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!

[QueenMarceline]

A few days ago I used my coveted/tried and true Elizabeth & James Nirvana French Grey. I own this in a 3.4 oz bottle but my hands are so tiny that i can barely hold it to take a photo (lol!) so I decided to post this mini rollerball that I have. I absolutely adore this scent to bits and pieces and it was not a “new try” for perfumes. However, I’m currently traveling for the holidays and I packed a bunch of samples (both previously tried and some I have not yet tried) so I figured that before I left the state I would stick to an “oldie but a goodie” and leave the trials for the holiday season. 

[Titian06]

@QueenMarceline - I love this scent!  It's one of the few full sizes that I have.  Holding the bottle is so awkward (I have small hands too).  I guess perfumers or manufacturers do not test the bottle shapes for functionality among different hand sizes before production; it's the aesthetics that count (form over function). 😄

[QueenMarceline]

@Titian06 You are so right, the bottle is beautiful but so hard to operate/hold. The scent is honestly the perfect office scent, run to the store scent, everyday scent. This isn't even my favorite Elizabeth&James fragrance but I reach for it so often due to it's versatility. 

[Titian06]

Today I tried 19-69 La Habana Eau de Parfum .  This is the final scent from the sample set.  I'm at a loss on how to describe it, so I'll do my best.  It opened with a strong boozy scent, but toned down quickly.  After an hour or so, I began to smell something along the lines of vanilla, but not quite, and a little sweeter.  It took me some time to figure out it was caramel.  It was very subtle and not too sweet.  Finally, it settled down into a warm skin scent.  I don't know how else to describe it.  Again, very subtle, like your skin after taking a warm shower (but without the water or clean scent, just the warm emanating from your skin).  This fragrance lasted all day.

Top:  Aldehydes, saffron

Middle:  Elemi resin, incense

Base:  Ambroxan, amber, vanilla absolute, caramel, hydrax, Loatian oud

[makeitup305]

@Titian06 This sounds like something I would like. I tend to like those “warm skin”scents a lot. 

[pocketvenus]

@Titian06 Ah! I've only tried a couple from this line, Chinese Tobacco and something else. The bottles are gorgeous. Interesting Sephora is carrying them now! I'm guessing a larger distributor has bought them?

[Titian06]

Today I tried 19-69 Invisible Post Eau de Parfum .  This starts with a soft citrus scent, followed briefly by a barely noticeable green scent, and ends with a long-lasting light vanilla and sandalwood combination.  Like the other perfumes I've tried, this one lasted virtually all day.  I really like this one!  It's a good scent to reach for when you aren't sure which fragrance you want to wear.

Top:  Fig, petitgrain, tangerine 

Middle:  Black currant, palm leaf, cyclamen 

Base:  Sandalwood, cedar, tonka bean

[QueenMarceline]

A fig top note is always rare and fun. This brand of perfumes is something I'd definitely like to try out in the future.

[heartsmyface]

@Titian06  Ouhh very unassuming bottle but the scent sounds wonderful!  

[Samtian]

@Titian06 That is good to hear! This is one I've been eyeing. I just really don't like petitgrain. 

[Titian06]

@Samtian - I can understand!  For me, there are certain notes that I absolutely dislike.  No matter how much or little is used, it sticks out like a sore thumb.  😄  If you are interested in this one, stop by Sephora and take it for a test drive before committing.

[Samtian]

@Titian06 I wish I could! I only have a little SiJCP near me and they don't carry very many perfumes. 

[itsfi]

Ellis Brooklyn APRÈS Eau de Parfum 1.7 oz/ 50 mL Eau de Parfum Spray Ellis Brooklyn APRÈS Eau de Parfum Travel Spray 0.33 oz/ 10 mL 

On the brand's direct site, Ellis Brooklyn Apres is described as" a celebration of the wintry outdoors." Phrases like that, along with "the freedom of the mountains, the rush of alpine air, the bracing freshness of evergreens, and the richness of bourbon, praline and vanilla" are what drew me in, along with the pretty pine green glass bottle (that looks dark matte almost black in the photo). 

My package arrived a lot earlier than expected so I've put Apres to the test this entire week. What I'll say first is that the scent is less pronounced, less bold than I expected. From the brand's description, I was hoping for a big "rush of alpine air" and while there is a fresh crisp coolness to the fragrance, it's really very subtle - I'm appreciating that more now. My nose initially picked up a pine tree scent - it's not overwhelming nor too sharp, which I was pleased with, and then there's a sweet, slightly woodsy undertone to it that gives way to something more creamy, warm and faintly smoky but still with a lingering, light hint of pine tree. I enjoyed this part of the fragrance a lot as well as the early part of the dry down when I picked up a little more of a rich but still soft, sweet, partly floral, partly woodsy smell. There was just the mildest hint of juniper, not a lot at all, which was absolutely fine with me. 

Overall, this scent was more understated than I expected and I loved that. The sillage on this is light; it's hard to pick up on the scent from far away. Though the scent is on the lighter side, the lasting power isn't bad - on me, I could still pick up, though very vaguely, the last bit of the notes still after 5 hours, but after that, the scent really starts to fade though I have noticed a faint and lovely vanilla scent still on my wrist the next morning. I like this one and am appreciating the subtleness of it a lot more, as well as how the different notes are distinctive but also complementary of the other scents in the fragrance. 

@makeitup305 @haleyvvvv (I didn't find the juniper in this one to be over the top at all, which was a plus for me) @Titian06 @Sunnysmom @faeriegirl 

[makeitup305]

@itsfi Glad you liked it!!

[Titian06]

Thanks for the tag, @itsfi !  Your review is very helpful--the travel size is going on my Loves list!  💖💖💖

[haleyvvvv]

Thank you for the info and the tag, @itsfi!! I'm really glad you liked it!! I'm going to hope for a sample at some point before getting a travel size I think (I'm not sure how I'd feel about a more woodsy smell lasting throughout, rather than the sweeter notes being dominant after the dry down).

[sister13]

gGreat review! I’ve been intrigued by this one! Can’t wait to try it! @itsfi 

[Sunnysmom]

Thanks @itsfi ! This sounds like a fresh crisp fragrance I may need to try! 🌲

[QueenMarceline]

Wonderful review 🙂 This seems like a great and unique festive fragrance.

[faeriegirl]

Thank you @itsfi!

[Titian06]

Today I am trying 19-69 L'air Barbes Eau de Parfum .  This scent began quit unpleasantly with sour lemons and moldy/mildewy herbs and woods.  The smell wasn't too strong, but I still wished I could wash it off.  Fortunately, it settled down to a rather nice leathery, woody scent fairly quickly.

Top:  Lemon, aldehydes, bergamot 

Middle:  Ylang-ylang, concrete, tuberose

Base:  Ambroxan, woodsy notes, leather, white musk, orris, ink, cumin