I say with fair confidence that this is the best song I've found on Soundcloud, this would definitely be part of Bebop's official soundtrack if the anime was made today:
So much Bebop feels ;____;
28 July 2019
26 July 2019
24 July 2019
petals
(part 3)
Part 4 of Luckyscent sample reviews, this time dedicated to Perfumes MDCI:
Parfum MDCI Le Barbier de Tanger
Woah I hate this, waaaaay too musty. 太闷了. Yes I have to repeat the same thing in two languages because that's how much I can't stand it. There is definitely the fougere accord in there, but it's under a huge layer of...dankness? Like this is what I imagine when people say a ripe pu is dank. Overall too potent as well, projection is very good from elbow length away. I went to scrub this off after like 10min. My skin was also red where I dabbed this, probably reacting to one of the ingredients, so that's a no-go either. I just realized that I'm probably the people that the fragrance regulations protect, although everyone hates on the regulations for restricting oakmoss.
But the magic happened when I hit it with some hot water while washing it off. A most pleasant lavender scent came though. It's quite a lightweight lavender, yet still punchy. It's such a great lavender! More of the aromatic notes are also coming through. I like it much better after it's been washed, so I'll give this fragrance another try applied with a much lighter hand.
...
Parfum MDCI Un Coeur en Mai
This opens with a layered green and floral notes: pretty lightweight green notes on top of a heavier floral. It reminds me a lot of this random bottle (with turquoise accents) of Gucci perfume that I bought at a warehouse sale as a kid. The florals get progressively heavier as the scent settles, and the projection of the scent also falls off. A few hours in this is just a sweetish floral skin scent with a good dose of white musks. Hard pass for me.
Surprisingly, like 6 hour later, it smells like Arquiste's Fleur de Louis floral mix! The resemblance is so uncanny that I had to think which one I was wearing. There's a different green aspect now, very blended with the floral rather than separated in the opening, and with a slight soapy quality. I don't smell it on my neck anymore, but do catch whiffs emitting from my sleeve (applied inside elbow) and the scent is easily discernible with my nose against it.
...
Parfum MDCI Invasion Barbers
Spicy and warm woods, reminds me of how a middle eastern family home smells like. It's quite pleasant, being warm and inviting, and well blended. I don't really get the aromatic or citrus notes, but that could be more prominent if sprayed. Overall I don't have much to say other than I do like it but I don't see myself reaching for this over Nishane's b-612.
...
Parfums MDCI La Belle Helene
The opening is sorta sweet, floral with some fruity aspects? I get an imagery of fluffy and pink tutus, but worn by a seasoned ballerina. Once it settles about an hour in, it's mostly a creamy musk. Some more hours in, a lightly moss-y base comes through. Reading the description on luckyscent, osmanthus is the main note, which apparently has both fruity and animalistic notes. This is another one of Bertrand Duchaufour's creation, inspired by a pear dessert so that explains the sweetness. The projection is quite good, I can still steadily smell it from arms length even after 5 hours. This is probably the most gormound I'd venture.
...
Parfum MDCI Chypre Palatin
This definitely smells representative of the genre. It’s a little creamy actually, a creamy moss. I can get behind that. If I smell very closely, I get the aromatic notes. Apparently I’m smelling the reformulated version, which disappoints many people, but judging from the changes I would like this more. There’s less of the dark base notes that I typically dislike, such as leather and resins. The performance is good, I can steady smell it from my wrists. After this settles for about an hour, the green aspects become more forward, although the scent is still noticeably creamy. Since this is such as creamy fragrance, I can see myself wearing this in the winter when other chypres don’t feel as cozy. This makes the 3rd Bertrand Duchaufour fragrance that I quite enjoy, so he is likely my favourite nose.
Part 4 of Luckyscent sample reviews, this time dedicated to Perfumes MDCI:
Parfum MDCI Le Barbier de Tanger
Woah I hate this, waaaaay too musty. 太闷了. Yes I have to repeat the same thing in two languages because that's how much I can't stand it. There is definitely the fougere accord in there, but it's under a huge layer of...dankness? Like this is what I imagine when people say a ripe pu is dank. Overall too potent as well, projection is very good from elbow length away. I went to scrub this off after like 10min. My skin was also red where I dabbed this, probably reacting to one of the ingredients, so that's a no-go either. I just realized that I'm probably the people that the fragrance regulations protect, although everyone hates on the regulations for restricting oakmoss.
