Scent Diary is a place where we can share fragrances we encounter, good and bad, perfumes we wear and environmental scents. It’s a way to sharpen our sense of smell, but also just to enjoy our fragrance hobby in a different way.
Whether you write down 1 recollection or 10 matters less than simply reminding yourself to smell. You can add as many comments as you wish. You can comment today or over the course of the week; this thread will always be open. Of course, do share what perfume you’re wearing or what particularly good scented products you’ve discovered.
My week turned out to be extremely busy, so the next review will most likely be up on Monday, June 16th. Meanwhile, I look forward to reading your scent diaries and sharing my own. Collecting scents as I go about my day is my way to slow down (and it’s a lot of fun!)
Photography by Bois de Jasmin
128 Comments
Michaela: – Lindens in bloom everywhere, divine scent all over the place. Dust, cut grass, cars, sweat, cologne or detergent scents come and go, only linden perfume walks with me all the way. Honeysuckle is still there, but linden is the new born star;
– I bought some white verbena flowers from the market – never knew they smell of carnation and a bit of honey;
– fresh cabbage, parsley, onion, ground cumin, turmeric, sunflower cold pressed oil (I know I am not a good cook, but I like this);
– cold rain in the street on a generic summer night – cool scent after last evening unusual heat;
– an Arabian attar (Al Haraiman Attar al Kaaba) – round, powerful but close to the skin, intoxicating perfume (crimson rose, sandalwood, almonds, amber, maybe oudh); one drop is all it takes to me feel happy all day long. June 11, 2014 at 8:02am
Michaela: I love to read everybody’s experiences, some exotic, some familiar. I’m happy for all who are surrounded by lindens these days (for me in the first place).
Today, the most unusual scent for me is dried seaweed, when I close my eyes and inhale, I’m by the sea.
Estee Lauder Private Collection today. Totally in love with it. June 12, 2014 at 6:03am
Michaela: -Ripe mulberries fallen on the asphalt, decomposing in the sun: sweet, hot, not quite a nice smell, but feels summery to me.
-Cigarette smoke in the street – I like it.
-Coffee, ground, filling the whole room. One of the most beautiful scents for me.
– Sea buckthorn oil to supplement my dogs food and a drop of it in my cosmetic oil; strong unpleasant smell (but it dissipates quickly).
– Vanilla – honey candle, not lit. Nice, warm.
– Detergent from somebody’s clothes passing by – way too strong.
– Back to Bulgari Eau Parfumee au The Vert, I’ll probably never get enough of it. June 13, 2014 at 4:39am
Michaela: I seem to remember strong penetrating scents this we:
– menthol and camphor ointment;
-cardamom, cumin, cajun;
– dogs warm scent of their neck;
– dogs dusty fur during vacuuming;
– sardines in my dogs food, on my hands, in the whole apartment, for hours;
– cut fragrant roses from the market, unfortunately withered in 2 days;
– strawberries, green peas, parsley, tarragon, summer squash form the market;
– spinach, steamed;
– cologne, Lolita Lempicka, pancakes, jam, fried potatoes in the street, very humid atmosphere, rainy day;
– testing 3 Arabian attars yesterday evening, all rich, curiously changing with the weather; I’ve decided one is definitely better on my skin on colder days;
– EL Private Collection today: elegant, green but warm. June 16, 2014 at 5:13am
Cornelia Blimber: Smelled coffee like every morning, detergent washing up (sour they call it ”lime”), Dreft washing my clothes (they have a rather good perfumer, it is flowery but not persistent), the musty smell of the vacuumcleaner, the cheesy faeces and slightly ammoniac smell of urine in Oscar’s cats box, the green, fresh smell of Oscar’s grass, the half burned sandwich (I like it that way), very intense, sharp, and the creamy, slightly sour smell of cheese, the uplifting spearmint of toothpaste.
My bath and bathproducts are neutral, but there is always some weak smell, how to describe it? just the smell uf unscented bodymilk (Etos). The soap is scented: Maja. Sharp, spicy.
I like the smell of my new book: a little bit like oldfashioned shaving cream (”Vergulde Hand”) (the book: ”1177 BC: The Year Civilisation Collapsed” by Eric H. Cline)
I cannot imagine people want to read all this. Anyway: perfume today: Ysatis, for the festive feeling of this sunny day. June 11, 2014 at 8:04am
Julie: Thank you so much for mentioning the new book. I immediately looked it up and bought it. It’s exactly what I love to read!
And the half burned sandwich, I like them too.
All the little seemingly mundane things in our life; others find pleasure and familiarity in. At least I do. June 11, 2014 at 10:17am
Cornelia Blimber: Hi Julie! I hope I did not spoil the book for you, by saying that the style is rather dry! Maybe you have an other opinion, and the subject is interesting enough. And the book is very instructive. June 11, 2014 at 1:33pm
solanace: I love maja soap, it’s a staple for my mom and one of the many nice features of her home! 🙂
How do you like the book? June 11, 2014 at 11:50am
Cornelia Blimber: It is advertised as vivid and dramatic, but to be honest, I find the writing style rather dry. Nevertheless a good read: what I learned at the university about the Sea Peoples, the Hittites, the trade in the Aegean, needed an update, too long ago, archeology brought new insights. This book is actual.
