Serge Lutens Feminite du Bois

A few moons ago, I did blog about that Headspace Rose giveaway that I won. It was either last week or the week before, I was going through some of my emails and I did remember and started to worried that I might have missed the package. So I did email Portia asking about it and what do you know, the next day, I get an email saying that it was shipped through DHL. DHL is not a common shipping company in the States and the few times that I had to contend with them, my opinion isn't that great. They seem to take forever to deliver anything. The longest that I had to wait for an item is 2 and a half weeks.

So on Sunday, I was finally able to see the new Downton Abbey movie. It is supposed to be the grand finale but with how the end was portrayed, I don't think it is the last time we heard of Downton Abbey. I am thinking that they might revive it to take place during WWII with the younger generation. But I do want this to be the end of Downton Abbey.

On the day that I saw Downton Abbey, I had a huge hankering for Feminite du Bois. I could have gone with more period appropriate Patou Joy or no 5 or no 22. But I wasn't thinking of those things. But let's move on to Feminite du Bois.

I hate gotten my first bottle of Feminite du Bois when I was new to perfume and Luckyscent still sold some of the Serge Lutens line. It was one of those blind buys that worked out pretty well. I love the dusty, woody fruit combination and at the time, it was something that I had never smelled before. In many ways, it seems like the house of Serge Lutens is niche for beginners and most budding perfume nuts start there when expanding their tastes. There are some offerings that are out there I the Serge Lutens line up. But I quit paying attention to Serge Lutens after the Berlin offering, or was it De Profundis? I think at that time I had moved on and was testing out new things. Maybe because you couldn't readily get your hands on a bell jar either due to the price tag whe  they were at Barney's or one needed to have someone go to Paris and bring it back for you. I was lucky enough to get a bell jar of De Profundis or Sarrasins off on EBay and slightly used.

Miss Dior Original and Other Stuff

 

It's been a strange couple weeks for me. My mother spent a week with her friend when I was on vacation and has been in the hospital for a week and half and mucked up quite a few things.

As it stands, I have broken up with Bath and Body Works and candles. In regards to Bath and Body Works, they have gotten too expensive and the quality has gone down. I pretty much have stopped burning candles for a few reasons. I do still like burning candles but it has led to too many arguments with others in my household cans killed a lot of the love that I had for making the house I live in good. Even my liking has diminished at this point. It has gotten to the point of seriously just selling off at least 90% of my candle collection. I am none to wealthy and I would rather try to make some of that money back instead of donating or throwing it out.

It just seems like my love for smelling good and making my general area has been diminished. It's everything is too strong or smells strange. So the joy of a lot of things has been taken out and I am having a hard time with that. Reading doesn't hold my attention like it used to and I kind of blame the internet for that. So I am trying to get back into video games at least.

But I was rummaging around my extensive perfume collection, trying to find what I haven't worn in a while and found my vintage bottles of the original Miss Dior. One is a splash bottle of the edt and the other is a spray bottle of the edc. I was starting to flip out a little bit when I unscrewed the cap of the edt. It smelled like straight up alcohol and nothing else. So I wasn't so interested in wearing that since I was about to go and visit my mother and I put on some of the edc. The edc hasn't gone off and maybe it is because it is a spray bottle and when I bought it, and that means it will be less likely to be tampered with. But when I came home, I put a q-tip in and the q tip sit out for a couple minutes, hoping that the perfume hadn't gone bad. And the good news is that the perfume hasn't gone bad, it just needs a few minutes.

I don't have a bottle of the original Miss Dior and I am kicking myself for not getting a bottle when times were better. There are a few perfumes that I am kicking myself for not getting a bottle when I had the chance. I did have a close shave with L'Heure de Nuit though, even though I haven't opened the bottle yet. I just love looking at the bee bottle with the blue juice in it.

Lotion Season

In the northern hemisphere, we all know winter is on it's way. Even though fall has just started and all, the preparation for winter is going to be starting up soon enough.

Even though it is fall, it's cooler out and the days are shorter. And that means my whole skin care routine is changing as well. It's not just for the skin on my face that is starting to need the extra help in fall, it's the skin all over that is needing the extra help in general.