But the magic happened when I hit it with some hot water while washing it off. A most pleasant lavender scent came though. It's quite a lightweight lavender, yet still punchy. It's such a great lavender! More of the aromatic notes are also coming through. I like it much better after it's been washed, so I'll give this fragrance another try applied with a much lighter hand.
...
Parfum MDCI Un Coeur en Mai
This opens with a layered green and floral notes: pretty lightweight green notes on top of a heavier floral. It reminds me a lot of this random bottle (with turquoise accents) of Gucci perfume that I bought at a warehouse sale as a kid. The florals get progressively heavier as the scent settles, and the projection of the scent also falls off. A few hours in this is just a sweetish floral skin scent with a good dose of white musks. Hard pass for me.
Surprisingly, like 6 hour later, it smells like Arquiste's Fleur de Louis floral mix! The resemblance is so uncanny that I had to think which one I was wearing. There's a different green aspect now, very blended with the floral rather than separated in the opening, and with a slight soapy quality. I don't smell it on my neck anymore, but do catch whiffs emitting from my sleeve (applied inside elbow) and the scent is easily discernible with my nose against it.
...
Parfum MDCI Invasion Barbers
Spicy and warm woods, reminds me of how a middle eastern family home smells like. It's quite pleasant, being warm and inviting, and well blended. I don't really get the aromatic or citrus notes, but that could be more prominent if sprayed. Overall I don't have much to say other than I do like it but I don't see myself reaching for this over Nishane's b-612.
...
Parfums MDCI La Belle Helene
The opening is sorta sweet, floral with some fruity aspects? I get an imagery of fluffy and pink tutus, but worn by a seasoned ballerina. Once it settles about an hour in, it's mostly a creamy musk. Some more hours in, a lightly moss-y base comes through. Reading the description on luckyscent, osmanthus is the main note, which apparently has both fruity and animalistic notes. This is another one of Bertrand Duchaufour's creation, inspired by a pear dessert so that explains the sweetness. The projection is quite good, I can still steadily smell it from arms length even after 5 hours. This is probably the most gormound I'd venture.
...
Parfum MDCI Chypre Palatin
This definitely smells representative of the genre. It’s a little creamy actually, a creamy moss. I can get behind that. If I smell very closely, I get the aromatic notes. Apparently I’m smelling the reformulated version, which disappoints many people, but judging from the changes I would like this more. There’s less of the dark base notes that I typically dislike, such as leather and resins. The performance is good, I can steady smell it from my wrists. After this settles for about an hour, the green aspects become more forward, although the scent is still noticeably creamy. Since this is such as creamy fragrance, I can see myself wearing this in the winter when other chypres don’t feel as cozy. This makes the 3rd Bertrand Duchaufour fragrance that I quite enjoy, so he is likely my favourite nose.
22 July 2019
20 July 2019
buried
I've been somewhat cooking and somewhat less taking photos of the resulting dishes.
Korean-ish tofu stir-fry, it's good to have gochujang in the fridge again :)
18 July 2019
16 July 2019
orange
(part 2)
Part 3 of luckyscent impressions:
Altaia Yu Son
A sweet citrus opening, a nice scent for a breezy summer day. The performance is very good for a citrus, can consistently smell it from my wrists and last for a good 6-8hour. The fragrance didn’t change through the day of wear. Overall a solid citrus, slightly unusual featuring the orange.
...
Altaia By Any Other Name
Also a sweet opening, this time with soft, powdery florals. I think the floral mix is rose dominant? The sample vial sprays very well, such a big cloud of fine mist! Unfortunately as this scent settles, the sweetness dominants and becomes too sweet for my preference :( like an overdose of candies flower petals. There's otherwise not much change couple more hour in, performance is decent with regards to projection and longevity.
...