The style may be a little dry, but not unpleasant. I am now halfway in the book, perhaps the description of the Collapse will be dramatic! June 11, 2014 at 12:22pm
Christine Lee: How wonderful. Eric Cline is a friend. June 11, 2014 at 4:58pm
Anne of Green Gables: Hi Cornelia, please say hello to Oscar. I watched the opening game of the World Cup yesterday and when I kept hearing the Brazilian player’s name, I thought of your cat! 🙂 All the talk of Amsterdam below makes me want to visit it again. I really would like to see another concert at the Royal Concertgebouw. It had the most amazing acoustic. June 13, 2014 at 11:31am
Cornelia Blimber: Hi Anne! Mrrrauw from Oscar. It is wonderful to see how he is changing, from shy animalshelter cat to real house cat. It took him a year. And he is even more beautiful now than on his picture. He is very kind to me, but he is also a bloodthirsty mousekiller.
Yes, the Concertgebouw is a wonderful place! Sunday I will go there, Krystian Zimerman will play Beethovens last 3 pianosonatas. June 13, 2014 at 1:43pm
Cornelia Blimber: What did you hear there? June 13, 2014 at 1:44pm
Anne of Green Gables: Mozart’s oboe concerto! 🙂 I was sitting in the second floor but I could still clearly hear the soloist breathing which I thought was phenomenal. June 13, 2014 at 3:37pm
Anne of Green Gables: It’s nice to hear Oscar’s doing well. Since now it’s decided that I’ll stay here for a longer period, I’m seriously considering getting a cat although I’m worried if I would be able to deal with all the hair.
OMG, you’re so lucky! It’s actually my dream to hear Zimerman playing live one day. He’s got perfect control and such clarity of sound. To hear him play Beethoven in Concertgebouw sounds like a dream. Enjoy! June 13, 2014 at 3:33pm
Cornelia Blimber: Mozarts oboe concerto, sublime! The second floor is the best, I will be there next sunday as well. I don’t like sitting in the first floor; I was there hearing Iván Fischer with the Concertgebouworkest (Beethoven cycle) but I was distracted by the smells of the people surrounding. A sharp nose can be a mixed blessing.
So you can have a cat in the near future!
Do you have a long lasting working contract?
The hair is a small problem but a problem. I remove it with a wet hand, and brush the fur of Oscar every day. The friendship of the cat outweighs the hair problem.
Maybe you could borrow your landlady’s cat for a while?
The best cats imo: tabby tomcats
Have a nice weekend! June 13, 2014 at 4:00pm
Anne of Green Gables: Yes, I found a permanent position! 🙂 I haven’t seen my landlady’s cat for a while. I really miss him… He’s an orange tabby tomcat. I went for a walk this afternoon and saw a poster to find a lost cat called Oskar. I hope that this Oskar is found soon. Wish you a nice weekend as well! June 14, 2014 at 2:51pm
Cornelia Blimber: Congratulations! June 15, 2014 at 4:32am
Anne of Green Gables: Thank you! 🙂 June 16, 2014 at 4:23am
Sandra: This morning it was wet cat food-smelled like tuna-
I wear a light foundation that has the best smell and enriched with gardenia, woodmallow, and Linden blossom.
When I dashed off to the subway-it smelled like the homeless person nearby-foul body odor and a sour smell.
Sometimes I don’t know if people want to read this either-but oh well!
Today is Beige by Chanel-honey honey honey. When I wear it I want to sing the song Sugar Sugar..ah honey honey.. June 11, 2014 at 9:08am
Jennifer C: Your foundation sounds really nice. What do you use, if I may ask? Mine doesn’t smell like anything. June 11, 2014 at 5:02pm
Anne of Green Gables: Beige is reall pretty. I love how it’s honeyed without feeling heavy or sticky. Very translucent! It reminds me of Acacia honey. June 12, 2014 at 10:33am
Figuier: Back from a trip to Southern Italy, where everything was flowering and growing. Jasmine, whole dizzying walls of it, puffing fragrance through the streets; yellow lilies; fig leaves; lots of unrecognised blossoms, rotting oranges and lemons under the trees, olive leaves, wild rosemary, Mount Etna broom. Also food, mainly endless seafood… June 11, 2014 at 9:21am
solanace: The suphurous fumes of Mount Etna! June 11, 2014 at 11:52am
Lena: Due to a gap between leases, I’m revisiting the Wonder Year by lodging with the folks. An awkward transition for the lot of us, but what a strong jolt of memory!
-My mother’s perming solution: As a kid I was addicted the way a fresh perm would soak every thread of the bathroom. Too bad it’d turn completely suffocating after a week.
-Kvas: Explained to USA-born kidlings as “baby beer”, it’s great to see them sit through their dedushka’s explanation of fermenting the black bread into prickly, sour-sweet gulps. Me, I just love the smell–a yeasty fizz that your nose picks up a second before your tongue does. June 11, 2014 at 9:32am
Michaela: Kvas sounds really interesting! June 12, 2014 at 6:05am
Victoria: I love kvas! And I love your description of it as “baby beer,” which is spot on. 🙂 June 13, 2014 at 9:26am
Cyndi: Love the smell of morning coffee. Perfume today is Apres L’Ondee. So perfect for Spring and Summer June 11, 2014 at 9:38am
Victoria: Coffee and Apres L’ondee sound interesting together! June 13, 2014 at 9:27am
Susiebelle: On my walk yesterday, my iPhone ran out of its charge so no music. My thoughts turned to the smells of summer during my childhood. Noxema for sunburn, Swedish Tanning Secret, Jean Nate, Coast soap, baby powder and my cousin’s Tabu. Stopped at drugstore. Picked up the soap, Jean Nate and baby powder. Smelled the Noxema! Dug out my Tabu. Going to be a nice summer! June 11, 2014 at 10:09am
solanace: Coffee.
