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!

[Titian06]

I recently attended the Sephora virtual event for Maison Margiela 'REPLICA' Afternoon Delight Eau de Toilette with Vanilla & Sandalwood 3.4 oz / 100 m... .

Notes:  Vanilla, whipped cream, madeleine, sandalwood,  musk

I received a deluxe sample of the fragrance yesterday.  Here are my thoughts after wearing it twice.

It's very gourmand sweet, like pastries, but not vanilla specifically.  I never did smell the sandalwood.  It didn't give me a migraine like most sweet fragrances do.  Today, I layered ABBOTT Seqouia Eau de Parfum 1.7 oz / 50 mL eau de parfum spray on top.  It toned it down considerably.  Tomorrow I'm going to try another scent on top, maybe Maison Margiela ‘REPLICA' By the Fireplace Eau de Toilette with Chestnut, Vanilla, and Clove Oil .

[Samtian]

@Titian06 That sounds nice!

[caitbird]

Recently purchased and worked my way through trying the Charlotte Tilbury Scents That Make You Feel Perfume Discovery Set  and thought I'd share my thoughts on the fragrances here. Tagging @CynthieLu @CorgiMommy @itsfi  who I believe had all expressed an interest in hearing about this set.

Disclaimer: I am fairly new to fragrance & often feel like I don't really know what I am talking about yet, at least compared to some of you experts on here 😅 but I will do my best! Hopefully this is at least a little interesting/helpful to somebody.

Charlotte Tilbury Love Frequency Eau de Parfum 3.4 oz / 100 ml eau de parfum spray 

top notes: pink pepper

middle notes: rose, saffron

base notes: amberwood, cashmere wood, patchouli, musk

my thoughts: This was the fragrance from this discovery set I thought I would like best, based on the description and listed notes. After trying it, I am not sure if I like this one. I did not smell the pink pepper, which was somewhat disappointing as that is a favorite top note of mine; I did get floral sweetness and musk, and some woodiness. It was pretty strong at first, but by a couple of hours later it seemed to have faded significantly. After the dry down I mostly get the woodiness and musk. Overall, it was okay, and I will definitely try it at least once more to see if my impressions change, but I didn’t enjoy this one as much as I hoped I would.

Charlotte Tilbury Joyphoria Eau de Parfum 3.4 oz / 100 mL eau de parfum spray 

top notes: coconut water, neroli, petitgrain

middle notes: tuberose, ylang-ylang, jasmine

base notes: vanilla bean, cashmere wood, musk, powdery notes

my thoughts: Overall impression of the scent was warm & sweet, somewhat powdery florals & vanilla. Vanilla is fine in fragrance but generally not my favorite; I like this all right though. Like Love Frequency it started off strong, but faded quite a bit over a few hours, to the point that I could only smell it if I put my nose right against my skin. Liked fine, but not a love.

Charlotte Tilbury Magic Energy Eau de Parfum 3.4 oz / 100 ml eau de parfum spray 

top notes: bergamot, myrtle

middle notes: seaweed, cypress, jasmine sambac

base notes: frankincense, palo santo, ambergris, cashmere wood

my thoughts: this was very woody to me, but not in a bad way, though it was a little more one-note to me than the description would suggest. I did get a bit of the bergamot and some…mossiness, I guess? The woody, forest scent reminded me a little of Ellis Brooklyn Apres, except that to me that fragrance is more crisp cool mountainside forest while this one is more small secret forest glade, if that makes sense. Slightly forest witch vibes. I want to try this one again to see if I can pick out more of the listed notes. Of the fragrances in this set, I found this to be the most interesting; it was also one of the longest-lasting.

Charlotte Tilbury Calm Bliss Eau de Parfum 3.4 oz / 100 ml eau de parfum spray 

top notes: neroli, lavender, bergamot

middle notes: water notes, orange blossom

base notes: cashmere wood, ambergris, palo santo, olibanum

my thoughts: opens with mild aquatic sweetness. I do get a bit of the lavender and neroli/orange blossom. It seems very soft & fresh, quite pleasant. The aquatic, citrusy florals last quite a while, though like the other fragrances from this line that I’ve tried the scent is not very strong, before fading to a faint woody scent. This ended up being the longest-lasting scent in the set for me.