Parfum D’empires Corsica Furiosa
A soft and citrus-ish green opening, interesting! It reminds me of this vegetarian restaurant / tea house that’s located really close to my dad’s apartment in China. Projection is not bad, can easily smell whiffs from my wrist. There’s also soft woody notes in here too. I definitely don’t smell the tomato leaf, but maybe the main note that I’m picking up is the wild mint? Doesn’t smell minty but is similar to the herbal blend in Parterre’s Run of the River.
...
Parfum D’empire Azemour Les Oranges
The opening is like orange plus its twigs. Soft citrus green woody? The orange fruit itself is quite realistic, I’m impressed. The fruit part is more prominent when applied more heavily, whereas the twig / bark aspect is more prominent when applied lightly. (my new testing methodology with these tiny wand samples is to swab one wrist and 2 dabs on the other wrist). There’s a potpourri aspect to it as well, but like a really fine potpourri. I can see myself using it as a pick up in the middle of winter. The texture is like…viscose but clear? Like not sparkling but also not sticky-heavy. I wonder if the twiggy impression I’m getting is the hay notes. It’s definitely getting more woody and a little incense-y after a couple of minutes. I am liking the direction this is heading. I also wonder if my incense impression is from oak moss, cause it smells kinda similar to my chypres. A review did categorize this as a green chypre, which I agree with.
...
Parfum D’empire Osmanthus Interdite
It opens with a tea note! There’s also a sweet floral (assuming this is the osmanthus), and surprisingly a leather note as well? Checking the note pyramid on Fragrantica, holy I am actually on point with this fragrance! I’ve literally never smelled as many notes that match the official description before. I’m still not really a fan of leather, which is more apparent on the dabbed wrist. I do feel slightly cheated that Luckyscent didn’t list leather in their description, because I would not have bought a sample knowing that. Will skip a full bottle.
Part 3 of luckyscent impressions:
Altaia Yu Son
A sweet citrus opening, a nice scent for a breezy summer day. The performance is very good for a citrus, can consistently smell it from my wrists and last for a good 6-8hour. The fragrance didn’t change through the day of wear. Overall a solid citrus, slightly unusual featuring the orange.
Altaia By Any Other Name
Also a sweet opening, this time with soft, powdery florals. I think the floral mix is rose dominant? The sample vial sprays very well, such a big cloud of fine mist! Unfortunately as this scent settles, the sweetness dominants and becomes too sweet for my preference :( like an overdose of candies flower petals. There's otherwise not much change couple more hour in, performance is decent with regards to projection and longevity.
...
Parfum D’empires Corsica Furiosa
A soft and citrus-ish green opening, interesting! It reminds me of this vegetarian restaurant / tea house that’s located really close to my dad’s apartment in China. Projection is not bad, can easily smell whiffs from my wrist. There’s also soft woody notes in here too. I definitely don’t smell the tomato leaf, but maybe the main note that I’m picking up is the wild mint? Doesn’t smell minty but is similar to the herbal blend in Parterre’s Run of the River.
...
Parfum D’empire Azemour Les Oranges
The opening is like orange plus its twigs. Soft citrus green woody? The orange fruit itself is quite realistic, I’m impressed. The fruit part is more prominent when applied more heavily, whereas the twig / bark aspect is more prominent when applied lightly. (my new testing methodology with these tiny wand samples is to swab one wrist and 2 dabs on the other wrist). There’s a potpourri aspect to it as well, but like a really fine potpourri. I can see myself using it as a pick up in the middle of winter. The texture is like…viscose but clear? Like not sparkling but also not sticky-heavy. I wonder if the twiggy impression I’m getting is the hay notes. It’s definitely getting more woody and a little incense-y after a couple of minutes. I am liking the direction this is heading. I also wonder if my incense impression is from oak moss, cause it smells kinda similar to my chypres. A review did categorize this as a green chypre, which I agree with.
...
Parfum D’empire Osmanthus Interdite
It opens with a tea note! There’s also a sweet floral (assuming this is the osmanthus), and surprisingly a leather note as well? Checking the note pyramid on Fragrantica, holy I am actually on point with this fragrance! I’ve literally never smelled as many notes that match the official description before. I’m still not really a fan of leather, which is more apparent on the dabbed wrist. I do feel slightly cheated that Luckyscent didn’t list leather in their description, because I would not have bought a sample knowing that. Will skip a full bottle.