My husband’s Marlboro, which I love catching whiffs of.
Shalimar ode à la Vanille. Ouch, I was going for Chergui, but that’s ok, Ode à la Vanille is great, too.
The damp smell of my car, which just endured a tropical storm with an open window. Ugh.
The scent of the sandalwood chips I keep in there is becoming more powdery with time. I wish I had a car carved in sandalwood.
Parking lot smelling of piss and the foul river close by, really disgusting.
Cheetos do not smell as nice as they taste, actually, they smell pretty awful.
More coffee. Coffee and Shalimar are a great combo on a rainy day. 🙂 June 11, 2014 at 12:02pm
Helle: Coffee and Shalimar!!! June 11, 2014 at 12:12pm
Cornelia Blimber: Marlboro is my cigarette too! Turkish tobacco, they say.
Speaking of piss: Amsterdam smells (in the center) terribly of piss. Some tourists seem to think everything is permitted here. As the stones warm up in the sun, the smell of piss is terrible. June 11, 2014 at 12:27pm
solanace: I went to Amsterdam in my twenties and I should probably have been deported. 🙂 June 11, 2014 at 2:02pm
Austenfan: Where to I wonder? June 11, 2014 at 2:52pm
solanace: To Brazil. But of course, I was remembering that trip, and I actually had no money to misbehave – I even slept at the Christian hostel, with it’s 9 pm curfew! I remember buying a T-Max film for photographing the bridges and bikes (love those!), and going to the Van Gogh Museum, but true, I did not quite get the coffee shop policy, and did not want to stay inside when it was so beautiful out… June 12, 2014 at 6:09am
Austenfan: It’s a beautiful city, with some gorgeous museums. The Van Gogh is a favourite of mine. And yes in Amsterdam the cyclists are the kings of the road.
The city is quite different though from other parts of the Netherlands, and as such is not quite as representative of the country as some might think.
How are things in Brazil with the World Cup starting? June 12, 2014 at 9:34am
Cornelia Blimber: Every part of the Netherlands has his own character, and so has Amsterdam. In my view it is a Dutch city with his own atmosphere, but not that different from other cities.
Completely different is Maastricht. The language, the architecture, the mentality, it is as if you are in another country. June 12, 2014 at 10:34am
solanace: Every time I go to Europe, I make a point about making a stop in Amsterdam. Rijksmuseum, and that tolerant, cultivated, cosmopolit people. So refreshing. I would love to go to other parts of the country, but never had a chance, so far. (Except for that time I got out of the train in the wrong city on my way to Amsterdam, but I don´t think this counts.) June 12, 2014 at 1:50pm
solanace: Super excited about the world cup.
It´s a holliday, not a single cloud in the sky, we are having a barbecue and drinking a very nice Cotes du Rhône bottle. Love the smell of barbecue, a good ´picanha´ on fire. (It is also Valentines´ day here.) I smelled the wine with my eyes closed, to write about it, but all I got was a mental image of the Seine riverbanks. 🙂 June 12, 2014 at 2:01pm
Michaela: Oh, long lost favorite scent of old Marlboro… They don’t make it like that today. June 12, 2014 at 6:09am
solanace: When I smoked I was picky, but now, I enjoy the scent of (almost) any cigarettte. June 12, 2014 at 1:52pm
Joy: Yesterday I made strawberry & rhubarb jam with a little lemon zest. The house smelled of strawberries the remainder of the day. Today I am making rhubarb chutney with golden raisins, Walla Walla sweet onions, fresh ground cinnamon, cloves, and cardommen. I wish I could make it stay in the house. Every time I take the cover off my Root candle, ginger-patchouli, I suddenly weep as this was a candle I burned in my home of thirty four years. I just downsized. The fragrance is very poignant.
My freshly bathed Golden Retriever smelling of lavender shampoo. He is like a travelling poutpourri.
The clean paper smell when I open the recycle bin.
The fragrance of cedar and pine blown by Pacific wind. June 11, 2014 at 12:18pm
Vishishta: Back from a visit to an astonishing Chamomile labyrinth (aromatherapy garden in Carmel Valley, CA). The beauty of the lavender, organo and lemon verbena in large quantities amazing in the strong sun. We sat in the center of the labyrinth and talked for about an hour. When we stood up I was dizzy!
The local market in Berkeley was heady with organic fruits and wonderful vegetables–we bought white nectarines and lots of greens. The faint smell of Tea Tree soap on my skin–no perfume today–so many trees pollinating my system is overloaded! June 11, 2014 at 12:56pm
Allison C.: I have the good fortune of being in Malta right now doing research on a villa and gardens dating back to the mid 18th century with additional gardens from the 1920s. The smell of jasmine is very prominent as is the climbing roses (exact cultivar yet to be determined). And I’m slathering on the sunscreen which is supposed to be “fragrance free” but really isn’t so there’s a faint artificial smell, I can’t really describe it well. June 11, 2014 at 1:29pm
Ann: Ahhh… gosh that sounds nice! June 11, 2014 at 4:55pm
Michaela: Wonderful! June 12, 2014 at 4:26am
solanace: Sounds perfect. Enjoy! June 12, 2014 at 2:05pm
Austenfan: Linden trees; one of my favourite smells in the world, such a pity I’m allergic to the pollen.
The remains of the elderflowers.
Some small shrub with white flowers in the wood, it smells green and slightly sweet.
Due to all the recent rain the woods smell of wet earth.
