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!

[blackkitty2014]

@Titian06 I am wearing English Pear and Persia today. I totally forget how I got it and when but I have the whole 100ml bottle staring at my face. I then remember I’m not big on the scent but when I try it again last week I really like it. I like it so much that I wear it again couple times after that. Hope it will be that case for you ❤️🌹

[pocketvenus]

This one has been a long time coming. Tested Bogue's MAAI and MEM a few times and they are both really wonderful.

Starting with my favourite of the two, MEM, this is a very complex, herbaceous lavender scent. It's never medicinal or harsh like lavender can sometimes be. There is a hesperidic brightness in the opening that's grounded with a realistic earthiness. As the scent develops, this is blunted with with a smear of dense animalic musk that's smooth like butter and further softened out with floral notes. Wow. The final phase has the musk dying down to a purr, a gorgeous vanilla in the base. Nods to the classics like Jicky, one of the best fragrances I've smelled in awhile. 

MAAI is another fantastic fragrance even though just personally, I prefer MEM. A huge vintage-y floral chypre contrasting aldehydic soapy notes with spicy, animalic musks. A real diva of a fragrance, MAAI demands your attention. Reads like a ombre fading neon crimson red into a rich, dark burgundy wine. Wearing this makes me feel like I'm sporting a choker of blood red rubies as a member of the aristocracy during the French Revolution. Something about all these decadent, "forbidden" notes like oakmoss and castoreum being added to a fragrance in 2014 make this feel opulent and a little illicit.

@WinglessOne I hope you enjoyed your samples as much as I did!

[pocketvenus]

Testing Di Ser's Mizu. Di Ser is an all-natural house based in Hokkaido, Japan. This scent is pretty fantastic, a great blend of tart citrus, refreshing mint, clean woods, a hint of spice. It's pretty sophisticated for a light, fresh wear. OK longevity. I feel with all-natural fragrances you kind of have to grade on a curve. It's difficult to get them to last. I'd love a bottle of this stuff for the summer. Would be curious to try the rest of the line but the samples are not available in Canada and are dreadfully expensive.

[pocketvenus]

Testing Bengale Rouge by Papillon on skin today. Opens with a brief gourmandesque vanilla lemon cream before dark, bitter myrrh and rich labdanum kicks in. A hint of florals enter the scent in short order. Cheerful sweet and powdery meets dangerously sticky resins and a smear of animalistic musk. Very well executed and complex so that it's comforting with all that tonka and warmth but never boring. Feels like a scent one would wear to cheer oneself up with, curling up alone with just yourself and one of your favourite books. @WinglessOne , I'm guessing you've tried this one already? I think you'd appreciate it but maybe it's too snuggly for your taste? 

[WinglessOne]

@pocketvenus  I have a sample of this one. From what I recall, I had a love-hate reaction to it: the resin + myrrh made me happy, along with the lemon custard—interesting because I'm not usually one for such sweet scents; the intermingled resin and wood definitely helped—but I couldn't get past the powdery vanilla rose note. To be fair, I need to give it a second chance, especially since I enjoyed the interplay of shifting notes (powdery sweet though some of them were). Note to self! 🙂 

[pocketvenus]

@WinglessOne I'm not big on powder either! 

Bengale R and Dryad got swooning reviews but I personally prefer the unabashed drama of Salome and Anubis. Hopefully Moores comes out with another stunner like those!

[pocketvenus]

Tried the new Kilians today on paper. Both are very strong in terms of projection.

Kilian Roses On Ice Eau De Parfum This is pretty refreshing, with a lot cucumber in the opening. Refreshing and not at all sweet. The rose softens it up, but overall the scent is crisp and doesn't blur out as in the dry down as I thought it might with notes like sandalwood. 

KILIAN Paris Angels Share Eau De Parfum  Likely to be the more popular of the two, as it's more gourmandish and also more suitable for the winter. Sweet with deep toffee notes and an edging of spice and dark woods. A bit "meh" for me to be honest but I am not a huge gourmand fan.

Have been trying more samples that I received in the post, will share more thoughts soon!

[blackkitty2014]

@pocketvenus Thx for the review. I totally forgot about Rose on ice during the sale. Next sales then. To be honest I should put me on No buy perfume since I hoard too much this year 

[pocketvenus]

@blackkitty2014 You're welcome! I'm probably not the right person to stop you 🤣

[Samtian]

@pocketvenus Hmm the Angels sounds interesting! I hope I get my smell back soon. I'm missing smelling perfumes.

[pocketvenus]

@Samtian I hope it returns soon too! ❤️ I read that researchers believe anosmia is caused by inflammation of tissues in the nose that prevent scent molecules from reaching receptors so when that abates, smell returns.

