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The Perfume Challenge

Do you have a box full of perfume vials and/or a vanity covered in perfume bottles? Are you the Goldilocks of perfume, just looking for the perfect signature scent? Do you want an opportunity to post daily about how your perfume of the day smells oaky and smoky with hints of blackberry and currant, like a cigar in a whisky barrel rolling through a Mediterranean orchard on a breezy summer morning?

 

If you answered yes to any of the above, or you just want to hop on board for the ride, join us for a 31 days of perfume challenge starting January 1st! Some of us from the 25 days of lipstick challenge wanted to continue the fun and exploration, and since many of us have so many perfume samples, we thought this challenge would be perfect. If you don't have 31 perfumes or hate everything that doesn't smell like Meyer lemons and fresh goat cream, that's fine--we're just aiming to use the neglected perfumes we have laying around and incorporate them into our perfume rotations.

 

And if you want more perfume vials, there's no better time than now to take a peek at Sephora's samples section.

 

Edit: Anyone can join in at anytime! We're here to support, live vicariously through, and encourage everyone in their olfactory adventures!

Re: 31 Days of Perfume Challenge

Let us know how it goes and which vanilla you use!

Re: 31 Days of Perfume Challenge

I'd been lazy since my Costa Rica trip (almost 3 months ago)  I need to do this again.  As of the moment, Creed Aventus for Her is top of my wanted list.

Re: 31 Days of Perfume Challenge

I bought three sample sets and a couple of rollerballs plus samples so I'm ready to jump back in!

 

- Hermes, Terre d'Hermes Eau de Toilette

Notes:  Grapefruit, Woody Notes, Mineral Notes, Green Notes

 

Ugh!  This stinks!  Need I say more?

 

- Atelier Cologne, Clementine California Cologne

Notes:  Clementine, Mandarin, Juniper Berries, Star Anise, Sichuan Pepper, Basilica, Vetiver, Sandalwood, Cypress

 

I am disappointed with this scent.  I thought it would smell more citrusy and I thought it would have a stronger scent.  Instead, the scent is barely there and it has no distinctive note(s).  If "nothing" had a scent, this would be it.  If you want a subtle, nondescript scent, this will fill the bill.  I will continue to wear it since it doesn't smell bad.  Maybe I will try layering it with another scent...mmm...

 

Re: 31 Days of Perfume Challenge

@ghrelin - You're cat's reaction is interesting.  I hold my wrist for my cats to smell--I'd like their input--but they just go about their business.  It's like they don't smell anything at all!

Re: 31 Days of Perfume Challenge

@Titian06  Cats are strange creatures!  My cat is an opinionated and grouchy old lady.  If I'm not awake and out of my bedroom by 6am, she starts meowing loudly at the door (she doesn't sleep with me because I can't sleep with her), not because she wants food but because she figures I have had enough bedroom time.  

 

She hates rock and roll, heavy metal, some pop music, and anything in Russian, but loves soft meditative music, ballads, country, and Paul Simon.  And she HATES Metallica.

 

She has opinions on my perfume, on my choice of food, where I sit on the couch.  God forbid I fall asleep on the couch because she will wake me up and tell me to go to my room! 

 

My other cat, before he passed away, couldn't have cared less about any of that, but he liked to sit on a perch and watch me cook, or sit with me while I gardened.  He was so great and I miss him terribly.

 

Cats are so strange, but wonderful creatures.  Maybe yours will come around and start giving you perfume advice too 😉

Re: 31 Days of Perfume Challenge

Ha, your cat is hilarious, @ghrelin! I wish I weren't allergic to cats. I'd love perfume advice from a cat.

Re: 31 Days of Perfume Challenge

@txcatx  How sad that you're allergic!  Though it's probably for the best.  First they start trying to dictate your perfume selection, next they try to take over the world.  😄

Re: 31 Days of Perfume Challenge

@ghrelin - lol!  Give a cat an inch and they take over the world!