The fragrance of a bouquet of Peonies and Stocks in my living room. The Peonies smell sweet and the Stocks quite peppery.
My lovely Divine extrait, makes me feel far more glamorous than I am! June 11, 2014 at 1:32pm
Austenfan: The smell of the sea this morning. That salty smell of seaweed drying in the sun.
Wearing Sublime Balkiss today. It is rather nice and suits this in between weather we are having. June 12, 2014 at 9:41am
solanace: Where is that sea? (Now I am curious too.) June 12, 2014 at 2:07pm
Austenfan: It’s the Oosterschelde, which is an estuary of the North Sea. It’s protected from the North Sea by a huge storm surge barrier and dam. This has changed the area around it quite a bit. It has also made the water in the Oosterschelde slightly saltier than the sea itself.
In Holland a lot of houses are being decorated with orange flags because of the football. A lot of my countrymen go slightly mad at these events. June 12, 2014 at 2:37pm
Solanace: I wish I could see the crazy clockwise orange supporters! Here, our dog is totally freaked out with the fireworks. Many lanterns in the sky, too. As long as they don’t cause any harm, they are so romantic, if I might say so. June 12, 2014 at 4:58pm
Austenfan: Here is a link to a series of photos of Dutch football preparations. It always makes me rather embarrassed, but then I don’t care for football.
http://www.nrc.nl/inbeeld/2014/06/13/we-zijn-er-klaar-voor/ June 13, 2014 at 5:19pm
solanace: Wow. I can only inagine the party after that amazing game against Spain yesterday! June 14, 2014 at 8:14am
Austenfan: Yep! Mind you, I try to pretend it’s not happening, but you could hear the cheering everywhere. Apparently Spain is in deep mourning. I just find it hard to take it all seriously. June 14, 2014 at 11:14am
rainboweyes: Maybe it sounds strange from a German but I like the idea of the Dutch winning the World Cup. This would hopefully put some of the arrogant people here in their places ;P June 14, 2014 at 5:19pm
Solanace: I really enjoy the beginning of the world cup, when we can see all different countries playing. My husband and I are more timid/alternative types (not to mention old) and won’t go around with a flag, but it makes me silly happy to see the party on the streets. 🙂 And now that we have kids, we can dress them with Neymar shirts. :p June 15, 2014 at 5:29am
Victoria: WOW! That’s some house decoration. 🙂
We watched the game last night, although I was so exhausted that I drifted into sleep through most of it. My husband started out rooting for Spain, but it quickly became obvious that they won’t make it. June 14, 2014 at 11:21am
Cornelia Blimber: Some people take it very seriously–I saw adult males in tears when Holland lost an important football match some years ago.
Today everybody has a hangover, I seldom saw Amsterdam so quiet as today. June 14, 2014 at 12:08pm
Victoria: I can only imagine! 🙂 June 14, 2014 at 12:30pm
Anne of Green Gables: It was a phenomenal match! van Persie’s first goal was beautiful. June 14, 2014 at 2:54pm
Solanace: This is funny, same thing here, big men crying like babies, women with babies celebrating like sorority students… At least we are more moderate about our perfumes, huh?
Here, during the first Brazil match, not even the buses were circulating. June 15, 2014 at 5:19am
Hannah: miso paste
genmaicha
shiitake mushrooms
tarragon
basil
dried dates
Today I’m wearing Black Cashmere. June 11, 2014 at 3:00pm
Hannah: I tried to make black sesame paste today (my food processor isn’t very good for things like that, so the texture is wrong but I can still use it) and the smell was so good. It was like coffee and peanut butter. June 19, 2014 at 6:26pm
Victoria: It sounds decadent! June 20, 2014 at 7:19am
Kate: We have lindens here too and it’s true, they are wonderful, sweet and satisfying.
When I step out my back door I step into the honey smell of my grape trellis, which is flowering now.
Other smells today: buttery sweet smell of brioche raisin toast, coffee (ground) and coffee (brewed).
Very light musk of my supposedly unscented sunscreen.
My parents’ compound smells of their skin, their house, their laundry soap and water, and the geranium oil my dad uses on his hands sometimes. We were at my house, not theirs, but they smell like themselves here too. Also, my mom brought a bouquet of iris and peonies from her house. The iris is very lightly scented, kind of dry and crumbly; the peony has that big harsh sour but delightful peony smell!
Then after they left, my husband and I went to the rose gardens in the big park near our house and smelled about 20 different roses. One smelled just about exactly like the peony, one smelled like cough syrup, a couple sweet and a little plasticky, a few like nothing much (not enough to drive out the ambient smell of hot grass, trees, mulch, and gravel) one like apricots, and a few had that true, deep, swooning rose smell. June 11, 2014 at 3:41pm
Anne of Green Gables: I was in the botanical garden 2 weeks ago and smelled lots of different roses and irises. It was wonderful how different varieties smelled so different! June 12, 2014 at 10:48am
Kate: It’s kind of a great “advanced” version of this exercise, because it made me really slow down and think and specify and name: how are these smells different, what are their qualities, what can each offer me that nothing else can? June 12, 2014 at 2:35pm
Michaela: I can imagine all these scents as you described them so well.