Charlotte Tilbury Cosmic Power Eau de Parfum 3.4 oz / 100 ml eau de parfum spray 

top notes: cinnamon, elemi, black pepper, bergamot

middle notes: frankincense, rose

base notes: amber, vanilla, powdery notes, musk

my thoughts: this one did not leave much of an impression on me on first wear, so I decided to do a second wear test the next day out of fairness. Notes from my second wear test: vanilla is quite strong even on the opening, but I do get a bit of the cinnamon and pepper too. Vanilla remains the dominant note for a while, before fading as the amber & musk becomes more prominent. This is sweeter and much more vanilla-forward than I prefer, but not terrible – I don’t dislike it, really, it’s just not for me. I think this one is maybe a bit stronger than the others in the set. Like most of the others from this discovery set, it is a bit…IDK, generic seeming? Not very complex to me.

Charlotte Tilbury More Sex Eau de Parfum 3.4 oz / 100 ml eau de parfum spray 

top notes: black pepper, juniper berries

middle notes: leather, musk, aldron, ambroxan

base notes: musk, sandalwood, amberwood

my thoughts: Based on the listed notes and description, I expected this to be my least favorite from the discovery set. It’s definitely not my favorite, but I don’t dislike it as strongly as I was afraid I might. To me it does smell pretty much like the listed notes; I very much get leather and musk, maybe a little synthetic-y but not too unpleasant. Just not really to my taste. Still, if you enjoy leather scents you may really like this.

Overall thoughts: I found the fragrances in this set to be generally fine and mostly pleasant, if not very complex or unique, in my opinion. They ranged from not very strong at all, to decently strong, and most lasted an average length of time on me (as compared to other fragrances I have tested and worn). I was a little surprised by which one I ended up liking best, which wasn't what I had expected. I didn't dislike any of them per se, but I don't think I will be purchasing the full size of any of these perfumes. Still, I always enjoy trying out new fragrances, so I don't regret purchasing this set.

[Titian06]

Thanks for your great review, @caitbird ! 💖💖💖  I'm not particularly interested in any of these.  However, if I can get a sample of Calm Bliss, I wouldn't mind. 😁

[CorgiMommy]

@caitbird thanks for the reviews, I guess I will have to give it some thought.  

[Titian06]

I recently purchased the Maison Louis Marie Discovery Eau de Parfum Sampler Set .  It's on sale for $11.00--half off, so I couldn't resist.  However, it's only a five-piece set, not the six-piece set as described.  No. 13 Nouvelle Vague is the fragrance not included in the set I received.  Here are my thoughts.

No. 02 Le Long Fong

Top:  Hinoki Wood

Middle:  Cedar, Patchouli 

Base:  White Musk, Amber

Comment:  For the most part, I could not smell this one.  I could tell something was there, but I couldn't tell what it was.

No. 04 Bois de Balincourt

Top:  Sandalwood, Cedar

Middle:  Vetiver, Nutmeg, Cinnamon

Base:  Woody, Amber

Comment:  Although I could only smell this one for about two minutes, I absolutely love it.  All these notes are right up my alley. 🙂

No. 09 Vallee de Farney

Top:  Grapefruit, Black Pepper, Orange 

Middle:  Geranium, Cedar, Patchouli 

Base:  Vetiver, Musk, Amber

Comment:  I could not smell this one.

No. 12 Bousval

Top:  Sicilian Bergamot, White Cardamom, Italian Orange

Middle:  Eucalyptus, White Ginger Lily, Oakmoss, Petigrain, Heliotrope 

Base:  Cedar, Myrrh, Musk, Amber

Comments:  I could not smell this one either.  I have this issue with many scents. 😄

Antidris Cassis

Top:  Black Current, Bergamot, Black Pepper 

Middle:  White Rose

Base:  Oakmoss, Musk, Tonka Bean

Comment:  For the brief moment I could smell this when spritzing it on, I caught a whiff of citrus and sweetness.  The two didn't really seem to go together, but it was so fleeting, it was hard to tell.

For the sale price, it was worth trying these.  Overall, though, how disappointing!

[greatscents]

WOW! Isn’t it weird how we all value scents differently? In like you, I LOVE “Le Long Fond” and am bummed you can no longer buy this scent in perfume from Sephora. I also Loved “ Vallee de Forney” and I was able to purchase the large bottle of this one. Lastly like you I enjoyed the “Bois de Balincourt” and I also bought the large perfume.

