my desk, which means someone out there gets my unwanted perfume samples!

This year I'm going to be more promotion-oriented about it (sorry), and make each giveaway a drawing. The idea is that more people, from LJ and beyond, will check my blog frequently in hopes of winning stuff, and eventually find me so charming that they simply must buy a copy of my book. It isn't available yet, though, so this particular perfume giveaway is just because I'm so nice.

(By the way: dirae, the two Dolce & Gabbana scents are already set aside for you, per previous arrangement. But you can enter drawings for the others if they interest you, too!)

Today's scent:

Bois du Chocolat, by Dawn Spencer Hurwitz. This, like the other samples, is a little 1 ml sample vial, tested but mostly full, from The Perfumed Court, who can hook you up with samples of practically any scent you want for a couple of bucks. Their description: "Bois du Chocolat is a rich wood and chocolate scent with a top note of sandalwood; middle notes of dark chocolate and vanilla; and base notes of musk and patchouli. Bois du Chocolat is an eau de parfum, edp."

To enter, comment on this post. Non-LJers are welcome to enter too, but be sure to leave some email address where I can reach you if you win. You can enter all this week, and next Sunday I'll randomly choose a winner. We'll then hash out where to send the scent, and such. Shipping on me, needless to say, since it's likely to be all of 85 cents. (Oh yeah...I probably can't ship internationally. Sorry.)

*waves it in the air*
You know you want it.

From me to yous-all, it's...

Best Recipes of 2008
from Molly & Steve

Table of Contents:

Florentine Scramble
Mexican Enchilada Sauce
Basil Chicken Salad
Baked Macaroni, Tomatoes, and Cheese
Salsa Couscous Chicken
Skillet Baked Ziti
Pork Pozole
Greek Burgers with Cucumber Sauce
Captain Bay-Schmith's Chicken
Healthier Blueberry Muffins
Orange and Chocolate Chip Dots

( Recipes under here )

Now that I'm in my second trimester, I'm loving food again, and smells too. Good thing, or it would've been hard to compile this collection without wanting to gag. Now, though, I'm all, "Jasmine green tea smells so incredibly good! Where can I get a perfume that smells exactly like this? And our Christmas tree! Our Christmas tree smells like heaven! And, mmm, did someone just peel open an orange?"

My mother gave me a gift certificate to The Perfumed Court for my birthday, and I've ordered and tested a whole bunch of little sample vials. My reviews, for posterity, with ratings on a scale of 5:

Caron Tabac Blond: 3 out of 5
I appreciate what Tabac Blond was trying to do, but on me it isn't working. It starts out fairly interesting, with a leathery herbal scent (I'm reminded of Guerlain Vetiver), but as it develops it just begins to smell...old. An old-style perfume, and also old like perfume that's been sitting around too long. Got that odd metallic tinge to it after a while, the type of scent that you *feel* high up in your nose rather than quite smelling it. All good signs that the chemistry doesn't mesh with mine.

Dolce & Gabbana The One: 3/5
Not offensive, and at one time I would have really liked it--namely, back in the day when I wore Exclamation or Navy, both of which resemble this scent, to my nose. Generically sweet, a little floral, no particular notes that jump out at me. *shrug* Nothing to write home about, at least not when mixed with my chemistry. I better go back to the greens and woods.

Le Labo Labdanum 18: 4/5
Warm and musky, sweet too. I get root beer in the early stages; and the drydown is particularly alluring, with pipe tobacco emerging. Quite pleasant and cozy, BUT where is the labdanum?? I adore the natural scent of rockrose, and that's what I was signing up for. I just don't find it here. Alas.

Fendi Asja: 4/5
It isn't quite for me, but if some coworker wore this regularly, I'd always be thinking, "She sure smells nice." I like the spice and the gentle musk; I think it'd be perfect for office or evening wear. I'm impressed with Fendi so far! Theorema was one of my favorites in past years...

Caron Yatagan: 3/5
This one walks the fine line between interestingly bold and off-puttingly strong. I get a lot of frankincense, pepper, and patchouli, all quite dry and spicy. Similar scents have worked well on me, but this one takes it a little too far. I don't want to wash it off my arm, but I also don't think I could carry it off. Would be interesting to sniff what a man's chemistry did to it.

Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue: 3/5
It's okay...just not terribly interesting. A little too much like the unisex citrusy scents in recent years. Lemon at first, a citrus crispness lingering after, mingling with a touch of marine air and a general sweet quality, kind of like that of The One, for me. Wonder if D&G just starts with a basic fragrance mix that doesn't tend to blend well on my skin.

Gucci Envy: 3/5
I love greens usually, so I had to try this one out. It isn't bad--it kind of resembles L'Eau d'Issey, with that oceanic touch to it, but it's not quite as overpowering. Still, it *is* strong, and the green in it became, after a while, a sort of bitter and sharp green, not a lush green. (I'm a Chanel No. 19 worshipper; that's the kind of lush green I like.) Tone down that bitterness, ol' Envy, and we could be better friends.

Dawn Spencer Hurwitz Bois du Chocolat: 2/5
I adore chocolate, but chocolate scents keep failing to work for me. I like the early notes of this well enough, what with the sandalwood sweetness, but the drydown becomes fake and metallic on me. Note to self: eat chocolate, don't wear it.

Dawn Spencer Hurwitz Cafe Noir: 2/5
Hm, first Bois du Chocolat fails to work for me, and now Cafe Noir does too, though I love the smells of both chocolate and coffee, in the real world. (Who doesn't?) But this scent, after a spicy and interesting, if overpowering, beginning, soon turned into the kind of coffee that's been left in the pot all day and is starting to scorch. I actually get undertones of burning trash. Not great, needless to say. DSH must just not mesh with my chemistry.

Dior Diorissimo: 5/5
We have a winner! From the first moment of opening the vial, I thought, "Spring bouquet!" Hyacinth in particular, it seemed, or those narcissus blossoms that people grow indoors in late winter, though that's only because I'm not as familiar with lily of the valley in the natural world. But either way, this perfume does smell natural; it captures the beautiful feel of a fresh, dewy flower in spring. It makes me think of the softest, lightest cotton frocks (the word "dresses" would be too heavy for this scent). It's old-fashioned but young. It reminds me a bit of Clinique Happy, but without those meddlesome fruit notes. I tend to like more complex scents, ones with greens and spices and resins and hints of smoke, but I'm in love with this little handful of blossoms.

The Perfumed Court, the subject of my last enthusiastic entry, has lived up to my gushing hopes. Less than a week after my order, all the little sample decants are in my hands. And they came with candy! Just one Hershey's Kiss or coffee-flavored hard candy per package, but still, a lovely customer service touch.

As for the scents, what can I do but swoon?

Cannabis Santal blends beautifully on me, still rather manly but in a sweet, earthy, delicious way. I notice the patchouli more this time around, but it's not at all overpowering as it can be in some blends. The various notes just sink into my skin and get comfortable, sending out a tendril of vanilla and fresh tobacco every so often when I move. Smells fabulous under my leather jacket. Ahhh.

I have sampled Creed's unisex Millesime Imperial as well, which according to rumor is worn by royalty and celebrities all round the world, including Harrison Ford. It's a clean, fresh, expensive scent, but (thankfully, given the expense) isn't for me. I want to love lemony aquatic fragrances, but they don't want to love my chemistry. Unlike scents that blend well for me, scents that don't blend well--like this one--seem to just sit on top of my skin, gradually growing thin and stale and not doing anything interesting. I'm pleased to know what Harrison Ford smells like, but am sort of bummed, too. I hoped he'd smell like a smoky leather jacket. Oh well; he probably does when he's in his Indy costume.

I've sampled a bit of Donna Karan's Black Cashmere too, and definitely must try it by itself, full throttle, tomorrow. The bit I dabbed on my hands is fascinating me. It smells like at least three different scents that have enchanted me in nature: rockrose (labdanum), Russian olive trees in bloom, and the juniper/sage/pine campfire-like incense of the American Southwest. Cinnamon is definitely in there too. Dry, yet saved from desiccation by just that hint of blossoming desert trees and their exotic fruits. Totally unusual. Definitely not for everyone. Got to try some more to see if it really works for me, or if it's too good to be true. Am knocking on a chunk of aromatic wood.

Seriously, someday I might just plunge into the aromatherapy and perfumery worlds, and abandon this writing thing. Except when it comes time to write scent descriptions, of course.