I have to smell more roses. Quite a surprise, I used to think roses in 2 forms: perfumed or not 🙂 June 13, 2014 at 3:47am
Kate: Since we’re here, are there any gardeners among us? I live in the northeastern U.S. (hot summers, cold winters, very temperate falls and springs that are alas getting shorter due to climate change) and I’m looking for a strongly scented rose variety for my garden. Color doesn’t matter, and it could be a climber or a tree rose. June 13, 2014 at 8:55am
Kay: Hi Kate,
Here are a couple I’ve had my eye on myself. We seem to have a similar climate (southern Germany: normal summer max around 30, winter min around -15, with occasional summer days up to 38 / winter nights down to -20).
Haven’t grown these two myself yet; this is based on info from German gardeners on the Net.
Ispahan: Damascene rose, tall shrub, robust, suited to beginners. Only blooms once, but for about 6 weeks.
Rose de Resht: Damascene, shrub, robust, easy to grow, and blooms several times. Loses petals quickly.
Here are two I’ve only just planted, so all I can really vouch for is the scent, but they came highly recommended for beginners, which is what I am:
Elbflorenz: intense, fresh scent, almost fruity. Individual, strong stems, so is suited for vases (it took me a while to realize that not all roses are). Has won prizes for all-round qualities incl. disease resistance.
Augusta Luise: oldfashioned rose scent that takes me straight back to my English grandmother, her roses and her Bourjois rouge powder shaped like a plump cushion in a little paper pillbox with the impossibly elegant French writing. The bloom itself reminds me of an overbred cat’s face: huge, squashed up and inscrutable, but the colour is gorgeous, between pale pink and apricot.
Happy searching!
Kay June 16, 2014 at 8:34am
Kay: P.S. Those temperatures were in Celsius… rough equivalents: summer max 85/100, winter min 5/-5 June 16, 2014 at 8:37am
rainboweyes: Linden trees are in full bloom here too. They smell like summer.
We had a heat wave here, so everything had a more intense smell than usual. A couple of hours ago we had a heavy thunderstorm and hail and it’s become cooler now. I love the smell of damp earth and wet plants after a storm.
Other smells of the day are freshly baked bread at the farmers’ market, melons, apricots, peaches, strawberries, raspberries….Yum! Then black tea for breakfast, insalata caprese for lunch, fresh coffee after lunch.
Scent of the day is Impossible Iris. I’m still looking for the perfect perfume for very hot weather. Now I’m rotating Ananas Fizz and Osmanthe Yunnan but I’d love to add one or two other summery scents to my collection. June 11, 2014 at 3:57pm
Anne of Green Gables: It’s been so hot! I’m also longing for that damp and wet smell after a storm. There’s nothing like it and for me, it’s one of the best smells in the world. I’m so deeply in love with Osmanthe Yunnan at the moment. I can’t help you but I hope that you can find the perfect summer perfume. June 12, 2014 at 10:56am
rainboweyes: I’m wearing Osmanthe Yunnan today! It’s a perfect scent for a black tea lover (I prefer malty Assam and Ceylon teas, though) and so lovely in the summer… Tomorrow I’m going to try Oolang Infini.
I think my perfect summer scent would be Eau Blanche by IUNX – if only it wasn’t gone after twenty minutes… June 12, 2014 at 12:38pm
Anne of Green Gables: I tried Oolang Infini before and if I remember correctly, it smelled more like Earl Grey. I remember it being nice. I haven’t tried any of the IUNX perfumes but the description for Eau Blanche sounds very pleasant. But 20 minutes is very short indeed… June 12, 2014 at 2:44pm
ChristineB: Doing lots of planting in the garden I work in, including a lovely nemesia which smells of vanilla and coconut. Put on a spray of Une Fleur de Cassis earlier this evening and kept wondering what the gorgeous smell was I as doing some after work chores. I am looking forward to the limes (linden) flowering here. June 11, 2014 at 4:35pm
Ariadne: Total paeony perfume here!!! Except when the pesky skunk gets miffed at something in the middle of the night! Arrrgghh… that burning tire kind of smell startles me awake! June 11, 2014 at 6:46pm
Kay: My dog today smells of butter biscuits around her ears, an Aran sweater on her back, and strongly of hamsters on her paws when she’s asleep. (I’m enjoying this while I can — half the time she smells alternately of other animals’ excrement and the coal tar soap I then end up washing her with.)
Here too, linden trees. Beautiful. June 11, 2014 at 8:37pm
Michaela: I like the way you talk about your dog’s scents. Something is so touching in this description 🙂 June 12, 2014 at 6:12am
Austenfan: I love that description of your dog. Mine smells of the sea right now. She had a dip earlier today.
I love how her paws smell when she has been sleeping, quite sweet and musky. June 12, 2014 at 9:35am
Kay: I’m glad to hear someone else loves the paw smell. My mother, who is getting on for 90, worked in a small grocery store in her youth and doesn’t have the same appreciation at all: for her it brings back mice in the storeroom.
Michaela, you’ve spotted my big weakness 🙂
Am on a tram home. Clear whiff of chlorine: someone been swimming?
Oh, and sweaty feet. It’s only 27 degrees today but very humid. June 12, 2014 at 1:31pm
Austenfan: I adore my dog, and when she has had this long sleep she looks so vulnerable and the hair on her head is all flattened ( she is a wirehaired breed so has a beard and moustache) so that smell is linked to her looking sleepy and sweet. June 12, 2014 at 2:40pm
Kay: Can see her in my mind’s eye. Thank you for the picture! June 12, 2014 at 5:15pm
Michaela: Beautiful! I also love to watch my dogs sleeping (one of them is similar, a Giant Schnauzer, beard, moustache…). June 13, 2014 at 3:40am
Austenfan: That is a wonderful breed. Mine is a standard Dachshund. June 13, 2014 at 8:11am
Michaela: Adorable! Dachshunds are beautiful, intelligent and playful, as far as I know. My other dog is common breed. I love them both, they are smart and friendly.
