The Perfume Challenge

[txcatx]

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!

[pocketvenus]

Aw, hope your weekend is better that you like what you try @blackkitty2014

[pocketvenus]

Tried some Hermessences today so it’s going to be a long post! They are really quite creative. The idea behind the collection is to combine two unexpected, contrasting notes. As such, many of them took me by surprize.

Cedar Sambac is predominantly a light white floral with a clean cedarwood. White florals aren’t my thing, especially cleaned up ones, so I didn’t really consider this one more.

Myrhh Eglantine was light and sweet where I was expecting deep and bitter. It’s not really like any other rose I’ve tried, it’s like an abstract hint of rose. A Wallpaper article notes of the scent, “in practice, eglantine’s simple, five-petaled flowers yield no viable amounts of perfume oil” so maybe that explains it.

Agar Ebene suggests neither oud nor coniferous notes to me. Honestly, by the time I got around to this one, my nose was a little tired and I’m afraid I can’t for the life of me remember anything further than “sweet” and “wood.”

Cuir d’Ange is the gentlest leather. Not suede, but a supple leather made light and fluffy with heliotrope. It’s really aptly named.

Poivre Samarcande was a surprize. I was expecting something dusty and dry from the name. In fact, this was a very smooth fragrance with a density lacking from the others. Woody, almost nutty.

On my skin I tried:

Vetiver Tonka reveals many facets of vetiver with a sharp, grassy opening that is quickly countered and smoothed out by the creaminess of tonka. It grows into a warmer, earthy scent although it becomes too sweet and soft for me. I had to scrub as I found it became more irritating as the scent wore on. It’s like a sweeter and more elegant cousin to ELDO’s Fat Electrician. I prefer the latter for its harsher smokiness and the bitterness from the myrrh.

Epice Marine has an aromatic, hesperidic opening that didn’t remind me of either spices or anything aquatic. However, as the scent dries down, it begins to bifurcate. There’s a peppery bristle and the emergence of the dreaded synthetic aquatic notes that I so dislike. With time, the warmth of the spices - cardamom and cumin - come to the fore. The cumin veers toward BO territory, but never in an overt way due to its pairing with the scent's bracing marine saltiness. I’m not sure the fragrance unites the spice and sea – they seem to dynamically play off each other instead in an exquisitely balanced way. If I was forced to wear an aquatic scent, this would be the one. If you liked TF’s Oud Minerale, give this a try. 

Final thoughts: the Hermessences are kind of like the Jo Malones – based on two notes, sheer and minimalist, made for layering – but they are not as commercial. They are far more expensive though, especially for EdTs. In Canada, they retail for $280/100ml which is over double a Jo Malone.

Also, is it just me or do the bottle designs for Atelier Cologne, with the leather sleeves, look like a total rip off of the Hermessences??

[purly]

I think it's a bit much to say Atelier Cologne is ripping off Hermes by making a leather sleeve for their colognes. It's not like the idea was invented by Hermes. You might as well say Hermes was ripping off Cartier when they came out with their case.

(Worth noting I saw an antique cologne bottle with a leather case once when I went antiquing. It was also very similar to the Atelier Cologne case and maybe a hundred years old or so.)

[pocketvenus]

Fair point taken - designers are always riffing off each other and it's not always easy to decide what is a reference/inspiration and what is just copying. And the AC sleeves don't look nearly similar enough to trigger IP law @purly

[purly]

TBH I'm not sure what does trigger IP law, but I consider it a matter of decency more than law. It's not that I don't care about designs being copied (I actually really hate fakes), it's that I hate it when big brands try to make something seem like their original idea when it's not. 

I love designer goods, but I've seen enough indie designers have their designs copied by the big brands to be wary of any claims of originality. Does anyone remember that Marc Jacobs fiasco a few years back where he copied these little flowers that street vendors were selling in Tokyo and then sold them for Marc Jacobs prices? I think a clip of him making that decision was even in his documentary. Ugh.

One time in CT, I saw a super old disintegrating leather "mail man's bag" on display that looked a lot like a Kelly bag (though the clasp was round instead of rectangular).

I mean I have a Chanel classic flap and a reissue and I think those are original enough that I enjoy them, but if I saw Chanel copy some design from etsy I would call them out on it.

[modernwarpaint]

@pocketvenus - Vetiver Tonka sounds like something I'd enjoy.  And I had to Google the word 'bifurcate' lol - I have never heard that word before, but great usage of the word!  I'm going to start using that now. 🙂  Thanks for the descriptive report!

