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]

Continuing with my Sixteen92 poison garden sample set, I tried Datura Metel today. At first, I just smelled a lot of strong, slightly cloying floral. A few seconds later, honey. Then it went a little soapy and powdery. Finally, the fragrance settled on a pretty, soft, sweet floral--it's nice, but not nearly as interesting to me as the belladonna perfume I tried yesterday. To me, this one seems like a great, non-offensive perfume to wear to a wedding. 

Notes: datura blossom, sweet almond, rosewater, sugar cube, vanilla orchid, moth wing, wild honeycomb

[Titian06]

I recently received Nest Black Tulip as a substitute sample for what I requested.  I've mentioned before that I don't like this scent when I've tried it in store.  I thought I'd try it again since my arm wasn't covered in other perfumes.  The result was the same.  I gave the sample to a friend, and she loves it!

[RoseCharlie]

Awww it’s annoying when they give you something you dislike as a replacement. I quite like that yummy plum note in black tulip but the NEST offering I really don’t like is Indigo - that one I don’t get at all as a women’s fragrance.

[howconnie]

I decided to explore the house of Kate Spade KATE SPADE NEW YORK - Live Colorfully

Is a soft pretty white floral. Jasmine and Gardenia compete for top spot.  It reminds me of the house Evelyn Crabtree.  It's more like a line of fine bath products. But the scent is potent in the spring.

#kate spade in bloom

Is a rose garden scent. The main note I smell is Rose geranium. They blended a bit of Jasmine to make the harsh geranium powdery. I prefer other soft rose scents. 

[pocketvenus]

@howconniedo you have any favourite soft roses? I love Mohur by Neela Vermeire ❤️

[howconnie]

My favorite soft rose is CHLOé - Chloé Eau de Toilette

[pocketvenus]

Tried a couple new fragrances today on paper!

Juliette Has a Gun Vanilla Vibes 3.3 oz / 100 mL was more or less a play-doh vanilla on me. Slightly creamy. I actually like the smell of play-doh buuuuuut I don’t want to smell like it!

PHLUR - Améline Eau de Parfum bills itself as a unisex rose fragrance. I did not get rose so much as an abstract, pretty floral, maybe peony, with a strong hit of citrus. A fresh and clean scent, lacking depth. If you want a safe synthetics/clean version of Stella’s Peony, try this.

[RoseCharlie]

Thank you @pocketvenus! I’ve been so curious about Vanilla Vibes because I have been craving vanilla scents lately but I haven’t really been down to blind but my It because I don’t 100% trust JHAG’s scent descriptions - to me they are always bang on or totally off depending on the scent. I did notice that many people were comparing it to « Beach Walk » and that’s not what i was hoping for - I was hoping for more of a true deep vanilla scent with added sweetness and creamyness but with depth as well so I don’t want to blind buy a take on sunscreen even if it’s a nice one it’s not what I am looking for ATM so review is both timely and helpful - thank you!

[pocketvenus]

You're totally welcome @RoseCharlie ! I will say that Vanilla Vibes was not really like Beach Walk to me and it was more vanilla forward. For a deep and creamy vanilla scent, I'd suggest Mona di Orio's Vanille. It's not that sweet though, especially when compared to other vanilla perfumes.

I'll also say HG's Lustre will be different from the Lutens - SMLR has this sort of just-cut stems edginess going on that I haven't found in other fragrances. But they definitely share a bright, fresh quality 🙂

[RoseCharlie]

Thanks @pocketvenus !! : ) that’s really helpful to know. Hmmm you know what maybe a few people compared it to beach walk because their fragrance palette is more limited (like not to seem snobby or anything) but I guess people can only compare something to something else they know and if they haven’t smelled a ton of perfumes than their references are more limited and there may not be an incredible likeness between the two it’s just the closest they can think of.  That’s helpful though, I like beach w’ak It’s not bad but I’m wasn’t looking for something like it so it’s good to know vanilla vibes is different : )

[pocketvenus]

@RoseCharlieyou're totally welcome! It could also be that on other people's skin, the scent indeed begins to smell more similar 🙂

[txcatx]

I've always been fascinated by poisonous plants and their uses throughout history, so when a friend told me about Sixteen92, who has an entire line of perfumes inspired by poisonous flowers, I had to give it a try, and I ordered a sample set of the entire line.

My first one is Atropa Belladonna. At first whiff, I thought it was an overpowering floral, and I was getting hints of lily, maybe tuberose--neither of which are my favorites. But as the perfume dried down, things got way more interesting, and it started smelling like a summer garden full of vegetables and flowers--the green tomato really started coming through, and the complex scent is really rather lovely.