This evening I’ll make them a surprise, they will have fish for dinner (yes I’ll have to face their fishy smell tonight for the sake of their great joy). June 13, 2014 at 8:45am
Kay: Michaela, I share the, ah, joy: Ginger’s favourite food is salmon head 🙂
Been wearing Chypre Mousse today. I only have a sample but every time I try it I discover something new. Tonight, after several hours, something salty. I think I’ve fallen for this perfume. So different and yet so familiar. June 14, 2014 at 8:56pm
Julia: I had no idea magnolia flowers had much of a scent despite living in southern US most my life. I have a grandiflora in my yard and finally one of the flowers opened on a limb low enough to reach. I was very surprised by the lemony, waxy almost cleaning agent smell of the huge flower – not unpleasant though! I’m in a Fendi mood today, Palazzo in the morning, and vintage Theorema this evening. June 12, 2014 at 1:17am
Adriana Galani: Went yesterday with a friend to have a look for her bridal dress. Nothing bits the smell of those shops, selling mostly silk and satins, it smells clean, feminin and it makes my heart bit fast fast. The clothing shops in India have a particular smell too, wich keeps lingering on things long after I am home in Vienna and keep them hanging out a while.
Diorissimo, makes me smile, that is why. 🙂 June 12, 2014 at 2:03am
Danaki: This week, I’m in London rather than Manchester. The crowds during rush hour on the tube I get a whiff of Angel and then Dior Addict. I wonder whether the man standing next to me in the expensive suit is wearing Terre d’Hermes – there is vetiver.
A rose garden – simply gorgeous, and then some fresh peonies in a stall outside a shop. Inside the flower shop, I dip my nose into a lovely buttery bouquet of freesia – love!
Tangy/earthy aroma from pickled sweetcorn and red peppers.
Fresh coffee – a warm and chocolatey smell.
Diesel in the air during the march of black cab on their 2 hour strike, followed by zesty beer and the aroma of oregano on toasted focaccia. June 12, 2014 at 9:28am
Danaki: Orange blossom water from the Indian hospitality centre.
Back in Manchester,
Rosa centifolia body spray.
the warm weather catching up with quite a few sweaty arm-pits at the train station – cumin-y. Urgh. Ah well.
For lunch, all I get from the tuna salad is the zingy lemon dressing which is very fresh and tingles my nose.
The salted popcorn snack on my desk smelled of coconut cooking oil and movie theatres. June 13, 2014 at 9:26am
Danaki: Saturday morning:
The smell of proving dough followed (impatiently) by the aroma of baking bread. The bloomer was a success.
Beefy, creamy and aromatic Bolognese sauce that is balanced by a generous sprinkling of dry and sharp oregano.
Out for a walk, after the surprise of fresh violets off a pub window sill, it was shortly followed by the pungent and harsh smell from laying tarmac.
You can’t win them all. June 14, 2014 at 7:00pm
Jehane: Oooh I love the idea of violets & tarmac, very Bandit… June 15, 2014 at 7:28pm
Sandra Levine: A bit off-topic: I admire your beautiful photographs as much as your evocative prose. I know it’s the photographer who makes the picture, and not the equipment, but I wonder what camera you are using. June 12, 2014 at 9:33am
Victoria: This one was shot with Canon EOS 400D, a 28-135mm lens. I don’t think that Canon even makes this model anymore, since it’s at least 10 years old. I like it for travel, since it’s relatively light. But you can find much better cameras these days. June 13, 2014 at 9:58am
Ashley Anstaett: I am taking my Masters comprehensive exams right now and this is such a fun way to take a break from that.
This morning:
Over-steeped green tea, slightly bitter
Burning Istanbul Delights in my Lampe Berger which smells of sugared roses and something milky or pistachio-y
A ginger candle burning on the table
Rancid ice cream left in the sink overnight…yuck. very sour.
the sort of damp dew smell in the early morning, particularly strong today as it is cool and humid. June 12, 2014 at 9:44am
Anne of Green Gables: Linden blossoms are long gone here and black locust blossoms are also gone as of last weekend. I blame it on the unusually high temperature over the weekend. Roses
are in bloom but are also fading rapidly. It smells very much like summer here: sun-dried grass (especially lovely in the evening), green and sappy shrubs and trees and smell of my own skin warmed up by the sun.
– Pink roses: lemony, fruity, green,
sparkling, very much like AG Rose Splendide. I picked up some petals which fell on the ground and brought them to my office. They smell heavenly!
– Tiare shower gel: banana-like, rubbery, sweet, my skin smells faintly of grapes after shower
– Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse: happy, honeyed, luxurious, coconut, frangipani
– Day cream: mimosa, cucumber, watery
– People’s body odour!: as the temperature here rises, I detect more BO which smells of wet, dirty old rag
SOTD: Rose Ikebana. Very pretty and refreshing. I’ve been alternating it with Osmanthe Yunnan this week. June 12, 2014 at 10:20am
Anne of Green Gables: I think I made a mistake. The ones which are gone weren’t linden blossoms. They were something else but smelled very much like my linden tea. I wonder what they were… June 12, 2014 at 11:04am
rainboweyes: I gogled linden and there seems to be more than one variety, summer and winter linden, blooming at different times (winter two weeks after summer linden). June 12, 2014 at 3:56pm
rainboweyes: Googled, sorry for the typo.