[pocketvenus]

You're welcome @modernwarpaint! It's been awhile since I tried anything so creative 🙂

[blackkitty2014]

I tried out Prada Infusion D'Iris EDP sample today.  I regretted spraying it on me an hour later.  2 hrs later, it didnt bother me so much because it was gone 😉

[greeneyedgirl107]

@txcatx I finally tried Lilac Path by Aerin and it didn't live up to the expectations I had in my mind.  I wanted a stronger lilac presence.  The scent description reads, "Lilac Path weaves a delicate story of crisp greens, rich blooms, and delicate petals. Evocative lilac infuses the scent with inviting depth, heightened by lush fragrant galbanum. Creamy jasmine lactones blend with soft angelica seed oil and orange flower."  So basically I was forewarned; the first sentence wasn't even about lilacs.  I guess lilac was more of a middle note?

I tried Aerin's Gardenia Rattan as I've been desiring a good gardenia scent.  My nose must be broken, b/c it smelled like a coconut-y suntan lotion.  

So, I'm onto the next Aerin sample I have, Waterlily Sun.

[lyravega]

Since I've been so daring ( 😉 ) trying rose scents lately... It's Le Labo Rose 31's turn. I wore it last night. Today, too. Had to repeat it for science. I couldn't really believe it turned the way it did. 

Anyway. A friend sent me a sample of this one quite some time ago. She knows I don't like rose fragrances, but she was sure I was gonna like this one. So, she was kind of urging me to try it ever since. But, tbh, I just put it away and forgot all about it, cuz... rose. Can't say I've had any interest in it. But! Since I loved Eau De Protection so much the other day, I finally decided to give this one a try.

It opens pretty lovely. Wood and musk and spice and everything nice. Rose is in there, sure, but definitely not a dominant note. It's just peeking through, mostly hidden behind the rest of the notes. Which is nice. But, it's all downhill from there. It turns into something quite dirty, skanky, nasty on me. I am not even gonna try to describe it. I'll just quote a review I saw somewhere while looking for the list of the notes, because it's totally fitting... "It smelled like dirty female privates that someone tried to cover with rose spray." That describes it spot on. Well, that was an interesting experience. ( Not really. )

[RachFace2921]

I'm certainly sorry you sprayed yourself with rancid funk @lyravega, but this post is cracking me up! Thanks for the good laugh, and yes, I'll be avoiding this one 😉

[pocketvenus]

Oh dear @lyravega - that sounds horrid! I’ve never had much luck with the Le Labos myself – they sort of collapse on me and lose all structure :'(

[lyravega]

Same here, @pocketvenus . I am definitely not a fan. Especially after this latest disaster. 

[modernwarpaint]

Today I'm wearing Jo Malone Intense Oud & Bergamot.  This one was surprising because I wasn't expecting to like it as I've smelled it on paper before, but I absolutely love it on me.  It's a balanced blend of the oud, wood, and citrus, but there's an immediate sweetness in the bergamot that develops beautifully on my skin.  Definitely unisex.  I want to layer it with something, and I feel like Pomegranate Noir would be ideal (but too Christmas holiday-esque).  

[Titian06]

Today I wore Pinrose Treehouse Royal.

[lyravega]

Inspiritv Lvx today. These are the notes:

• Top notes: vanilla, vetiver, cedar.
• Base notes: spicy ginger, pepper, rosemary, elemi.

All I smell is incense. The Catholic church kind. ( I love that scent! Just don't really care to smell like it and nothing but it. ) But, what in the world?! All those notes, and all I get is incense?! How?! What is wrong with you, nose?!

[txcatx]

I stopped by the Diptyque store for their 50 Years of Fragrance event and tried the new Fleur de Peau parfum. For the first few minutes, I smelled like a higher end vintage clothing shop--the kind that has a curated selection of sturdy, quality, made in the USA type of mid-century clothing. You know, a closet full of old clothes that have obviously been cleaned, but still ever so slightly musty. Then, the iris pulls through, and it's a bit powdery, a bit sexy, but in a classy, luxurious way--more La Perla and less Victoria's Secret.

Notes: musk, iris, ambrettolide

Side note: the shop gave me all these samples to try!

[pocketvenus]

Thanks for your review @txcatx - FdP sounds like something I'd like to try! And yes, enjoy all those samples, how wonderful 🙂

[modernwarpaint]

@txcatx did you happen to try Tempo out, too?

[txcatx]

@modernwarpaint I didn't spray that one on myself because I'm usually not the biggest fan of strong patchouli notes. It just smelled like old hippie to me!

[modernwarpaint]

@txcatx  I am not a fan of strong patchouli either, but I wasn't sure how strong that note would come through.  Thank you!