Re: 31 Days of Perfume Challenge

I popped in here just to read about your cat @ghrelin! 😄 She would hate living with me, all I listen to is rock & roll and heavy metal (and, you guessed it, Metallica). 😛

 

It's so funny how cats can be so particular about things. Sounds like your girl really likes running the show. 😛

Re: 31 Days of Perfume Challenge

@Asche  I love Metallica (enough to have them on vinyl), and it never fails that she walks around meowing her head off when I play them, or any sort of rock or metal.  She also hates the Offspring and Slipknot.  

 

I just keep telling her that when she goes out and gets a job and pays her share, then she can have a say in the music 😉  She has no problem giving you a piece of her mind.

Re: 31 Days of Perfume Challenge

That is hilarious @ghrelin. Glad you've tried to tell her how it is! Now you just have to watch out for that kitty revenge. 😉

Image result for cat knocking things off table gif

Re: 31 Days of Perfume Challenge

@Asche  HA!  That gif is amazing.

Re: 31 Days of Perfume Challenge

So this morning I am wearing Marc Jacob's Decadence on one wrist and Burberry's My Burberry Black on the other...

 

A while back I picked up one of the sampler sets and I just KNEW I wanted Decadence, but then I really liked the Burberry black, and THEN I ran out of both of the samples.  So, with my tail between my legs, I hit up my local Sephora and explained my super serious problem, and the girl was kind enough to fill two samples of both of them so that I could try to decide.

 

Edit:  Against the wishes of my cat, I've decided on the Marc Jacobs Decadence.

 

To me, they smell very similar, but I think now I'll go with Decadence.  It's sweeter than the Burberry Black, which isn't always a deal breaker, but I think that the Burberry Black has a slight 'soapy' note to it, which detracts a little from the experience I get from it.

Re: 31 Days of Perfume Challenge

@ghrelin, Costco has Marc Jacobs Decadence. 

Re: 31 Days of Perfume Challenge

@blackkitty2014 Awesome, thanks for letting me know. 😄

Re: 31 Days of Perfume Challenge

Nice! : ) @ghrelin : ) I think that's a very smart way to make a perfume decision because I find you really have to take it home and try it where it is not competing with so many other scents... In the past I've purchased fragrances on impulse and sometimes even blind purchased and I've been sorely disappointed in the end... I also feel like I need to see how it reacts on my skin and how it reacts a few hours after application. : ) I feel like finding a good personal scent requires a little "homework" but it is the very best kind of "homework" there is! : ) hahaha. 

 

I've never smelled  Burberry black but after reading your post I went to look at the notes and now I'm super curious to try it! I have smelled Decadence and I feel like it would make a great signature scent because it is distinctive and sophisticated.  As an aside I noticed you mention the sweetness in Decadence and I agree - it has a kind of sweetness I have trouble identifying that I feel like the notes they've put up don't fully account for... I know they say there is a dominant plum note but I feel there is maybe something else there that adds a bit of rich sweetness but I can't quite put my finger on what... The packaging for Decadence is very cute (I think its the little purse bottle)?

Re: 31 Days of Perfume Challenge

@RoseCharlie  Oh yes, definitely!  A trial period is a must when buying a fragrance.  I've come across quite a few that I just loved on the tester strip, only to find out they smelled absolutely awful on me!  

 

The first time I smelled Decadence, I just loved it (I have a weakness for gourmands).  I'm a little pickier when it comes to sweet fragrances because they can be headache inducing for me, even if I love the smell.  So, I've been lusting after Decadence for a while, but haven't made a move because I was worried the romance would fade and I'd be left with the remains of a love affair that would sit on my perfume shelf forever.  However, I've decided to make the commitment! haha!

 

As for Burberry Black, it has so many notes that I just love, and if it wasn't for that soapy note, I probably would have gone with it instead.  It's the same issue I had with the Derek Lam 2am Kiss (which was also a choice in the set).  If you try it, let me know what you think.  I would be interested to know if you pick up that soapy note, or if it's just me.

 

But back to Decadence (yep the purse bottle), it could be the amber that you're picking up.  For me, I get a lot of amber with the plum and a bit of sweet floral.