Your post reminded me that I picked some dry grass from a pile in our garden and put it in our bio-waste container earlier today. It had a lovely smell of concentrated summer. June 12, 2014 at 4:02pm
rainboweyes: Oops, just found the English equivalents – Sommerlinde is largeleaf linden and Winterlinde is called littleleaf linden. June 12, 2014 at 4:08pm
Kate: Now I want to write a fairy tale about two sisters, Sommerlinde and Winterlinde — I know they’re just the names of the varieties but to my English ear they sound like girls’ names! June 13, 2014 at 8:57am
Anne of Green Gables: Hi rainboweyes, thanks for all the info on the linden trees. I checked the tree that I saw with blossoms earlier this year but the shape of the leaves looks just wrong! So I don’t think these were linden trees. I really need to get one of these guides for identifying flowers and trees.
I’m wearing Osmanthe Yunnan today and it’s amazing how I can still smell it after 8 hours! June 13, 2014 at 10:52am
rainboweyes: I was astonished myself, I always thought linden was linden.
I’m wearing Osmanthe Yunnan again today too. I sprayed Oolang Infini on my wrist last night and although I found it nice (it smells like Earl Grey, indeed) it is not quite full-bottle-worhthy-nice, I’m afraid.
But you’ve inspired me to revisit Rose Ikebana. I’m not a rose fan but this rhubarb and rose combo is just irresistible on warm days.
I’m cooking a rhubarb and strawberry jam with orange liqueur now and Rose Ikebana is the perfect match! June 13, 2014 at 1:24pm
Anne of Green Gables: Your jam sounds very luscious! 🙂 I’m happy to hear that I inspired you to try Rose Ikebana again. Rose is my favourite floral but I didn’t like Rose Ikebana at first because it smelled so abstract while I expected something more realistic. But the combination of grapefruit, rhubarb and rose is refreshing and addictive. I think because it’s not a literal interpretation of rose, it might also appeal to non-rose lovers.
Your love for iris have inspired me to become more interested in iris flowers and perfumes. As I said in the comment above, I smelled different iris flowers at the botanical garden and was amazed by how different varieties smelled so different. Which perfume do you think is most true to the smell of the iris flower? June 13, 2014 at 3:49pm
rainboweyes: I’m afraid none of those I know… I think it’s because the fragrance is derived from the root. I haven’t tried Iris Ukiyoe, though, which is supposed to be based on the iris flower. Actually the body lotion I’m using now and which I mentioned to Maren a couple of days ago (Martina Gebhardt Happy Aging) comes quite close, at least to the two fragrant irises growing in my garden (they smell of caramel and apricot).
I’d love to smell iris root extract in its pure form. Primavera Life has it in 95% concentration – for 169 euros 🙁 June 13, 2014 at 4:16pm
Anne of Green Gables: I went to a Biomarkt today and tried the Martina Gebhardt Happy Aging cream. You’re right! I does smell very similar to the iris flowers I smelled. I’m not familiar with the brand. Do you use many products from this brand? June 14, 2014 at 3:02pm
rainboweyes: I’m happy you liked the scent! Martina Gebhardt is one of the pioneers of German organic cosmetics but as far as I know she owns farmland in the Utah and NM where the plants are grown. I use the Happy Aging body lotion, the cleanser, sometimes the tonic. The face creams are very rich, though, the face lotions (I just bought the new aloe vera lotion, haven’t tested it yet) are much better for my skin. I also like the shea line. It’s very pure. MG also owns another brand called SensiSana which has a very good camellia line. I’m not sure what to think about the concept of spagyric extracts and water crystals but the fact is that all the products are of outstanding quality and purity. June 14, 2014 at 3:51pm
Anne of Green Gables: – Persimmon leaf tea: toasted and nutty
– Sandalwood incense: sweet and smooth
– Choco Yogi tea: cacao, cinnamon, warm and sweet
– Kimchi stew: I love it but the smell has filled the whole house.
– Blackcurrent leaf candle: smells like summer forest
– Osmanthe Yunnan: fruity, tangy and milky June 13, 2014 at 11:25am
rainboweyes: I had Choco Yogi tea today too! I thought I coundn’t drink it on a hot day but it was fantastic. I wish there were more scents with a chai note. The only one I know is Dzongkha – a scent that unifies most of my favourite notes: peony, iris, chai, incense… June 13, 2014 at 4:22pm
Anne of Green Gables: What a coincidence! I wish the same thing. Hmm… I haven’t tried Dzongkha but it sounds like a must try. I thought that Kenzo Jungle l’Elephant smelled like Masala chai. Olfactive Studio Lumiere Blanche (if I remember correctly, you also like it?) is also like milky chai tea. June 14, 2014 at 3:13pm
rainboweyes: Yes, you are right about Lumiere Blanche. It’s one of my favourite scents, too. June 14, 2014 at 3:52pm
rainboweyes: I’ve never smelled Kenzo Jungle l’Elephant. Sounds like a must try too! June 14, 2014 at 4:03pm
Anne of Green Gables: Oh, please do give it a try! It’s excellent. Actually, the owner of the Olfactive Studio (Céline Verleure) was actually involved in the creation of Kenzo Jungle l’Elephant and she said that she had the cardamom and sandalwood in Kenzo Jungle in mind when she created Lumiere Blanche. You can read it from her comment in Victoria’s review of the perfume: https://boisdejasmin.com/2012/10/kenzo-jungle-lelephant-perfume-review.html.