14 July 2019
cane
It's unfortunate that it's the middle of July and I've just made my first plate of cold noodles for the season. But rest assured it will be a frequent meal. I've deviated from my tried-and-true formula this time, chiefly with a sweet soy sauce (Amanda's recipe) and also with the add-ins: julienned cucumber, whole snap pea, and bean sprouts. But the fatal flaw of this iteration is too little red oil. I only put in a bit of laoganma, but I ought to have made my own red / child oil which would've been more aromatic.
12 July 2019
pastel
I've been told that "the weej house style is generally understated colours with slightly moody/contrasty tones", and I think these shots fit my house style perfectly 😂
10 July 2019
geranium
The current state of my perfume samples, featuring a Muji tray that's perfect for keeping them in somewhat of an orderly fashion (organized by family). Aside from an already planned order from Etiket, I think I will indefinitely put on hold exploring new perfumes, at least in the form of ordering samples online.
Batch 2 of reviews for the lucky scent order (part 1):
Dustia Erwan
A creamy freshie? It seems a little contradictory in concept but does work well! The aromatic component again smells familiar, but I can’t identify. Actually it’s kind of like a green tea accord (like how Innisfree’s green tea range), or maybe bamboo? Reading the official description, I did pick up on the liatris and vanilla as creaminess, but don’t get the harvest impression. I think the vanilla is overwhelming all of the toasty notes of hay and oats on my skin. Will try again in different weather to see how it changes.
...
Imaginary Authors O’ Unknown
It is powdery and possibly iris-y, similar to Sylvia Delacourte’s Florentina and Dovana. But I don’t get any of the tea and moss, which is what attracted me to the fragrance in the first place :( The scent is pretty linear over the hours, staying powdery and soft. Will use up the sample as a cuddling scent, but pretty disappointed otherwise.
...
Nishane B-612
A very lively floral opening, but grounded by something that is well blended with the higher notes. This is a case of love at first sniff. The liveliness is kinda zesty, but not citrus-y to me. The grounded something I'm tempted to say is like a creamy wood. The overall impression I get is of a chypre. Looking at the official notes, there is a lot more wood than I'm currently smelling. Although now that I know it has lavender, I can identify the smell in this fragrance. The various wood notes do become more prominent as this fragrance settled, it's now undoubtedly a woody scent with aromatic touches. The scent doesn't project, which is fine by me and seems characteristic of an extrait concentration. This is quite a nice scent for Toronto's nice summer days, onto the full bottle list it goes!
...
Maitre Parfum et Gantier Route du Vetiver
Oh gosh the opening is nasty, smells like tar / asphalt. I have no clue where this comes from, since the top notes are suppose to be a green accord and black currant according to Fragrantica. I suppose vetiver itself can have the smoky aspect, but I didn’t imagine it would come off as tar. But after 10min or so, I can smell some nicer notes coming through. The something nice is a floral? Supposedly jasmine, but just smells like a general floral to me. This did not very well through a hand wash, and all that is left is a faint floral smell. I ought to try this again.
...
Maitre Parfum et Gantier Iris Bleu Gris
I totally recognize the opening note/accord but cannot identify it. After a couple of minutes, it turns into a powdery-floral…incense. Kinda strange. I wonder if this is the smell of the iris root, since one blog review strongly says so. Then again, I don’t even have a memory of what the iris flower smells like. But if this is what iris root smells like, then it really does smell old-fashioned haha. There is also a sweetness to this that contributes to the old-fashion feel. Maybe I shouldn’t be using old-fashioned as a descriptor, since that has negative connotations that I don’t intend. It’s a very retro scent I suppose, a glamorous retro scent. Sorta of like a generic high end toiletry from an heritage hotel? I’m not sure why grey, grim, or cool is often associated with iris root, I don’t get that impression at all. If anything this is like the warm tone of an incandescent light bulb.
However, I think I’ll stop chasing niche iris perfumes…and end my search overall by just trying Prada’s infusions again. It’s been a very disappointing search overall ;_;
08 July 2019
band
Continuing the high level look at my closet, here's the latest stats:
Some MVPs of the past few working months are:
Some MVPs of the past few working months are:
- Uniqlo flannel (grid pattern) at 22 wears and $0.91/wear (cumulative) for bit less than 3 years of ownership: makes sense given the season and how much offices blast AC.
