It's Friday plus National Pig in a Blanket Day and The International Day of Multilateralism and Diplomacy for Peace. Birthdays: Anthony Trollope, Elizabeth Goudge, Willem de Kooning, Robert Penn Warren, Gabriel Figueroa, Barbra Streisand, Jean Paul Gaultier. Our community project for today: celebrate Gaultier's* birthday by wearing one of his fragrances. If you don't have one, wear anything that you think works with the JPG aesthetic, or maybe a fragrance that you'd put in a torso-shaped bottle? Or, as usual, be as creative and/or farfetched as you like with the theme.
What fragrance did you pick? As always, do chime in with your scent of the day even if you’re not participating in the community project.
I'm in Jean Paul Gaultier Ma Dame (2008, Francis Kurkdjian), which I thought was a reasonably good match with the brand — it's fun — and the OG bottle with its embedded torso** was a nice nod to Classique.
Reminder: on 5/1, rabbit rabbit rabbit! It's May. Wear a fragrance that will bring you peace, happiness or good luck for the month.
And for those of you who like to plan ahead, see Scent of the day ~ Friday community projects 2026, where I'll try (but usually fail) to have the next five or six weeks mapped out in advance.
* More reading: The Utopian Vision of Jean Paul Gaultier at HyperAllergic, What Jean-Paul Gaultier Will Be Remembered For in Fashion at Frenchly, Jean Paul Gaultier, Master of Spectacle at Interview, Jean Paul Gaultier: Get to Know the History Behind The Designer at L'Officiel, When Jean-Paul Gaultier was creative director of Hermès at NSS.
** It has now been reissued in a plainer bottle.
Note: top image shows Jean Paul Gaultier with model Agyness Deyn, from the promotional materials for Ma Dame.
I’m taking points in Philosykos, for the little fig leaves on several of the male torso bottles. They make me giggle.
Very creative, SheriG. Makes me giggle too.
Excellent!!
Those ‘fig leaf’ bottles made me laugh the first time I saw a picture!
Hello and tgif!
Sotd is JPG Scandal Le Parfum. Vanilla, floral caramel. The better of the Scandal range imo.
I just got an email from Aesop introducing their new “hand serum” that you can apply before your hand cream. The active ingredient being mainly niacinamide. Call me cheap but I think I can just buy The Ordinary’s niacinamide serum and mix that into my favourite hand cream for less?
I call you ingenious and resourceful!
I have on occasion fallen for Aesop’s overpriced but nice smelling creams, but this hand serum is truly making my eyes roll!
No CP compliant. Wearing Vilhelm A Lilac a Day for all the Lilac trees in full bloom in my area. My favorite scented spring flower.
Happy Friday! 🌞
They are in bloom everywhere here too…so lovely.
My favorite flower too!
Many are in bloom here, too, but mine are just beginning to bud. Hoping they will hang on til near Mother’s Day, which is when they usually bloom here.
Cherry trees might win on looks, but lilacs beat them on scent hands down.
No SOTD yet, just trailing the faint remnants of last night’s Eau D’Hiver,) as I’m going on a run in Griffith Park (our big urban wilderness for those who don’t know L.A., and the easternmost spur of the Santa Monica Mountains). I will smell like trail dust, sweat, green growing things, and happy dog (my running companion). Hopefully I will not smell of coyote, rattlesnake, & tarantula, all trail denizens that we regularly encounter.
BTW, has L’Eau d’Hiver been reformulated? It smells more citrusy/floral than I recall. I remember it as more cool, anisic/heliotropic, herbal, and very faint.
DeniseH your trail run sounds fantastic! I love your SOTD. I hope it hasn’t been reformulated-my bottle corresponds to the latter description and I think it’s perfect.
Have a great run, Denise! So many wonderful trails in LA – one of the best attributes of our city. Last week I hiked (for the first time) the Ferndell Trail up to the Observatory – not a particularly long hike, but a steep one with gorgeous views.