Outside of groceries, I have been working on stocking up on lotion. It doesn't matter if it is hand lotion or body lotion, I am stocking up on it. I haven't been motivated to spend money on the Chanel lotions or tracking down any kind of Amouage body products. I kind of need groceries a little more than Amouage or Chanel lotions. Lush is a little more of an okay thing since they do have smaller sizes at a more reasonable cost but that isn't something I would get very often. I am looking at maybe getting more of the Sleepy line up.

What I have stocked up on is the Cerave lotions because even in summer, my skin is dry and winter is even worse. I did get a couple L'Occitane hand lotions for work and to keep in my pocket while I am at work. But I go for the lotions that won't interfere with my perfume collection too much.
 

A la Nuit Revisited

 There was a time where I was new to the world of perfume collecting. Most of what I had smelled and bought was mostly from either the drug store or Bath and Body Works. For most of my life, I never paid a whole lot of attention to perfume. Growing up, the adults in my life didn't wear perfume on a daily basis. If they ever did wear perfume, it mostly bypassed me because I never paid too much attention to it.

Chanel's Cuir de Russie changed all of that. I am not sure how or why I got an email from Chanel about the Les Exclusifs line but with Cuir de Russie it was off to the races. 

It seems like just about every perfumista's journey with niche starts with exploring the house of Serge Lutens. Feminite du Bois was my first Serge Lutens and then I branched out a little more. A la Nuit was probably the second one I got. I must not have been paying attention to it or my nose was goofy. Or the latter option is that I wasn't all that great at picking out individual notes about perfume.

People had said that A la Nuit was loaded with indoles but at the time, I wasn't so good picking that stuff out. All I got was some kind of sweet floral that might have smelled marginally poopy. While I was trying to find something else, I found a decant of A la Nuit. Of course I had to give this another go.

I hadn't worn A la Nuit in years and wasn't expecting a whole lot. I still got the jasmine and now I am finally getting all the indoles that people were talking about. A la Nuit is a lovely perfume that I probably wouldn't reach for as much but still lovely. I do prefer Rose de Nuit or Sarrasins for my skank needs in terms of Serge Lutens.

I am still not happy that so many Serge Lutens perfumes are out of reach. Out of reach due to price and I am not the biggest fan of the bell jars. My take is well over $300 for a 2.5 ounce bottle isn't much of a deal.

Vacation Recap

I ought to be reviewing the latest Tauer release but really shouldn't be. It might have arrived on Saturday but today was the first time wearing it and I think I need to spend a little more time with it before I can give an honest review. Since I go back tomorrow, might as well give a recap.

 You know how I said that I was cracking down on expenses? I am not sure about the two sets of bed sheets. When I was going through my bedding, I realized that my winter sheets are pretty much shot and I had only one set of sheets for my bed. I had initially set off to only order one set of bed sheets. In theory, you have one or two sets of bed sheets and be fine. But that flannel sheet set with dogs on it was too cute and the price was good and I don't know what possessed me to get a set of bed sheets in the color black. But I have a set of black bed sheets now. It seemed like I was accumulating quilts and throws since last year and bed sheets never entered the chat to remind me. So when I get a spare minute, I will run those things through the wash and see how it goes. Sooner or later, I will get a set of there's in green but I need pillows a little more. So I am going to have to use up the last of my Amazon gift card to round out the new bedding.

So since I have been looking at more things to be cut and used up, I did manage to accomplish some of that. I did manage to combine two Bath and Body Winter hand soaps. What was the point of having two half full hand soaps of the same smell. I was so close to being able to do that with a Leather and Brandy one but not quite. I think by the end of the week, it will be another hand soap that will be used up. I did manage to finish a half a candle, one full candle and start a new one. So I am proud of myself to do at least that much. Especially since I wasn't able to finish any decants, full bottles or minis while I was on vacation. At the end of the day, trying not to spend money of frivolous things every week is hard. I did make some changes and culled a few things earlier this year but with some freed up money brings a different temptation. That $50-$60 every month from not having so many subscriptions makes a part of me want to spend it on the fun stuff when I really shouldn't. So I want to do is shop my collection a little bit more and see what else I can use up.