Notes: nightshade berry, narcotic flowers, green tomato, green pepper, soil, broomstick, velvet plum

[RoseCharlie]

Cool! That sounds super interesting - love the sample set theme @txcatx

[pocketvenus]

@txcatxthis house looks pretty interesting and AB sounds perfect for this time of year 🙂 Luca Turin gave a couple good reviews too!

[howconnie]

Todays scent is Tender Romance by the house of Ralph Lauren. It a soft pretty feminine scent filled with light white flowers in a blond wood base.  It has a 8 hour silage and float on any wind.  The scent is a bit dated,  but if ladylike pretty that's perfect for spring and last all day is in order,  it's nice. 

[pocketvenus]

Hiram Green's Lustre is a fresh, dewy, bright rose. This is not really my style. The rose fragrances I gravitate toward are the darker, like La Fille de Berlin and Eau de Protection. However, this photorealistic soliflore is well done, managing to be both luminous and substantial. The closest comparison I can think of is Luten’s Sa Majeste La Rose except it is very floral-shop green, like a dozen fresh cut roses wrapped in cellophane whereas Lustre is softer, like bringing your nose to a rosebush in a garden when the morning sun is dawning after a light evening shower.

Now that I've had time to sit with the Greens for while now, I've noticed that the scents can vary from time to time. I wore Moon Bloom last night and found it more smoky and leathery than other times. I have no idea why but I loved it.

The core part of a Green scent is always the same. Moon Bloom is always a milky tuberose. Slow dive is always a waxy honey. But there can definitely be a lot of nuanced variations and you never quite know what you'll get 🙂

[RoseCharlie]

@pocketvenus Ooooh i have been looking for a way to replace Sa Majeste La Rose since they’ve decided to stop selling it and (from what I have read) only make it available in the much pricier cloche format and special line and only in the Paris store and 1 or 2 other chains at a very steep and painful mark-up. I had a chance to buy an old 50ml bottle at a huge price and I went for a terrible perfume that I hate instead and I could just hit myself over the head: anyways you post made me feel a bit better I’ll definitely try to get my hands on a sample of this it sounds like something I would love, thank you!

[howconnie]

Today I’m trying 

L’Interdit by the house of Givenchy It’s a dark sultry scent that reminds me of my youth. The summer I spent in hostels and partied with the Fashion Industry in New York. The smell of Central Park, underground clubs, late night showers, and brand new clothes. There’s a smoky tobacco note that must be in my imagination. 

In truth, it’s a fruity patchouli and the smoky note might be Ambroxan. But I like it.

[pocketvenus]

Arbole Arbole is a spicy, floral woody fragrance with a sweet base. The listed notes are patchouli, cedar, sandalwood, vanilla, tonka bean. What I smelled was very different. It actually doesn't remind me of woodt. Neither citrus nor lavender are listed, but to my nose, the hespiridic and lavender notes are very strong in the opening, with the lavender lending a medicinal character to the fragrance until vanilla enters the scene to soften things up.

All this is laid over the patchouli which hums very quietly from beneath. I’ve read reviews of this being musty, or clothes in storage, but I get none of this. I also do not get the baby powder note some people smell. I do however, briefly get a kind of "lemon fresh" household cleanser edge popping up now and again although the realism of the notes and the vanilla keeps it from veering too far in that direction.

On my skin, AA is bright, warm and wonderfully herbaceous, with a touch of the gourmand along the lines of lemon tart and baked carbs. This reminds me a little of one the Histoire de Parfums, I forgot the year, but it’s the Casanova one that also features citrus, lavender and vanilla. However, AA is far more plush and filled out.

[Titian06]

Yesterday I tried JO MALONE LONDON - Wild Bluebell Cologne  It is a light, fresh scent with a hint of watermelon.  This is definitely a spring/summer scent.

[pocketvenus]

I tested Hyde today. It's a birch tar scent but this reads to me more like cade on my skin. Its opening is unmistakably a birch tarry smoke and the projection is massive, not at all what I was expecting from an all-natural fragrance. After a couple minutes, Hyde opens up and becomes wonderfully complex. It definitely remains centered on the scent of charred wood and smoke, as if you've been sitting around a bonfire outdoors, but there's also aromatic wood notes, coniferous notes, and even black tea. Sweet, smoky labdanum lends a mellow fullness to the scent. Unfortunately the next phase flattens out for a bit as the smoke picks up again, choking out the more interesting notes but eventually the fragrances softens up. At this point, the drydown becomes textured and leathery but softened with vanilla. It reminds me a lot of a personal favourite, Papillon's Anubis, but it's more charred logs than tanned leather.