I got my bottle of L’Eau d’Hiver pre-pandemic, and it’s as you remember. Haven’t smelled a current bottle.
Do avoid all the wild animals!
Lots of lizards at Vicente Bluffs yesterday, no rattlers in sight. Have a great hike!
Update: I’ve long wanted to see a bobcat in the wild and today I did. It was up in a tree, lazing on a branch. Not sure if it was sunning itself or got tree’d by coyotes or what. They are usually quite reclusive so it was a bit of a mystery. It had a beautiful reddish/yellowish/brown coat with spotted fur. I was probably 80 yards away from it but could see it pretty well with magnification on my phone. Really neat. Also saw a rattler crossing the trail near the trailhead. It had a least five rattles, but I didn’t get close enough to count, obviously. I don’t think the dog noticed either of them. Sadly, three people in California have already died this year from rattlesnake bites. Usually 5 people in the entire USA die each year from this cause so this is a record we don’t want to have. Wet winter and early heat are to blame & the season usually goes from April-October.
To keep on topic, I loved Allo’s idea wearing Caron’s Pour Une Femme (I’d totally forgotten about *that* torso) so am stealing her inspiration. I have a mini. I was planning to wear the dregs of my Schiaparelli Shocking but was not feeling that one today. I got it out for tomorrow (also a mini). Both of them have beautiful sashes. Happy Friday everyone.
Hi Twin! I wish I’d twinned and seen a bobcat today, how cool!
A bobcat AND a rattlesnake! That is quite a day.
It’s rattlesnake season out here, too. Some of the local TV stations are putting out PSAs to remind people what not to do on the trails.
Still no JPG scents on board, but today I’m wearing Kenzo l’Elephant inspired by this JPG mesh shirt…
https://www.ebay.ca/itm/225707155051
Apparently he had a whole line of tops and dresses featuring elephants (and other wildlife) back in 1996, which just so happens to be a year sandwiched in one of the happiest decades of my life. And let’s face it, l’Elephant is very JPG in the sense that it’s big, bombastic, and totally OTT. I love it forever and always! 🐘
Have a great Friday!
And the perfume is cheaper than the used shirt! Nice.
Clever match! And you smell amazing!
great nugget of info, Deva. I love that shirt.
I have to admit I know next to nothing about JPG fragrances. I chose Portrait of A Lady today because I am working alone for most of the day. I think this scent is beautiful but too opulent for work, most days.
Office cleanup went well and we were given a feast at lunch – Indian food. Leftovers for lunch today. Food is the lowest form of reinforcement and it works on me every time 🙂
Have a great Friday, everyone!
Carole, you smell heavenly!😊
Thank you, Daniel!
I almost was house twinning with you!
I am wearing Hermes bronzing powder today! Love this stuff!
Mine has not arrived yet – am I ever looking forward to trying this! Confession: I also bought the nail polish.
Happy Friday, everyone!
I’m in JPG’s Fleur du Mâle, which, to my nose, is so much more interesting than Le Mâle. It’s beautiful, perfectly unisex, and sadly discontinued.
SO much more interesting! I really wish I’d bought that one, and loved the bottle in white.
I have owned two JPGs, the original Classique and the original Le Male. I have 15 mL or so of Classique, which has been turning steadily darker for the last decade or so —I bought it fully twenty years ago —and I finally have to face facts: it’s unwearable. I tried a test spritz last night and it’s just horrible. I can’t even look past the top notes to see what’s underneath: it’s entirely ruined.
So what I’m wearing instead is Lynx Marshmallow Smoke, which is delightful, a cloud of sweet vanilla and hazelnut that manages to avoid being cloying and simplistic. I can already tell it won’t have much lasting power, but I can live with that.
I read that JPG a got the inspiration for the tin can packaging for Classique while feeding his cat ( opening the can). Maybe some of the smell from that has now infiltrated your perfume!
A moment of silence for your horribly turned perfume.
