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!

[txcatx]

Definitely a good idea! After the month is up, I'll update the post to adjust the format of the challenge.

[NancieNano]

I would like that too @txcatx. I have tons of scents to try but like @Jemly I received some scents for Christmas that I'm just loving right now. Maybe a 'What are You Wearing Today: Perfume Edition'? (If @jemly doesn't mind)

[txcatx]

That thread exists, @NancieNano!

http://community.sephora.com/t5/Fragrance/What-are-you-wearing-Fragrance-edition/td-p/1172503

[NancieNano]

Thanks @txcatx. Shows how much I enter the world outside the main board. 

Hey, that can be one of my goals for this year! To search more threads on BT and see what I've been missing! 🙂

[kelloua]

Today I have an important meeting that I want to go well so I went for a favorite.

Day 5 - Tokyo Milk Dark Bulletproof from the Femme Fatale Collection.  It's warm and spicy and I love everything about it.

Rest of my lineup thus far:

Spoiler

Day 4: Etat Libre d' Orange Like This

Day 3: Tocca Isabel 

Day 2: Elizabeth and James Nirvana White

Day 1: Elizabeth and James Nirvana Bourbon

[Libellules]

Day 5: Bapteme du Feu by Serge Lutens. Another one that challenges my nose, but differently - Borneo is more subtle scents, whereas Bapteme du Feu has stronger notes all fighting with and playing off of each other. You definitely have to like this scent to wear it (and I do)!

Notes:

Burnt orange peel, gunpowder, gingerbread, fresh ginger, cedar, incense, cinnamon, osmanthus, castoreum

When I originally picked up a sample from my local counter, I was told that this was created with memories of festivals/fairs SL attended during his childhood. So assorted sweet treats, woods, and a little bit of smoke, really fire.

Spoiler

Keeping running tally so that I won't repeat!
Day 4: Fir Balsam by L'Antichambre
Day 3: Borneo 1834 by Serge Lutens
Day 2: Maison Margiela Replica Dancing on the Moon
Day 1: Tobacco Vanille by Tom Ford 

[pocketvenus]

I enjoyed this one, especially for Christmas. It reminds me of the older SL style: dark, rich and spicy mmm.

[Libellules]

@pocketvenus what are some of your favorite SLs?

[Geminichilde]

This sounds so good! I've passed this counter at Saks but never stopped by.

[Libellules]

@Geminichilde SL is definitely a slippery slope - both the fragrances and makeup are beautiful, so go prepared lol. Thankfully, the makeup line is really small, so the slope is a BIT limited there 😉

[Smeegle]

Sounds like one I would like to try!!

[greenporchlights]

This sounds lovely, to me. I wish I had a counter nearby!

[Libellules]

@greenporchlights It really is! It is potent though, so you just have to want to smell it that day 😛

The SL counter was definitely one of my favorite "discoveries," this year! But I'm thankful that his actual makeup line is very small O.O

[greenporchlights]

Sounds like a challenge I'd like to sign up for!

Yeah, his cosmetics are... indulgent, to say the least. Holy mackerel.

[alexasteph]

Day 5: Pinrose Merry Maker

This one is bright and citrusy, it reminds me a lot of Dolce and Gabbana Light Blue, but it's not as overpowering. 

[k617]

Day 5 - Giorgio Armani Si Intense

I suck at identifying fragrance notes so I looked on Fragrantica 😄 Sweet cassis, rose, vanilla.

If only I could list fragrance notes as well as I can tell you what's been put in food that I've eaten! I've always wanted to try one of those Hell's Kitchen/Gordon Ramsay style blind-taste tests! (Seriously, you can't tell that this crispy, delicious, cool fruit is watermelon?)

Spoiler

Day 4 - Somethin' Special Sweet Petals (LUSH Rose Jam dupe)

[txcatx]

Same here! I'm great at telling someone there's cardamom or passion fruit in a dish, but my nose isn't nearly as good as my taste buds!

[greenporchlights]

I'm exactly the same way with food, @k617. It's become a bit of a parlor trick at restaurants... a friend will say, "what spice is in this?" I'll tell them, we'll (perhaps obnoxiously) ask the server to ask the kitchen, and booyah. 😄

[k617]

Hahaha! My friends don't do that and my coworkers have just learned to accept my interpretation of what's in the food.

I need to get better with spices in curries though! I could probably get all of them by listing off the common Indian cooking spices, but.... besides coriander, cumin, cardamom and stuff also used in Western cooking (like clove, allspice, etc,) I struggle a bit!

[greenporchlights]

Curries are definitely difficult. The one thing I will never fail to recognize in a curry, though, is fenugreek... because I hate it! 😄

[k617]

I don't think I've ever used fenugreek actually! I keep mixing up with fennel seeds (which I have and I realize is completely different) and thinking that I don't need to get it at the grocery store, whenever I'm shopping for a recipe that calls for fenugreek!