Re: 31 Days of Perfume Challenge

@ghrelinOh gosh yes - there are some scents that smell terrific on the strip but when I put them on my skin they smell like cat pee lol.  Or sometimes the fragrance will smell good when I've tested a bunch and I likely have other stuff on me but I'm decidedly unimpressed when I wear alone - at other times it's nice when freshly spritzed but the dry down is a bit rank... Sigh it really depends and since buying a bottle of perfume tends to be on the expensive side it's nice to be able to sure. 

 

I was really interested to read your note and since I did have a sample of 2am kiss on hand I went to try to see if I could detect a soapy note too.   I'll put a spoiler tag in here for my thought on it:

 

Spoiler

With 2am Kiss I  liked the caramel but I could definitely notice a sort of weird note in there and I felt like the note didn't really jive with the rest of the scent.  I like the idea of salted caramel and I find that they conveyed the caramel - and surprisingly - the salt quite well.  I say surprisingly because salt is virtually odorless yet I get a distinct impression of not just caramel but salted caramel when I smell this and I can't quite figure out how that works.  To me though, I experience the weird note as being kind of a sharp almost wood - almost pine wood I would say - but it doesn't smell like natural pine it smells more like pine scented aroma chemical.  It's too bad because the salted caramel is quite nice and I also love gourmands and caramel notes but I wouldn't wear this because I don't really like the pine... I mean my tastes run more to vanilla and floral gourmands and I get that they have to make other types of perfume because there needs to be variety so I'm not saying it's bad I just don't personally enjoy what I experience as a woody note based on my personal preferences.  : )

I do wonder though - you said soapy note - I feel like it's pine-like in character and I think that the reason I even have a notion of pine smell in my head is because of the pine scented floor cleaner i use.  I wonder if we are thinking of the same note? I'm not trying to say this smells like floor cleaner or anything - just that I smell a wood-like scent that has a general quality that I associate with the smell of pinewood. I'll try smelling the Burberry Black at first opportunity to see if I smell that same note again.

Ahhhh you're right - with decadence it might be that amber has a sweet quality to it.

 

Re: 31 Days of Perfume Challenge

@RoseCharlie

 

For the sake of keeping the board 'clean and orderly' I'm posting my reply in a spoiler. 

 

Spoiler

It is possible about the 'pine' scent, though I'm usually a fan of 'woodsy' types.  It's interesting when I compare the 2am kiss to the Burberry Black on Fragratica, they both list "Animalic".  That's a note that I've never really been able to wrap my head around because I haven't ever smelled it 'isolated' before, and I'm wondering if that is the connection between the two, but that I don't really have the olfactory ability on that one.  And, to be fair, 'animalic' and 'pine' could easily have some similarities.

 

I also liked the caramel in the 2am.  I thought it was interestingly simple in its design, and yet there was still that strange 'soapy' note to it that just put me off.  And maybe even 'soapy' isn't exactly right, but that I'd smelled that in some sort of soap product in the past and it stuck with me unconsciously.  It still smells nice enough to finish a whole sample, but it just doesn't smell 'right' on my skin.

 

As a completely unrelated note, my cat seems to prefer the Burberry Black lol.  With her it's either "eww omg what are you wearing, don't come near me" or "I'm going to lick that off your skin, whatever it is".

 

Re: 31 Days of Perfume Challenge

@ghrelinI am so sorry I just realized you had taken the time to write this and I never said thanks - I am getting so many board notification e-mails I missed this.  I'll do the same thing (spoiler tag).

 

Spoiler
Interesting re: the animalic - come to think of it I think that I also tend to dislike perfumes that have animalic in the description... Maybe that is the source of the odd smell...

Hahaha i laughed when I read the blurb about your cat being a sniff-tester that is so freaking adorable.  My dog hates all perfumes and if I'm lightly scented he will look at me reproachfully and then trying to bathe me in his smelly breathe to clear away the "good scent" but if I'm wearing anything that is a little more robust he refuses to get to close, let alone kiss me.  I wish I could get him to weigh in on the perfumes like your cat does though that would be so much more fun! : )

 

 

Re: 31 Days of Perfume Challenge

@RoseCharlie  No worries!  🙂

 

Oh yeah, my cat is an opinionated old biddy.  I love her to pieces, but I'm also glad she's a cat and not human!

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