I could have sworn I had some JPG samples somewhere but I seem to have used them all up so I ended up in Nuit de Noel by Caron, not a very good match to Jean Paul Gaultier’s impishness but appropriate to the day since it’s snowing here AGAIN. I’d love to have a bottle of this but I think they discontinued it? Or maybe it can only be found overseas.
Hi House Twin!
Happy Friday!💐
The day is made happier by the fact that my bottle of Tauer Patch Absolue is out for delivery! I’ll bring up the rear on hajusuuri’s splitmeet in case there’s more demand.
I don’t have any JPG and am not sure if I’ve ever smelled any of his fragrances so I went with Caron Pour Une Femme. The bottle is an iconic sculptural silhouette of a woman’s body sans head on a pedestal, which is also where the sprayer is cleverly hidden. I haven’t worn this in years but it’s holding up quite well, maybe even getting better with age, like we women generally do!
I’ve posted this before but I must include the French and English versions of the rather poetic copy on the back of the box. Definitely a case of something lost in translation aka everything sounds better in French 😊 🇫🇷
Je vous offer
quatre vaporisations
de tendresse,
il suffit de me retourner
pour renouveler
le geste.
Pour une femme
sur un lit de roses,
enveloppée du mystère
des larmes d’oliban,
de la sensualité
de l’ambre
et du benjoin.
My four sweet
bursts of tenderness
are yours afresh
if you just flip
me over.
I’ll garland you
with fragrant rose,
the mysteries
of frankincense
and sensual
benjamin and
amber.
Beautiful, in both languages. Looking forward to a report on the new Tauer; it sounds interesting.
This is beautiful!
Yes to patchouli!
It’s never a good morning when you wake up and your espresso maker needs to be descaled. Finally sitting down to have a cuppa after going to the hardware store after appointments and buying the solution.
I am doing some errands and potting up some seedlings for my “Juliette balcony”…so I am not following the CP. I am wearing Asprey’s Purple Water and ready to stick my hands into some dirt…
I hope your espresso tastes extra delicious after all that effort!
Wow, you had to work for your caffeine today!
I’m taking no points in SJP Stash for a gorgeous Friday morning (or maybe I *do* have a very slight CP connection — SJP and JPG are both well known by their initials!). I slept in late and need to get going on my workout. Your fragrance sounds fun, Robin. I missed it when it came out.
And I’ve always liked Agyness Deyn. Fun to see the photo of her with JPG.
I looked it up, and Carrie wore JPG outfits 3 times in Sex and the city. Points for you!
Thanks – I’ll take ’em!
SP, did you see there’s an interview with Barbara Herman on Persolaise YT channel–think you like a couple of the Eris scents? Might order a sample of Mother’s Milk.
Oh fun, thanks. I think he has had both Barbara and Antoine Lie on his YT channel before. I’ll have to watch this one. I love both Mx and Mxxx as well as Delta of Venus. Have not tried the new Mother’s Milk.
I tried Mother’s Milk today at Orcas Paley downtown on 2nd Ave. It was lovely but I didn’t feel an urge to buy it, at least not right away😊
Those are very clever points!
Here’s a polished version:
So glad you guys enjoyed my perfume pairings with JPG designs. I’m actually wearing a JPG scent today – La Belle Flower Edition. It’s my first JPG, so I can’t compare it to the original La Belle. It smells like a fruitchouli from the vial, but on my skin the patchouli disappears almost immediately – it becomes a blend of florals, jammy fruitiness, and vanilla. It doesn’t go either full floral or full gourmand, instead balancing somewhere in between. It smells nice, but the performance is weak – it quickly becomes a skin scent and is pretty much gone after a couple of hours.