[Margalee]

@Titian06 I didn't buy Nest oils for a long time because I couldn't smell them. Maybe let them macerate for awhile and revisit them in a few months. Hopefully that's not why they were on sale for bad batching but definitely put them in a dark cool place for quite awhile. I can smell Nest oils now. I feel like they are much softer than parfum form but I nearly over applied once because they seem so soft. I think the heat of the body amplifies the oils. Maybe do a workout and see then. Hahah.

[Titian06]

Thanks for the suggestion, @Margalee ! 💖💖💖

[Margalee]

I have found a couple Few, hahah) new favorites lately. One is Guerlain's Shalimar Millèsime Iris. I think it retains about a quarter of the Shalimar DNA and then steps out as a warm, dusty scent with some golden smelling vanilla. I find it comforting. I could smell this on myself throughout the day. I sprayed about four or so sprays and I didn't find it overwhelming at all. It lasted all day but it definitely was midway between skin scent and powerhouse for me. I didn't find it overly sweet. I don't think it's as sweet as Burberry Goddess or Kilian's Princess. There is a less sweet quality that pulls it back from that level for me but it I definitely wouldn't rate it as sugarless, so to speak. Millèsime Iris is so appealing to me that I am tempted to get a backup bottle because it is a flanker to the OG Shalimar and those are usually limited edition and once it's gone out of production it will be hard to get. 

[Titian06]

I have been wearing two new samples this week:

Valentino Donna Born in Roma Green Stravaganza Eau de Parfum 

Top:  Lapsang Souchong Tea

Mid:  Jasmine

Base:  Vanilla

Comments:  This is a lovely soft, fresh scent.  I didn't smell the three notes individually.  Just a nice consistent mix for the entire six or so hours.  I've never had a perfume last so long on me!

Berdoues Peng Lai

Top:  Chinese osmanthus, Mandarin orange, lemon, bergamot 

Mid:  Peach, rose, orange blossom, benzoin

Base:  Tonka bean, white musk, violet, Iso E Super, vanilla

Comments:  This opened with a wonderful light manderin orange/citrus scent, not overpowering.  It dried down into a gorgeous soft orange/peach/rose mix.  The scent lasted a couple of hours, which is longer than most fragrances.

I definitely recommend giving both a try!

[Samtian]

I thought today would be a good day to review a perfume sample. Part of The Maker Maker Perfume Discovery Kit The Maker Paradiso Eau de Parfum 1.7 oz / 50 mL eau de parfum spray  Oh gosh this is the most disgusting thing I've smelled in a long while. Thankfully the sample was mostly evaporated but I sprayed as much as I could...before the smell hit me. Wet patchouli. Horrible 0/5. I still smell it 7 hours later.

[Margalee]

@Samtian Best part of Maker Paradiso is the mangosteen. When I smell it, the perfume does give off that weird burnt, dusty, car shop smell that papayas do but I like it for the juicy mangosteen. It must have evaporated.

[kittycatgirl]

[peculiarzmakeup]

These are so cute 🥰 @kittycatgirl 

[Samtian]

I was gifted the The Maker Maker Perfume Discovery Kit and granted most of them have arrived mostly evaporated. I was able to get three sprays from The Maker Stag Eau de Parfum 1.7 oz / 50 mL eau de parfum spray I didn't think I would like it at all based on the notes. But it's a winner, big winner.

5/5- Stag opens with a bold declaration of smoky leather, immediately drawing you into its enchanting realm. As the journey progresses, a mesmerizing blend of woods emerges, captivating the senses with its hypnotic allure. What truly sets Stag apart is its intoxicating agarwood note, lingering gracefully into the dry down, leaving a lasting impression that defies time itself. Remarkably, its wear time extends well beyond 14 hours, a testament to its enduring quality. Surprisingly, despite initial skepticism based on its notes, Stag emerges as a perfect 10, a fragrance I would wholeheartedly gift to a significant other. In every essence, Stag is not just a scent, but an unforgettable experience.

[Margalee]

@Samtian I'll have to revisit Stag. I think it was a bit masculine for me but since I'm playing around with mixes I'll have to add it to the rotation.

[Samtian]

@Margalee It's definitely masculine but mmm I love it. 

[Titian06]

This sounds great, @Samtian !  I'll have to give it a try. 🙂

[Samtian]

@Titian06 Definitely!