What was disappointing was the fact that I wasn't able to do much of anything for my vacation. I wanted to see the new Downtown Abbey movie but plans for that never materialized. I think I should have said to friends and family is that my vacation time is precious and I am not about to waste that on the maybes or bailing at last minute. I think that I should have taken an Uber to the theater and just saw the movie by myself. I am hoping my last vacation of the year will be a bit better bit that is the week after Thanksgiving.

We Have to Break Up

 

No, I am not quitting blogging nor am I quitting perfume. I have to break up with Bath and Body Works. Bath and Body Works has changed too much for me and it's probably past time to do it.

My most recent purchase from Bath and Body Works was the Cucumber Melon line up. You know, the body wash, the lotion and the body spray. The lotion and body wash are a Christmas gift to someone who loves bath stuff and loves Bath and Body Works. So they had a sale of $5.95 body care items, I got the Cucumber Memo body spray for old times sake. And this is where I have to break up with Bath and Body Works.

Back in the day, I happily wore Cucumber Melon in high school by the gallon. Back in the mid to late '90's, it was all I could consistently afford. But when I went off to college, I couldn't afford perfume and didn't wear it for years. Even when I dropped out, I couldn't really afford perfume. It wasn't until Chanel's Cuir de Russie did I get back into perfume and haven't looked back since.

But back to Cucumber Melon and Bath and Body Works. The body spray bottle must have been updated some time in the past 10 or 15 years. It seems like they are trying to update their image by packaging. The packaging doesn't quite fit the whole vibe in store or out of it. I think when I gave a different Bath and Body Works body spray or two ago, I did get a distinct Play Dough element to it. I didn't notice a Play Dough note in Cucumber Melon when I first sprayed it on. When I first sprayed the whole song lyric of "hello, darkness, my old friend." ran through my mins for some reason. Then a nano second later, that damned Play Dough note came out and then I noped out of the whole thing. 

Even the candles are getting to be a little boring. I am tired of vanilla heavy candles or anything pumpkin. It is rare that I like food based smells that are not actually food and the Honeycrisp Apple or the Fresh Brewed Coffee are the two exceptions to that. I am not a fan on how the packaging changes from year for the same damn smell. Or I might find something really good and then never see it again. So after I redeem my last two rewards, I thing I am going to break up with Bath and Body Works. I think I have really grown up and moved on.

Financial Considerations

 

When there was a blip on my radar about the current tariffs in terms of perfume a post or two ago, I did think about there was no Chanel no 5 to be had. At least in the extrait form. So I am thinking that the edp, edt and Eau Premiere are still cheap enough for many companies to get but the extrait version of anything in terms of Chanel might not be worth the expense. The thing is that I have enough Chanel no 5 in every other formulation except the extrait. But the price of so many perfumes have gone up, and some horrifically so, I figured I might as well start setting some goals for myself.

With the whole BNPL thing, I have decided that in the next 6 weeks, I want to have Afterpay, Klarma and Zip paid off. My Sezzle account is paid off and Zip has only 1 payment left on it. My Klarna balance is less than $60 but Afterpay is sitting at a shade over $400. But the other part of my goal is to start saving some money and create a budget that is a little more strict. Does this mean that I won't go out and have some fun? I will still go out to eat and have fun but I have to be little more discerning about that.

It was my birthday earlier this week and usually I do get myself a bottle of perfume. For some reason, I haven't been quite up to getting a new bottle. With the tariffs and all driving the prices up, some of the stuff are simply out of my budget. But I will truly see in the next few weeks on if I want something new or just hold off in that department.

But cleaning up my finances has made me cancel my Doordash subscription and I decided not to get the Sephora same day delivery subscription. I remembered that on my birthday the same day subscription was going to be changed on my birthday and I made the point to cancel it beforehand. I did forget that I did sign up for the Door dash free trial and was charged $9.99 for it. I cancelled as soon as the charge went through. I still will "enjoy" the subscription for a month but that means I will probably use it once or twice if a hankering for Burger King or McDonald's hits but don't want to go out and get it.