Now, when I planned this CP, I didn’t have any JPG perfumes, so I have one unused pairing I just want to talk about. This design is from Gaultier’s religious collection:
https://media.vogue.fr/photos/5e286fefeba60700084eac8f/master/w_1600,c_limit/009-JeanPaulGaultier-CoutureSS07-VogueGlobal-21Jan20-Shutterstock.jpg
I would pair it with something luminous and ethereal, like Chanel No. 22. As Victoria from Bois de Jasmin put it, “the fragrance assumes a radiant and lush character, with chiffon-like lightness.” Or it might be a lily-of-the-valley fragrance, like Yardley Lily of the Valley – after all, this flower symbolizes the Virgin Mary’s tears. A light incense scent like Shanaan would also work.
The whole collection is very interesting and provides a lot of inspiration for perfume pairings, in my opinion:
https://www.instagram.com/p/C-uzxp4qBQ8/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=73a5fe1d-6df8-4ecc-a823-477b10ea4456&img_index=1
Disregard “here’s the polished version” – I asked the AI to proofread it and then accidentally copied and pasted that portion of its reply. 😂
No one will judge you for using AI to write you NST posts
There are so many evocative outfits in that collection! If I had seen it earlier, I might have worn an incense fragrance for one of them.
Same!
Yes, incense definitely works. I might pair some of them with some Guerlains. Most likely Mitosuko and Samsara but possibly even Shalimar.
The head pieces are the absolute bomb! 🤩
Thanks for your review on JPG La Belle Flower Edition. It sounds like something I don’t need to pursue.
Project Amber continues with Ambre Mythique…very dry w/ lots of geranium in the opening. 🚂
And thank you for the health well wishes yesterday…my cold is very mild and sampling must continue. No amber left behind. 😁
Have you tried Deixis as part of Project Amber yet? It kind of heads in that direction.
Yes, love Deixis and am wearing it today! 😁🚂
Fragile for the project today. I only have samples, not the cool snow globe bottle
It was a cool bottle
Very cool bottle! I want it.
I’m wearing Epice Marine for JPG’s sailor shirt and time at Hermes. I find it interesting that JPG started at Hermes at around the same time as JCE. JCE last much longer though. 😝
Happy Friday, everyone!
Excellent connection and Happy Friday to you!
What did you end up doing with your laundry?
I am surprised JPG lasted as long as he did!
I’m on the email list of Celeste Parfums in the Netherlands, having ordered a hard-to-find Annick Goutal candle from them many years ago. Their most recent mailing featured a new UK-based, French-produced brand, Fine Scents (Google translated from the Celeste Parfums mailing).
“The inspiration comes from architecture, carefully curated museums, and the balance between British calm and French joie de vivre, composed by three of the leading perfumers of our time.”
According to the Fine Scents website, they were named Brand of the Year by Fragrantica.
https://finescents.co.uk/
What also caught my eye is that Fine Scents launched with a modest range of three perfumes, each created by a renowned perfumer:
“Fashionably Late , created by Dominique Ropion, envelops the skin in lush white flowers, tuberose, and a warm amber glow full of allure. Comparable to the classic Gem by Van Cleef & Arpels.
“Éminence by Céline Ellena combines a salty maritime accent with cedarwood and patchouli into a free, sensual, and contemporary composition. Unique and not yet something we can compare it to in our store.
“Joie de Sannes, by Jean-Claude Ellena, captures the lightness of an endless summer with sparkling fruity notes and an elegant floral softness. Think of Eau de Pamplemousse Rose by Hermès.”
The brand’s description of itself reminds me a bit of Frederic Malle’s philosophy, perhaps without so much personal editing?
They also offer home fragrances (including charming scented bookmarks) and personal care items (such as hand cream).
The UK website only ships within the UK. Celeste Parfums may only ship within Europe now. I imagine this line will eventually show up somewhere in the US. And don’t forget: Shop France, Inc. also shops in London.
I’m very curious about Éminence — which one would you try?
Interesting, thank you very much for highlighting this new brand and I’m in the UK.
Excellent report! I’d try Fashionably Late.
Oh my. I’d try Fashionably Late (always in the hope I can find a white floral I can wear). Would also try the JCE, for sure. Thank you for the info!