I also read from the NHS that scent training can help. It's basically smelling the same strong scents everyday. One regimen I read for covid-19 patients used four essential oils, rose, lemon, clove, and eucalyptus, to stimulate and amplify the nerves in the nose where the patient sniffs each bottle for up to 20 seconds, twice a day, for a minimum of four months. The NHS website has some more info about scent training. xo

[Samtian]

@pocketvenus Thank you! I've actually been reading about scent training. Lemon and clove are the only two I can stand haha. But I've been trying to just sniff things I'm used to smelling. I can very very very faintly smell Bum Bum Cream lotion and even fainter the Meteorites smell. That's about it though. Can't smell anything else in my house. 

[pocketvenus]

@Samtian Sounds like a good start, I'm so glad to hear you can still detect some scents ❤️

[CookieGirl1]

@pocketvenus I'm dying to smell the KILIAN Paris Love, Don’t Be Shy Eau de Parfum with Vanilla & Marshmallow perfume but I can't justify buying it without smelling it and not knowing if I'd actually like it or not.  Love the reviews on the ones YOU bought 🙂

[pocketvenus]

@CookieGirl1 I am the same way, I never buy without testing! If you live in the US, I think you can order five samples directly from Kilian for $20 and maybe that cost can be applied to a full bottle purchase? Other sites like Luckyscent sell samples for like $4-5/sample. Love, Don't be Shy is very sweet to my nose. 

[Titian06]

I've tried three samples recently:

- Hermes Un Jardin Sur La Lagune:  An evocation of flowering trees, musks, and Madonna lilies.  To me it smelled like flowering trees where the flowers are past their prime.  Picture a rainy day where the flowers have fallen off the tree and are laying on the sidewalk, wet and decaying.  Best of all, the scent lasted for several hours!  😄

- Giogio Armani Code:  I think for a brief second while I was spraying this on I may have smelled cinnamon.  Otherwise, absolutely nothing!

- Givenchy Irresistible Eau de Parfum  :  Luscious rose dancing with radiant blond wood.  Wow, I can't believe how much I like this one!  I can't wear any products with a rose scent because it is a migraine trigger for me.  The rose in this perfume is noticeable, but light and warm.  The other notes in this scent keep the rose in check.  This perfume lasted for a few hours, which was nice.

[Samtian]

@Titian06 Ahahaha omg the Hermes description.

[MellaDramatic]

I absolutely agree about Givenchy Irrésistible! It's such a beautiful light floral scent that just invokes such happiness when I smell it.

[pocketvenus]

@Titian06 the latest Jardin is definitely interesting, more heavy than the rest of the line. I love how Christine Nagel seems to have a lot of creative freedom with Hermes!

[pocketvenus]

Time to revive this thread! I have a bunch of samples that came in the post that I've tested.

• Comme des Garcons' Copper - I like this house's use of synthetics and was drawn to the concept of an aggressive galbanum clashing with creamy, fluffy notes. The idea reminded me of vetiver and vanilla scents like Fat Electrician, which is a personal favourite, and others like Hermes' Vetiver Tonka and Jo Malone's Vetiver & Golden Vanilla, all of which pair a dark, earthy green vetiver with a fuzzy or creamy sweet vanilla. Sadly, Copper's execution leaves something to be desired. The hot versus cool spice and galbanum opening is exciting but it's over in a flash, leaving you with an overdose of overly synthetic vanilla and a whisper of dark green that I did not enjoy. Maybe people who really enjoy vanilla and want a novel take might like this but it's not for me.
• Bogue's Mem - this is a fantastic lavender scent with obvious old-school vibes. The lavender here has many facets, the floral, the medicinal, but what really leaps out on my skin is the dirty, animalic side. On my skin, Mem is heavily shaded in with musks and it has a warm and forceful presence. While it's not an easy background scent and I wouldn't say it's good for neutral settings like an office, it is still wearable and fine for polite company.
• Pekji's Ruh - not that the perfume world needs another rose-oud but this one is quite nice and is the easiest of the house to understand. I've smelled the other Pekjis and they are truly odd and experimental. One was described by a friend as "peanut butter outhouse" and he nailed it. Really just weird, weird smells. But with Ruh, we're in very familiar territory. The oud is more challenging than westernized ouds like the Kilians. It veers in the direction of Dusita's Oudh Infini but never gets as animalistic. The rose is lovely and velvety and fresh. Worth sampling for sure if you enjoy this genre.

More to come!!

[Titian06]

With my last order, I got a sample of Jo Malone London Fig & Lotus Flower Cologne 1 oz/ 30 mL Eau De Toilette Spray. The notes are

Top - Fig Leaf

Heart - Lotus Flower

Base - Vetiver

The description says it's a light floral scent.  It was a strong, astringent smelling liquid.  The smell lasted 6 or 7 hours!  Why can't the nice smelling perfumes last that long?  I could not smell anything pleasant or recognizable from this perfume during that time.  According to the reviews I've read, either people think it smells great and absolutely love it, or they think it smells heinous and can't stand it.  Definitely get a sample before you buy it!