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!

[pocketvenus]

Diptyque has launched an LE EDP version of Eau Rose and accompanying candles in collaboration with the brilliant Maurice Harris! Harris is the founder of Bloom & Plume, a luxury floral studio that has become a springboard for him as a multidisciplinary artist.

diptyque celebrates roses with Maurice Harris, the most exuberant of florists. For this occasion, the Maison has created a limited-edition collection brimming with whimsy, color and scent.

At its heart, the new eau de parfum Eau Rose brings together the most unexpected accords naturally present in the rose: chamomile, artichoke and litchi. As an illustration, Maurice Harris has created a bouquet in its image – one spiced up with a touch of extravagance. A delicate flower or a juicy fruit here, a green vegetable there... Together, chamomile, artichoke, litchi and rose bloom in a vegetal profusion of whimsical beauty.

Like the eau de parfum, the Eau Rose eau de toilette and the new limited-edition candles Camomille, Artichaut, Litchi and Roses each feature a bouquet composed by Maurice Harris.

And in a final bouquet that’s just as stunning, the four candles, lit together, reproduce the scent of the floral composition by this most audacious florist.

[eshores]

@pocketvenus - these look gorgeous.

[Samtian]

Wow those pics are gorgeous! 

[txcatx]

These images are stunning, and now I need to stop by the Diptyque store sometime!

[QueenMarceline]

@pocketvenus Wow, this looks stunning. I love all my 50 shades/scents 😂👀of rose perfumes. My goodness does this ad make me want to buy a perfume I haven't even gotten a whiff of yet in a way an ad has never done. All those florals, all the colors, the description. Ooooof. 

[pocketvenus]

@QueenMarceline He is such a mad talent!!! I'm not a big fan of litchi but yes, this does make me curious!

[makeitup305]

I picked up this set from Nordstrom because I'd heard a lot about Maison Francis Kurkdjian and Baccarat Rouge 540 especially. I'm currently working my way right to left. 

So far, I've tried Baccarat Rouge 540 Extrait (2x) and the EDP (1x). I can't properly explain what it smells like on me. I looked up reviews and scent descriptions because I couldn't really place it. Some people mentioned it smells like a doctor's office or latex but more than that, on me it smells sharp and "minerally", similar to chlorine or the ocean. I think that might be the ambergris? I'm not very familiar with scents so I feel like I can't describe it well. There was a subtle sweetness underneath but not much, at least on me. While very long lasting (after 10 hours I could still smell it on my wrist) it wasn't a particularly pleasant scent on me and never "mellowed out". I found the Extrait and the EDP very similar, with the main difference being that the Extrait was more intense and even sharper, as well as more long lasting. 

On the other hand, today I tried the Oud Satin Mood and have really enjoyed it. I can still smell it on my wrist more than 10 hours later. When I first applied it, it was a little powdery but not in a "grandma" way, and it settles into a warm comforting scent, slightly woody and a hint of sweet and floweriness. I would consider buying this one (but probably only a travel size, considering the price).

[newcarlee]

Hi @makeitup305, I’m curious to know of your thoughts on the remaining MFK scents.

[Samtian]

@makeitup305 That one sounds so complex and weird. I got excited and went to Nordstrom to look at this set, but it looks like I'd only enjoy maybe 3 of them so I passed. 

[QueenMarceline]

@makeitup305 Oh no, sorry they didn't work out for you. I've been wanting to try this brand but resisting the urge due to price tag and how many others I want to try. It's amazing just how much skin/body chemistry has a huge impact on fragrances. I swear there are cult-classics that mixed with my body chemistry smell absolutely awful. Hopefully, you find a couple of hits further down the line in that sampler set.

[makeitup305]

@QueenMarceline I'm hopeful for the ones coming up. If you're interested, I picked up this set from Nordstrom for $55. Not cheap by any means but as I'm trying to look into new fragrances it seemed like an ok deal. Cloud (or Cloud 2.0, I can't remember) is like the cheaper, sweeter, younger cousin of Baccarat Rouge. If you took BR and covered it with cotton candy, I think that might be the result lol. Honestly, although those are very sweet, they're more my speed than BR. I might try layering BR with one of the other ones and see if they mesh.

[QueenMarceline]

@makeitup305 Oooh, Cloud is actually a recent find/love of mine (might've been one of firsts I reviewed on this thread), it's SO long lasting on me and actually I was talking to @pocketvenus about it being my "sleep perfume". LOL! I absolutely adore this stuff and it does something crazy with my body chemistry where it takes form of 3 different scents in 3 different stages so distinctly and yet it's always somehow reminiscent of sweet and yummy cotton candy dreams (hence why it's my sleep perfume 😂). Wore it on New Years Eve as well. I heard a lot of people say that Cloud is the dupe for Baccarat Rouge so that's interesting you drew those comparisons. I probably would also be on the boat of preferring Cloud (I just have a feeling). 

[makeitup305]

@QueenMarceline I'd heard that comparison mentioned before (Cloud vs BR) but hadn't smelled Cloud until I stopped by Ulta today. I occasionally got a whiff of that mineral note that predominates on BR on me but it was in passing and then swallowed by the sweetness. I didn't try it on myself because I was wearing the Oud but if Ulta does a multiplier it might come home with me. I get the "sleep perfume" vibe, I would've said "ice cream date".

[QueenMarceline]

@makeitup305 I definitely also see the "ice cream date" vibe. Honestly, next time I go on an ice cream date I'll wear it. 😂

[QueenMarceline]

@makeitup305 I actually got a bottle of the 1oz for like... ~$20-22 which is a steal on amazon and doubled up with a subscribe and save offer. It was truly a steal and honestly, at the rate I'm using I'll probably need a re-delivery of the 1oz soon. I'm trying to really save big purchases for August's 10x the points multiplier during my low-buy/smart-buy year so I'll probably get the full-size bottle then.