Those are the two I’d want to try as well.
Day two of Une Nuit Nomade Spicy Road.
It’s spicy, warm, vanilla, incense, clove with a beautiful drydown.
I love Sugar Leather and Ambre Khadjar so its a happy addition!
That sounds beautiful
I am wearing the only JPG I have, le Male by Francis Kurkdjian, the original.
It’s very cologne like, fresh, out of the shower scent.
I wonder if it is still their best selling fragrance?
https://www.ssense.com/en-gb/editorial/fashion/jean-paul-gaultier-history
Before JPG started his own label he worked for Pierre Cardin and Jean Patou and so I’m wearing (JP) 1000 as it’s the closest to his initials. My son is coming over this morning to help with the stressful job of installing my new iPad. My current one is ten years old and has 16GB and I’m tired of trying to free up space on it. It can’t be upgraded due to lack of space and most days some officious notification crops up from iCloud telling me that storage is almost full. Being nagged by a piece of electronic equipment is annoying, especially one that only has 4 apps installed. I hate replacing something that still works but I think it’s time.
Thanks for the intel, joining you in JP 1000.
Kanuka, great job of connecting up the dots to land on Patou. I have collected a number of Patous over the years and especially like 1000. I find it quite animalic. Too bad it’s d/c.
I hope the new iPad setup went smoothly for you. Apple at least tries to make the process as pain-free as possible, in my experience.
Enjoy the new iPad you didn’t want…I upgraded mine for pretty much the same reason.
2 clementines. Robin, we’re twins, my only JPG is MaDame EDT which I applied this morning, I love pomegranate but this is definitely not a great perfume, I’m not a fan of Francis with the exception of EA Green Tea and Burberry Black but these two I adore, also liked the Elie Saab numbered series. Tonight I’m wearing MK Midnight Shimmer.
I recall JPG Ma Dame being rather likable when I had a sample of it. Don’t recall if it was the EdT or EdP now. For some reason I never listed it in my perfume testing notes.
Midnight Shimmer is so good! The best in that line.
I’m with you on FK.
Isn’t it? I kept restesing it at the drugstore when it came out and realized in the end I had to have it, and by now discontinued with silly prices on the second-hand market places. I think it’s my only MK.
I am not generally a fan of Francis either, but love Petit Matin and the scents he did for Carven, and he did Fleur du Male which I wish I owned. Oh, and Pluriel. So he does make things I like, it’s just that he makes an awful lot of things I don’t like.
This one makes me smile but agree it is not a great perfume.
No JPG so I’m in Iris Torréfié. Happy Friday!
Iris generally hits the spot, I find
It is without a doubt my favorite note.
Nice to see you, cazaubon!
Nice to see you too springpansy!
Welcome back !
Thank you! It was so nice to see you again.
Iris Torrefie is such a pretty perfume, in the best possible way.
Happy Friday!
Wearing Mugler Supra Florale on a blooming spring day. The lilacs are not quite out yet, but am looking forward to them.
That Mugler scent was excellent. But sadly gone in a flash.
For the CP: Champs Elysees edt, from the original “shoulder” bottle. I seem to remember that shape is meant to evoke a chic, suited woman. Major Spring notes that match my street with everyone’s lilacs and lilies of the valley in bloom. The edt also has wonderful sandalwood and really lingers. I think the edp is more melon-forward. I am really enjoying reading everyone’s connections!
That’s a great bottle.
Inspired by someone’s post earlier this week linking Organza to JPG, I’m taking that one step further with the original vintage ‘Indecence’ version, given JPG’s love of the torso and the risqué. Fragrantica says this “ ‘black’ Organza . . is intensive . . Yet softly sensual and erotic.” The ad for the original version (and the bottle itself) certainly reflect JPG’s aesthetic even though he did not create them.
Looking forward to tonight’s dramatic performance at a nearby library by the Shakespeare Project of Chicago of the Jacobean tragicomedy, The Witch, written by Thomas Middleton circa 1616. Parts of it were adapted by Shakespeare and used in MacBeth.