Thanks a lot for the info on MG cosmetics. One of the good things about living in Germany is that there are many good natural cosmetic products at reasonable prices. But because there are so many different brands, I still haven’t managed to try everything. June 16, 2014 at 4:42am
Michaela: I’m with Ann of Green Gables. Please try Kenzo Jungle, it should be widely available and it’s such a surprise. One of my winter favorites. June 16, 2014 at 4:53am
rainboweyes: Thanks for the link, Anne and your tip, Michaela. Now I must try Kenzo Jungle! The description sounds so intriguing but also somewhat contradictory to me. I’m really eager to find out if I will like it. While I absolutely love Lumiere Blanche (my summer oriental), Coco, which has been mentioned by many commenters, is one of my most hated perfumes!
As to the natural cosmetics, yes, we have lots of it here but many of the most popular brands use cheap ingredients which are not toxic but also not very gentle to your skin – like alcohol, glycerine and cheap soybean oil. So I always have look at the INCIs before I buy a new product.
The good thing about MG and SensiSana is the high content of high-grade natural ingredients and only a small amount of alcohol etc. Another good brand I use very often is SantaVerde.
But guess what I found on the First in Fragrance website yesterday? Lindengloss shampoo and conditioner! Another must try for me! June 16, 2014 at 11:53am
Anne of Green Gables: It’s a big perfume with a lot of character so not as easily wearable as Lumiere Blanche but it has a lot more kick and certainly smells more like chai.
Thank you very much for more infos on German natural cosmetics. I use quite a few but I guess these belong to the most popular brands (e.g. Logona, Dr. Hauschka). I should certainly test MG, SensiSana and SantaVerde. My skin has become really sensitive and strange since moving to Germany. The doctors couldn’t find the cause. 🙁 Lindengloss hair products sound nice. I finally got to smell linden blossoms (I think I’m not mistaken this time)! 🙂 June 17, 2014 at 9:33am
Kaleigh Bickleman: The first whiff of the ocean when we finally reach the beach after driving for 4 hours. Running through Central Park in the spring, fresh spring flowers. The smell of rotten eggs from the sulfur in the coal mines. The light floralcy of Pond’s face cream, reminds me of my grandmother. Honeysuckle in the summer, reminds me of being a kid.
I usually wear Euphoria, fruity top that opens up to a dark, sexy musky patchouli. June 12, 2014 at 4:14pm
Jennifer C: I had an interesting one recently. I was at the grocery store browsing the exotic fruits section, and I came across Feijoas. I had never had them before, but I decided to buy one because they have an interesting smell, which is kind of fruity and minty at the same time. The flavor is about the same, kind of like pineapple and pear with mint. It would be an interesting note to use in a fragrance, I think. June 13, 2014 at 3:40pm
Alida: Jennifer, it makes me so happy to read about someone overseas enjoying feiojas. Everyone in New Zealand eats them at this time of year, and many people have a feijoa tree – as it’s winter here we often make feijoa crumbles and use them in other baking or jam, but mostly we just scoff them by the dozen. We never understand why the rest of the world (save Brazil) doesn’t seem to have realised how great they are! Their scent is the most intoxicating fruity sweet sour blast – your description of like pineapple and pear with mint is pretty spot on. June 15, 2014 at 11:58pm
Cornelia Blimber: Hmmm, Verdicchio and mayonaise salmon and a green salad. The smell of earthy salmon and fresh cucumber, and the fruity Verdicchio wine.
A treat after the smell of sunburnlotion (many tourists on the tram). Sometimes it is a pity that you can stop seeing or hearing but you can’t stop smelling.
Perfume today: Black orchid. June 13, 2014 at 4:10pm
Victoria: I’m late with my scent diary, but I was so exhausted after this week that I slept for 11 hours straight. Woke up to the smell of toasted bread as my husband was preparing his lunch.
Smoky black tea and lemon
Sun-dried laundry (almost my husband’s doing). Not as wonderful smelling as the laundry sun-dried in the country, but still, it’s a distinctive scent.
Chocolate with cinnamon, a perfect duo
Sunscreen on warm skin
Peaches!
Someone grilling fish downstairs June 14, 2014 at 11:00am
Cornelia Blimber: Chocolate with cinnamon sounds great. Sometimes I mix some cinnamon powder with my grinded coffee. June 14, 2014 at 12:15pm
rainboweyes: I usually sprinkle it over the frothed milk in my coffee. Mmmhh… June 14, 2014 at 3:22pm
Nikki: I smelled dry grass and herbs when I opened the door this morning and then sweet kumquat flowers, and the smell of freshly cut oranges and birdfood and sunflowerseeds. Then I smelled Oolong and Darjeeling tea and lots of Bulgari Eau du The Vert Extreme.
Now it is smoky and I lighted Trapp’s Tuberose candle and I am wearing La Panthere by Cartier. I have been wearing Eau Duelle by Diptyque as well, it somehow suits the climate. June 14, 2014 at 8:57pm
Jehane: Chanel Bois des Isles — despite our heat wave I woke craving it and doused myself in it, nearly knocking myself out (my skin eats perfume so it is little more than the brush of a cat’s tail now). School fete barbecue (out with friends’ children) — strange mingling of warm sweaty child, warm damp grass, caramelizing meats and nubbly scorched sweetcorn. Had a craving for lemon tonight; polished off plaice with lemon caper butter and a lemon meringue pie is in the oven. The day feels brownish green like a twig skinned by a nervous lover’s hand during a meadow conversation. June 15, 2014 at 4:51pm