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!

[alexasteph]

Today I've got on Viva La Juicy Noir. Ooooooh I love this one. It's one of the few fragrances I own in a bottle larger than rollerball/travel stray. Partly because they don't make it that way, but I liked it so much I needed it anyway. And the packaging is adorable. A pink bottle with a black bow. Yes please. I'm happy every time I wear it. It's sweet with juicy berry and other gourmand notes, but mellowed out by sandalwood. The sweetness invites you in and the musk keeps you in. It's like "Oh, what is that smell? Oooooh what IS that smell??" It's a good Valentine's Day scent too. This one lives in the same world as Mon Paris and La Vie Est Belle, sort of right between the two. It's not as sweet as Mon Paris but not as musky/powdery as La Vie Est Belle. 

[creasedshadow]

A couple of days in a row wearing one of my all-time faves, both as a perfume oil and as an edp:

Sixteen92's Montmartre - Feathered fans, sugared absinthe, silk stockings, faded perfume, new lipstick, warm skin, the smoky haze of hot stage lights

If you can't get enough of that waxy note in Replica: Lipstick On, you'd probably love this.

[howconnie]

I think 🤔 I need both of these

[modernwarpaint]

I just smelled Lipstick On for the first time today and I was floored.  Totally took me to backstage during the 1940s!  It’s a modern take of old Hollywood, very unique, comforting.  Like that familiarity and connection to women of the past, and our never ending desires for beauty and just feeling good in our skin.  Lol. It’s still on my wrist and I’m captivated.  Definitely not an every day scent for me, but it’s special.

[Samtian]

@creasedshadow Um that sounds incredible.

[pocketvenus]

I tested Malle’s Promise (Al Waad) on my skin today. It is described as an oriental floral with Bulgarian and Turkish roses. Personally, I would not describe it as a rose scent. I'd describe it as full bodied and spicy and these other notes really drown out the rose. Lifted with the tartness of apple. There’s also a harsh, pungent edge that cleaves roughly through the richness. Unique, bold and commanding. Difficult to wear and testing is recommended. tbh, I haven't made up my mind about it.

[fizzylizzy88]

Wearing Clean Reserve Sueded Oud today. It smells woodsy and crisp and I think it suits the snowy day we're having here. It's one of my go-to scents and I love it like usual.

[sunshine202]

@fizzylizzy88 I just purchased this. Absolutely the softest yet sophisticated scent I have had in a long while.

[IndyQT317]

Wearing my favorite YSL Mon Paris today. Love the notes in this scent. Sultry

[alexasteph]

Catching up on the last couple of days...

Tuesday: YSL Black Opium

Yesterday: Balenciaga B. Skin

Today: YSL Mon Paris

All different, all yummy. 

[IciclePop]

I'm wearing Black Opium today!  I love it, just wish I had in a travel size because I sprayed it on six hours ago and I can't smell it anymore.  Not a fan of Mon Paris, but it looks like I'm in the minority there since @IndyQT317 is wearing it today as well!

[alexasteph]

@IciclePop Sample vials are not hard to come by, I think at one time I had 3 or 4. Since I really like Black Opium too, I hold on to the samples I receive for the purposes of travel. You could keep one in your handbag to use throughout the day too. I actually do have this one in the travel spray size anyway, most of my fragrances are in that size (since I have about 75 difference scents, whoops), but I'm likely enough that almost every single one I own has really good staying power. I can always still detect it when the end of the day rolls around. 

[IciclePop]

Yeah @alexasteph, I noticed that a Black Opium travel size is actually included in the sample bag promo Sephora has right now.  Problem is you need to spend $35 to get the sample bag, so I'll only get it if I decide to buy something in the next week, because it seems silly to spend $35 for a travel size perfume!

[alexasteph]

@IciclePop That's a bit silly, yes haha. The rollerball size is $28, so if you were seriously considering a more travel friendly version of Black Opium scent, that would be good option too. 

