After discovering Olibanum at my local health & beauty store and buying Osmanthus and Opoponax scents, I got their discovery set and have already tried Iris, Pachouli, Santal, and Sacra (olibanum/frankincense). Love every one. Really enjoy their model of few, quality notes. #perfumesky #sotd

I’ve been trying a lot of winter spice / boozy gourmands and sweet-leaning designer fragrances lately. Today I went for Kodama from @fumfragrances.com. It’s wintry, natural, and bright. Nice to smell like trees and plants for a change but still feel cozy in the snowy Midwest. #sotd #perfumesky

Processed the final batch of beans drying in the basement. Pretty happy with my harvest this year, especially compared to my one sad jar from 2024. But I’ll never beat 79¢ cans at the grocery. Learned a lot. Next year I’ll focus on larger quantity of fewer varieties. #gardening #zone6b #beans

Today I wore Side Effect. The second Initio I’ve tried. Is this a case of something being so expensive that people have to convince themselves to love it or feel foolish for buying it? It’s fine, but nothing special. Starts bitter on me, gets better after eight hours. #sotd #perfumesky

#sotd was Osmanthus from Olibanum, courtesy of the health & beauty store in my town. A delightfully light, fresh, apricot-y scent. A bit of rose in the opening is kind of elegant grandmotherly, but it goes away and leaves a light, tart, clean airiness. I’m so happy I found this! #perfumesky

Today is Small Business Saturday, and the shops in my town go all out with a bingo game. I already completed a row! Some gifts for others, and some early birthday goodies for myself, too, including these two fragrances from the town health & beauty apothecary, Ullman’s. #shopsmall #perfumesky

“Let us eat one last cookie, and then we will stop.”

Mary Poppins is on TV and oh my gosh the boy Michael Banks (played by Matthew Garber) looks just like @kenjennings.bsky.social.

I don't know why the "Piggy" thing is bothering me so much. It's one more unforgivable thing in a list of 20,000 unforgivable things, but I've been mad about it for like 12 straight hours.

Finally trying Fugazzi Vanilla Haze. I like the spicy, nutty intro, but I think the resulting vanilla, tonka, musk is too sweet and strong. I still have a couple other popular vanillas to try, but I think Althair, Deixis, and Piano Santal will get me through this fall & winter. #SOTD #perfumesky

Friday sweet treat #SOTD is Amore Caffe by Mancera. Coffee, amaretto, vanilla, ice cream, brown sugar. There is ambergris in the base which is sort of yucky but I can see how it balances things out in salted caramel kind of way. #perfumesky

Soil test results are in! All online, and they have a cool tool where you can toggle what you want to grow for different recommendations (ex. change veggie garden to shrubs or fruit trees). Super neat! Things are looking good. Somewhat unremarkable, but that’s fine. #gardening #zone6b #soiltest

House of Bō offered samples, and I’d never heard of them, so I picked Bombón, Espíritu, and Infinitoud. Now trying Espíritu — very fancy “woody musk” with sage, osmanthus, tobacco, iris, oak, leather, labdanum. Kinda regret not getting Casa Blanca. Any others I should try? #perfumesky #sotd

Calle Ocho to the office today, along with fuzzy lined Dr Martens and a herringbone tweed blazer. It’s getting cold outside! #sotd #perfumesky

Today’s Daily Cartoon, by Brendan Loper. #NewYorkerCartoons Sign up for our humor newsletter to get the Daily Cartoon right in your inbox: https://newyorkermag.visitlink.me/Ear3xH

I liked You years ago, despite my ambrox aversion, so I’ve wanted to try the new Glossier scents. Finally they make a discovery set, and four for $15 is a no brainer. Loving the creamy, woody Doux today. Violet, Palo Santo, Frankincense, and Myrrh. Right up my alley. #sotd #perfumesky

Ok, I got four teeny tiny butternuts from the unexpected new growth last month. They’re not ready to eat but they also could t stay on the vine with the frost, so now they’re inside being tiny and cute. #gardening #zone6b #squash

Bundled up to cut the Ayocote Morados down so they could finish drying on the clothesline in the basement. Quite a few big, fuzzy pods so we’ll get some big, purple beans in several weeks. #gardening #zone6b #polebeans

First snow in metro Detroit this morning. Seems like an Althair day. #sotd #perfumesky

Frost is coming, so I picked the remaining tomatoes. Hoping they’ll ripen indoors. I’m trying the banana paper bag trick. #gardening #zone6b

Trying another Bianchi: Sticky Fingers. It’s not sweet at all because I’m not in the mood for that on this cold, rainy day. Similar woody notes to Tyger Tyger, plus some spices like The Dark Side, and its own musk, tobacco, tonka. These are strong sister scents, all very good. #sotd #perfumesky

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Dang, garlic I planted 24 days ago, you must chill! You’ve gotta stay there through the whole winter 🤞. (This is normal and totally fine and exciting! 🧄) #gardening #zone6b #garlic

#SOTD is a very autumnal sample of L'Eau d'Ambre Extrême from L'Artisan Parfumeur. A non-headache-inducing amber (hooray!) with good longevity. It has a vanilla note but it is not very sweet, which is a plus. There’s also spices and patchouli. Not a full bottle contender, but lovely. #perfumesky