- Other frequently worn tops are a white blouse bought on taobao (prob my favourite in terms of design and working for both work and casual outfits), thrifted Theory silk shirt (I love my silks...but this got slightly ruined from dry cleaning "orz ), and Everlane striped long sleeve (one of my few fitted tops).
- Club Monaco black pencil skirt at 29 wears and $0.21/wear (cumulative) for almost 5 years of ownership: similar situation as the Uniqlo flannel, this works for both work and casual outfits. This is my best sales find ever haha, got it for $6 cause of the pricing error.
- Other skirts that I wore often for work are my D&G houndstooth wool skirt (saviour during cold weather), Loft leopard print skirt (works for all seasons), and Ships olive linen skirt (my default weekend choice). I also must give a shoutout to a pair of navy ankle length pants from BR, although I no longer like low-rise pants, it did get a lot of wear since it was the only pair of office pants I had in Houston.
- Interestingly enough none of my dresses or outerware made it below $1/wear, but I'm going to blame that on when I started collecting data, since I had most of my outerware years before then. I did wear dresses frequently to work, which was my intention. I also finally got decent wear out of my BR cream blazer (18 wears at $4.86 for 4 years) since I just left it at work. I eventually switched to wearing my company fleece since I did feel a little too dressed up compared to others. But I will be extra and dress up the next day after wearing field clothes and sweating to death.
- My standout shoes are the Hope Mac boots (105 wears at $3.03/wear for a year) during cooler times, and then between the Everlane modern loafer (97 wears at $2.57/wear for 3 years) and the Adidas stan smiths (69 wears at $1.47/wear for 2 years) during warmer times. I suppose these 3 would be all I need if I was forced to reduce my shoes to 3, but that would not be a fun world to live in.
and since I still don't feel like writing a reflection for July, this will suffice
07 July 2019
tendril
Things I ate out during my first weekend back downtown:
Colaba Junction, because Bombay Streetfood closed :(
Killer Bee from North of Brooklyn, pizza slices gain a lot of structural integrity as it cools. A cure time of ~5min is good.
Akimitsu, great tempura! The tempura sauce in the set is amazing *u*
06 July 2019
a paradise lost in the urban exhaust
Since there's no lyrics I'll use my runner-up option from Dabin's Home.
04 July 2019
caught in a dream
Some more music queued while I run around grocery shopping and other errands.
It was a little awkward when I first came across this song (in Soundcloud feed) cause I started to tear up but was at the office with meetings coming up. Opps.
...
I just remembered that I already posted this song right before hitting publish, but since the first post had no context I'll just repost it along with the next song.
It was a little awkward when I first came across this song (in Soundcloud feed) cause I started to tear up but was at the office with meetings coming up. Opps.
...
I just remembered that I already posted this song right before hitting publish, but since the first post had no context I'll just repost it along with the next song.
02 July 2019
morning
I am happy to be back downtown, I guess it is my happy place.
Although I doubt I'm done with moving around yet, but at this point I think I'm quite the pro. In fact it took me just 2 hours to pack all of my belongings into 2 suitcases. I'm not sure how I feel about this achievement, part of me does feel proud about this minimalistic and agile way of living that's been a goal of mine for some years, and there's the other part of me that wants to nest.
Also during my last night in Houston, I suddenly felt a strong urge to listen to Solanin's soundtrack. I'm also reminded that I never made the time to listen to more of Asian Kung Fu Generations' songs.
I can't find Ending Song D:
Although I doubt I'm done with moving around yet, but at this point I think I'm quite the pro. In fact it took me just 2 hours to pack all of my belongings into 2 suitcases. I'm not sure how I feel about this achievement, part of me does feel proud about this minimalistic and agile way of living that's been a goal of mine for some years, and there's the other part of me that wants to nest.
Also during my last night in Houston, I suddenly felt a strong urge to listen to Solanin's soundtrack. I'm also reminded that I never made the time to listen to more of Asian Kung Fu Generations' songs.
I can't find Ending Song D:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)