[IciclePop]

Oh that sounds like a good option. Thanks for the info!

[blackkitty2014]

2/7/18: Today I wear Tom Ford Jasmine Rouge. I love love this scent. If Mr Ford does 1 thing right, this is it 😉

[howconnie]

Today I wore Aerin Rose Musk. The first note is musk, that was kinda shocking. It was actually off putting and I didn’t know how I felt about. After the first note the rose scent mellowed in to smell similar to the linen 🌹. Found this one to last longer.

[IciclePop]

Hello, first time poster (to this thread)!

Here's the perfume challenge I'm doing: At the end of last year, I made a list of all the perfumes I had, and designated a time frame: the larger bottles/vials would be given 3 weeks of wear, and the small samples would be given 2 weeks.  Any perfume that I didn't think I could stand wearing for at least 2 weeks straight was either thrown out (if it was a small sample) or set aside to give away (if it was a bottle).

At the beginning of January, I chose a perfume at random, and wore it for the specified amount of time.  Rinse and repeat.  So here's what I've worn for the first few weeks of the year:

1. Tom Ford Black Orchid (Incense, Orchid, Patchouli, Sandalwood) - I like the scent, but I was surprised at how weak it was.  It faded pretty fast, and didn't smell very strongly even when I initially applied it.

2. Juliette Has a Gun Another Oud (Raspberry, Oud, Ambroncenide, Musk, Ambroxan) - When I sprayed this on a piece of paper it smelled decent, but not great.  Then when I applied it to my skin, it smelled divine.  There is something strange about this brand, because that happens over and over again.  I didn't like the smell of Lady Vengeance, but when I applied it to my skin it mixed wonderfully with my body chemistry.  There was another perfume from this bran -- Gentlewoman, maybe? -- that smelled like sewage until I put it on my skin, and suddenly it smelled good.  It's as if all these scents were specifically formulated for my skin!

3. Elizabeth and James Nirvana Borboun (Tuberose, Oakwood, Bourbon Vanilla) - I love almost the entirety of the Nirvana collection, and this is no exception.

4. Kat Von D Saint (Vanilla, Musk, Jasmine) - This one was a surprise.  When I first got this scent, I loved it so much that I abandoned all other fragrances for a while and wore this one exclusively.  But when I applied it earlier this week, I didn't like it anymore.  I think it's because Saint is a lighter scent and it's the dead of winter, so I've put it away and will try it again when the weather warms up.

5. Mugler Alien (Jasmine Sambac, Cashmeran Wood, Amber Gris) - I like this one, but I feel weird wearing it because it's the signature scent of a good friend of mine.  I feel like an imposter wearing it!  Though it is nice to be reminded of her throughout the day as I catch the scent on myself. Also, I only have a sample of this perfume, but I want to add that the full-size bottle for this is probably my favorite perfume bottle currently on the market!

[pocketvenus]

The two week idea is a good one! Sometimes I've found I've really loved a scent for a couple days and find it too grating afterward.

@IciclePop

[IciclePop]

Yeah, it was sort of a compromise with myself, because I like the whole concept of having a signature scent, but that just sounded too boring, and there were too many perfumes I wanted to try!  So I figured having a rotating signature scent would satisfy both of those competing desires.  Only this week has been a bit of a disaster, because my first scent was too light for the winter, and then I used up the entire sample bottle for my second scent, so I'm on my third perfume this week!  But I have a big bottle of this one, so I should be able to stick with it for another week or two.

[howconnie]

Today I used a foil of Yves Saint Laurent Nuit Blanche it’s a great fragrance for the transition from winter to spring Bergamot and Sage marry fro the first note but warm into the skin as the hourly anniversary’s mount up. Eventually becoming a mock orange. I can imagine vintage ladies of the night selling their spicy oranges at the theater centuries ago. The fragrance is held together on the branches of Lebanon cedar wood. Something clean, fresh and sordid just the way I like it.