[makeitup305]

I've been trying KILIAN Paris Straight To Heaven, White Cristal and KILIAN Paris Love, Don’t Be Shy Eau de Parfum with Orange Blossom and Vanilla  over the past couple of days and honestly I'm underwhelmed. One spritz on my wrists is pretty faint with both. Neither of them seems to last as well on me as KILIAN Paris Black Phantom - "Memento Mori" and they're not as surprising. I mostly smell the marshmallow and some of the rose on Love, Don't be Shy, and while it's a pleasant scent, I don't understand the hype at all. Straight to Heaven is more woodsy and is nice but not my style, as I prefer more feminine and floral fragrances. I can barely smell it on me after a little while, which isn't great. Same with Love, Don't be Shy. So far, 3/5 for both imo. 

[pocketvenus]

@makeitup305 This house has gorgeous scents that don't last that long while others go on for days! 

I think a lot of what made these niche houses stand out was they were really pushing perfumery away from mainstream trends and were a reaction to the 90s so they really did smell unique and special. Kilian was one of the first luxury brands to lean hard into bringing Westernized ouds into the mainstream and the house did it in a way that was both very easy to wear and beautiful while charging a premium for it. When you smell Kilian's oud now, or say the ouds from Byredo, they really do not smell so shocking but when they were first released, oud was so new to people. It was really something special then. I still love Musk Oud, I am so glad that one didn't get axed. But it doesn't stand out in the same way it used to. Anyway, fast forward fifteen years and we see that niche trends like oud and a lot of what was cutting edge in niche has been totally mainstreamed and a lot of the niche houses were bought by huge multinational beauty corps so the newer releases have been less boundary pushing. It's to the point where "niche" doesn't mean very much anymore. Anyway, I hope that helps explain the hype. Oh, and I think there was a lot of hype around Kilian because of the celebrities who wore Kilian, especially Riri. Kilian seems to have gotten that extra star power behind it in a way others didn't.

[makeitup305]

@pocketvenus thanks for the explanation! I had heard that Riri used Love Don't be Shy or Good Girl maybe and that it got famous because people who met her said she always smells delicious

[QueenMarceline]

@makeitup305 I've honestly been so tempted by this brand because of how beautiful/luxurious it looks and how many great things I heard about KILIAN Paris Love, Don’t Be Shy Eau de Parfum with Orange Blossom and Vanilla at first and then more recently about KILIAN Paris Apple Brandy Eau de Parfum with Bergamot 1.7oz/50ml Eau de Parfum Spray but hearing it's not very strong/long lasting (the love don't be shy) is a bummer especially for that price point. I do want to smell the Apple Brandy desperately though, next time I'm at the mall I'll definitely swing by Sephora.

[makeitup305]

@QueenMarceline I tried Apple Brandy and Angel’s Share (one on each hand) over the weekend and Apple Brandy seems to be worthy of the hype on BIC. It felt more nuanced than the other one’s I’ve tried from Kilian (with the exception of Black Phantom) and I could still smell them quite a while later. Total FOMO on not getting that gratis lol 

[QueenMarceline]

Yesterday (New Year's Day), I decided to pop over to ULTA in order to use my soon-to-be-expired $5 of $10 coupon on their buy 2 get 1 free Ulta Brand Lip Oils (they are more like thick glosses, in my opinion but I love having them in my purse/around the house). I decided while I was there I wanted to also (again) check out the Carolina Herrera Very Good Girl Eau de Parfum with Rose & Vanilla I tried this out over a month ago or around the time it first started appearing in stores and I really enjoyed it. A few weeks back (before I found this perfume challenge) I actually did a "full day test" on it and once again really enjoyed this scent. After liking it so much, I added it to my wish list and contemplating buying a bottle of it so I decided to try to really pay attention to this scent my third time around trying it to decide if this will be a perfume that makes it into my cart.

My Thoughts After Wearing It For The Day (taken from my Sephora review of this product):

The Good: I believe that this scent understood the assignment. It has a similar profile to the original Good Girl but it's also different enough to be a totally unique perfume to the collection. It's Good Girl's sweeter, younger, fresher and more playful little sister. But don't worry, the sexy is definitely still there. When I initially spray it you do get a hint of the lychee and the redcurrant and then it's wonderful notes of rose come through. I'd describe this as a "sweeter rose" (rose and vanilla mix) instead of a wet rose or a more mature garden rose. As the middle and end notes settle in, the perfume takes on a sweeter and almost slightly edible scent. The bottle is beautiful and the scent lasts around 6 hours with great staying power and then between hours 6-10 fades out to a more subdued version without fully disappearing off of the skin. I would recommend spraying it on the skin to see how it reacts with your skin chemistry before buying (just like with any other fragrance) but chances are if you like Good Girl and also like a sweeter gourmand or decadent fruity scent you'll probably like this new addition.

The Bad: If you don't like lychee, vanilla and rose this perfume might not be for you as these notes are the prominent top, middle and end notes (that I smell throughout wearing this).

The Ugly/Honest: If you like this scent it appears that it might be limited edition despite it not saying so anywhere which is always a bummer when you find "the right one" in perfumes and then it's no longer available. Also, I'm genuinely not a fan of this perfume (and other CH perfumes) only coming in the biggest size of 2.7 fl oz. for the price point they are charging. The 1oz and 1.7oz are not worth their price points in my opinion. I'd rather get charged a few more bucks for a REAL full-size perfume.

Add-On Thoughts: I like this fragrance a lot but the bottle is something that continues to draw me in, I own the OG Good Girl by CH and would really love to own her "younger sister" as well. Hopefully I get to call it my own before it disappears (if it is LE).