Concerning Nation

Fall planting is so worth it! Greens are super resilient, especially. The roots aren’t ready yet, but coming along so it was worth checking in on a few. This’ll make a nice salad to make up for all the Halloween candy I’ve eaten. #gardening #zone6b #coldhardyveggies #vegetablegarden

November 1, 45°F and cloudy. Great day to try Althair from Parfums de Marly. It’s for men, but it’s mostly the bergamot opening note that announces the masculinity. Once that tones down, it’s a boozy vanilla gourmand with autumn spices. Very nice. Pairs well w/ a waffle Henley. #sotd #perfumesky

Our Jack O’Lanterns this Halloween. His: inspired by the film Weapons Hers: spider in her web @jasoncauley.bsky.social

Initio Musk Therapy is not for me. I’m glad because it’s way outside my budget, but it definitely doesn’t smell as described on me. It goes Deep Woods Off bug repellant after a few minutes, and stays that way for six hours, though it fades with time. Oh well. Glad I tried. #SOTD #perfumesky

Dr. Brennan the fox squirrel and her magic, timeline-cleansing almond dinner. Such a special girl. #squirrel

A cartoon by Tim Hamilton, from 2020. #NewYorkerCartoons

Wow, Dama Bainca (Xerjoff) is so lovely! I’m not all that into the kumquat opening, but damn, that powdery, musky iris is really something great. Gets better as time goes on. It’s mature, but not matronly. Is it ok to wear perfume called White Lady? Is that too on the nose? #SOTD #perfumesky

I spilled a bit of vanilla leather on my desk last week (darn tiny sample bottles!). I thought I cleaned it all up, but some got under my keyboard. Long story short, my desk smells like vanilla now. Not bad, but also not great.

Packing and labeling soil samples from my raised veggie beds and and in-ground beds around the yard today so I can understand what’s good and what could use improvement. I’ll get access to online results in a few weeks. #gardening #zone6b #soil #msuextension

I’m wearing The Space Between by @fumfragrances.com today. I can always count on it when I’d like a good hug. Calming, uplifting, engaging. It is so, so special. And if you’re a witchy woman, it’s the perfect season for it, too. You can still get some. Lucky you! #SOTD #Perfumesky

I am a sucker for a good ad, so of course I bought this Frankly discovery set. How cute is this cassette tape design?! I’m trying “It's now or never” (Fresh Grass, Fresh Fig, Tonka) today. Nice fig, and the grass is friendly and bright. I like it! #Sotd #perfumesky #fragrancesky

Trying more Francesca Bianchi after enjoying The Dark Side. #SOTD is Tyger Tyger which is similarly spicy, powdery floral, with the illusion of almost-sweet that doesn’t go all the way like The Dark Side. This one is more woody. Strong enough on the wrist that I’ll enjoy it all day. #perfumesky

Vanille Leather from BDK is today’s #SOTD. There’s oak wood and florals in the opening (though no flower in particular stands out), which are really nice. I guess it’s a bit leathery. Dries down to a nice but unremarkable vanilla. Not bad. Not clamoring for more. #perfumesky

Wearing Piano Santal to the office today. It’s so comfortingly creamy and powdery. Adding it to my meager (in quantity, not quality of course) full-bottle collection. #SOTD #Fragrancesky #Perfumesky #scentsky By the way, do I need to be using all these hashtags? Is there one to rule them all?

I tried Tam Dao by Diptyque. It’s fine. It’s mostly Mysore sandalwood and, for that, I like The Purest Blue from @filigreeandshadow.co much, much better. #sotd #scentsky #fragrancesky #perfumesky

Oh man, Warby Parker doesn’t do home try-on anymore. The better part of what made their business “disruptive” to the industry. And Liingo is now “The Framery at 1-800-CONTACTS,” but at least they do still have home try-on for a whopping two pairs. What’s a bespectacled girl to do?!

Benefits open enrollment is coming up at work. They sent a preview to let us know “premiums will increase slightly,” but I won’t know specifics until Nov. Premiums have increased every year I’ve had benefits because U.S. healthcare is a for-profit system. But whew, I’m a bit nervous this time.

Trying my first Le Labo. It’s one they apparently don’t sell anymore: Iris 39. Opens grandmotherly. Dries down to that Abercrombie perfume everyone wore in 1998 or so. Very interesting journey. The ginger note is nice. Definitely not the best iris ever. #sotd #scentsky #fragrancesky #perfumesky

It’s a cold, rainy day. Perfect for staying indoors, doing gardening class textbook readings, wearing stretchy pants and a hoodie. Plus Tom Ford Tobacco Vanille for extra coziness. #SOTD #Scentsky #perfumesky #fragrancesky

Vietnamese Coffee by D’annam is so delicious. I do wish it was a bit stronger and had more longevity, but truly I’m just sitting here inhaling my wrist right now. #SOTD #fragrancesky #scentsky #perfumesky

My sweet potato harvest. LOL. #gardening #zone6b

Autumn Lego flower arrangements. #lego #bloomsky

Trying Piano Santal by L’Orchestre Parfum today. Right away, cedar and kinda tangy sandalwood. But then after a moment, it’s super smooth, milky, musky. Very soothing. It has ambroxan but mercifully it’s not giving me a headache. Yay! Glad I tried it. #SOTD #scentsky #fragrancesky #perfumesky

Charlie Kirk was 31. So which is it, JD, are your peers in the party dumb kids who say dumb things that don’t matter, or aren’t they?