To the certain destruction of much of my free time and pocket change, I have discovered The Perfumed Court. They sell sample-size decants of nearly every fragrance under the sun, including some very hard-to-find and even discontinued ones. Most of the smallest vials are $3 each, which is an affordable price for getting to try the perfume for a few days or a week to see if you really like it.

Also, some of the larger sample vials are big enough for a hundred sprays, enough to last a month or two. Seems a good option when you've already sampled a scent and you know you like it, but can't quite bring yourself to spring for a big, expensive bottle.

Such is the case with me and Fresh's Cannabis Santal, which I've tested and retested over the past year and finally have to admit I covet. No, it doesn't smell like pot smoke, thank goodness. Not on me, anyway. I get a relaxing, spicy, somewhat masculine blend of chocolate, vanilla, vetiver, and resinous shrubs--rockrose ("labdanum" in the fragrance world) and sandalwood come to mind, though they aren't included in the official list of notes. How they made that all work together, I do not know, but I really like it.

So then along with the larger spray vial of Cannabis Santal, I ended up ordering four small samples of other scents from hither and yon. Hard to restrict myself to just four. It would be hard to restrict myself to just a hundred, actually. This site has not seen the last of me, oh no indeed.

I just received my first ever Sephora catalog in the mail, and oooh! Six little peel-and-sniff fragrance samples inside! Granted, I'd probably only wear one of the scents, but that's how sampling goes, and it's a pleasure to try them nonetheless.

(The one I'd wear: Ralph Lauren Romance, a scent I've long enjoyed but have never actually bought. The catalog calls it a "sparkling floral"; "a sensual essence of velvety woods, exhilarating florals and seductive musk." I get mostly "soft sophisticated floral," reminiscent of trying on expensive sweaters at Nordstrom's.)

So, ladies who love sniffing samples, get thyselves onto the Sephora mailing list. Men who want to please their women, get them a gift certificate.

As to the rest of the catalog, it seems to contain a lot of stuff I'd render fun but unnecessary, like sparkly powders in many scents and shades, and cosmetic cases in odd bright colors. But I've definitely got my eye on the Hershey's Lip Balm Trio Set in vanilla, almond, and milk chocolate flavors--all SPF 15!

And offline again I go for another extended set of days, most likely. The crazy-busy-ness of spring is upon us.

If you're wondering why I've been oddly quiet about perfumes lately, it's mainly because I have been happily faithful to my regular fragrance, Chanel No. 19, for some time now. It's working beautifully for me: green without being astringent, floral without being cloying, and highly unlikely to be discontinued.

It is a touch on the "girly" side, though, so to tilt the scales toward the androgynous center I've been adding a little men's cologne to my skin along with it. Namely, I've been using varieties from the Royall Lyme Bermuda line. This pack of miniature bottles gives me four options (Lyme, Mandarin, Muske, and Bayrhum), all of which are simple and natural enough scents to blend well with No. 19. On their own, they've got a light, pleasant "your dad's aftershave" impression, and good staying power for a mere cologne.

Here's a new scent I'm curious about, though: Cumming, the fragrance, a tongue-in-cheek celebrity perfume created for Alan Cumming. Quoting the website: "Base notes of leather, peat fire, highland mud, burnt rubber and white truffle ground the scent with rugged sensuality, while the core notes of cigar, heather, Douglas fir and rubber contribute to its sharpness. The fragrance is completed with spicy top notes of bergamot, black pepper, Scotch pine and whiskey." I've never seen Douglas fir listed in a scent's notes before, though I've always thought it should be used in perfume. Must see if I can sample this one somewhere. If nothing else, Alan Cumming is hilarious and talented (check out the ad photos on that site--hee!), and I would like to support him.

By the way...in the Cumming video commercial on that site, is it just me, or does Alan look kind of like circa-1983 Robert Smith, with the eye makeup and the tousled hair and the pretty grin? Dang...sexy and goofy at the same time. That is talent. If he weren't gay, I'd totally call him and ask him out! ;)

Finally, I have up for grabs a 1-oz bottle of lotion and another of shower gel, in Bath and Body Works' Coconut Lime Verbena. I sampled both, but they're mostly full otherwise. On me the scent became a dreadfully overpowering tropical fruit salad, as if someone had spilled concentrated margarita and pina colada mixes all over me. Remember, self? Fruity perfumes, on the whole, are a bad, bad idea for you.

So, if you like this scent, say the word and send me your address, and they're yours.