And Happy Birthday, Barbra, my favorite female vocalist of all time!🎶
Enjoy the dramatic performance tonight! The subject sounds very interesting.
SOTD = Frederic Malle Acne Studios
Nice citrusy fragrance! I was going to wear the Tauer Patchouli Absolue but my package contained Phataloblue instead. Seriously, if I am packing the order, the only similarity is the P. Just waiting to hear back as to what to do.
I had the United War Veterans Council pick up my items this morning. There were nine packs of stuff. BUT, I have probably 30x that to give away and still have plenty left over! I will call next week to see when they will be here next.
ZOMG! I don’t see how on Earth those 2 perfumes could have been mixed up.
I’m sorry for the perfume mix-up. I hope it gets resolved quickly.
Great job on the decluttering!
Yikes, sorry about the perfume shipment miscue. I’ll bet it gets resolved quickly, though. Tauer is a pretty good outfit.
Sunny but windy this afternoon. I am waiting for a cold front to make its way down into my part of Colorado later on this evening. Tomorrow could be chilly! Teflon kitty will appreciate that I haven’t removed the flannel sheets from my bed yet, if that’s the case.
SOTD = ELdO Putain des Palaces, from the Sample Stash. No Gaultier in my collection that I can wear, so I went with a subversive perfume name instead.
A cold front came through here today. It brought pouring rain for about 10 minutes.
Geez, I wish we had some rain! Might get some super scattered showers tomorrow morning, but I wouldn’t bet on it.
I’m up near Casper and it’s very chilly! Had some flurries earlier and more expected overnight. Last week it was 80F here…just crazy! So yes, it’s headed your way…
I had a FB of PdP and loved it until I didn’t. I swapped with someone here iirc. All of a sudden, without warning, it made my sweet tooth tingle in a bad way. Weird.
Casper is about 5 hours’ drive to the north from me, give or take. Around dinner time, one of the meteorologists in Denver said the front was in the Cheyenne area. No snow expected here, but still windy AF.
Teflon kitty has been a super clingy lap cat today.
Later than Jalapeno! 😃
I started the day at the dentist, and that was the least annoying part of my day! Lol.
My sotd is Nicki Minaj Pink Friday. I went with a torso bottle to match with JPG. Pink Friday is actually a very nice perfume. It has an uplifting clean shampoo smell. As for the bottle, it’s ok. My daughter repainted the head/cap with nail polish.
Gosh, if it was all downhill from the dentist, I am truly sorry!
I know you are not a fan of the dentist’s office…
Your daughter comes up with funny ideas😀, I think it’s something I might have done as a teenager.
Wore Scandal by Night. Just 2 sprays. It’s a potent, perfumey fragrance; it could fall into the “fun category”! Might have been my style 2 decades ago; although perhaps it could be a winter scent in freezing weather.
Whoops! Fragrance correction; it was So Scandal.
I wish the Scandal line was carried near me. I think I might like at least one of them.
I found mine on a massive discount at a drugstore. They have really good deals but the inventory changes often. The other one they had at the time was Scandal (which has a honey note).
Oooooof. Honey notes are no bueno for me. They go VERY skanky with my chemistry.
I get it! Honey can be a polarizing note.
I still have to laugh at my sister’s reaction to the note of carrot seed. I was so sure she’d love it (like I do). She was repulsed; and she asked how I use the oil. I said it’s so good in unscented lotion. Her priceless response was “so there’s more of it on you, all over”. I laughed so hard, “yes, it’s so good!”. She disagreed.
Happy Friday y’all! I’m in PG Le Musc & La Peau, a skin scent that bears no relation to JPG. New bottle for me. My purchase netted me some free samples, including White Rice from D’Annam, which I actually like more than the PG. Ahh well, I like the PG a lot too.
Oh darn, I take it the PG was an unsniffed purchase?
Happy Friday back atcha!