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]

@Titian06 Ah, so distinctive, the scent of this one!

[Samtian]

@Titian06 That's what came to mind too lol. 

[Samtian]

1270 by Frapin

From Lucky Scent

The Scoop

Named for the year the Frapin family established itself in the Cognac region of France (and continues to make cognac to this day), 1270 was created by Beatrice Cointreau, great granddaughter of Pierre Frapin. Together with Frapin's Cellar Master, she sought to create a noble fragrance full of the scents surrounding the creation of cognac. 1270 is dry, rich, velvety and smooth. The flowers of the once-proud Folle Blanche (a grape nearly extinct from the region), the vineyard grass, the wine warehouse, the rich smell of damp earth in the cellars, the wood of new casks, the loamy smell of humus where the ancestral cognacs are stored– all these notes can be detected in 1270. Gorgeous is putting it mildly... this scent defies flowery prose. A true masterpiece.

1270 Fragrance Notes

exotic woods, spice, raisin, vine flowers, pepper, candied orange, nut, hazelnut, prune, cocoa, coffee, leather, woods, white honey, vanilla

Looking at these notes and the description I have no idea why I ordered this. 

3/5- 5 hour wear time. Very nutty with a little spice and coffee. Very fitting to description. Heavey, Rich, Boozy. Dries down to a chocolatey hazelnut with a hint of something else I can't explain. It's just ok for me, but not something I will seek out. 

[itsfi]

Ooooh, this one sounds like one I'd like @Samtian! If I'm remembering right, you don't like coffee scents, right? I wonder if that makes it less likable for you.

[Samtian]

@itsfi Possibly. Let me send it your way. 

[Samtian]

Hattai by Le Couvent

From Lucky Scent-

The Scoop

A member of the Eaux de Parfum Singulières collection, designed to embody the spirit of rare or endangered fauna, Hattai represents a wolf tracking silently through the woods - a chiaroscuro of light and shadow in equal measure. For darkness, we have red berries stewed in mulled wine, thickly spiced with cinnamon and cardamom, and dusted with the darkest of organic cocoa powder. Fruity and spicy, like a candle (in the best way possible) or those dense fruited breads and buns eaten all across Northern Europe at Christmas.

For the light part? A sparkling, almost fizzy amber-Ambroxan accord that is honeyed and resinous but not heavy. The musky, radiant sweetness of the drydown lifts and diffuses the darker, fruited elements of the scent, making them as bubbly as a glass of champagne. The fruit and spice dry up over time, leaving a trail of smoky woods in their place. What a surprise this one is, turning from a festive, cozy quasi-gourmand to the scent of a log fire on the cold night air.

Hattai Fragrance Notes

Red Berries, Cacao, Cinnamon, Cade Wood

4/5 6+ hour wear. Starts off a honeyed cinnamon with very slight cacao poking through. After initial spray the mulled wine comes out. Final dry down is a very heavy chocolatey wine. After 2 hours it faints to a lovely boozy chocolatey berry smell. Still heavy, winter fragrance. I really like this one, but not enough for a full size. I would definitely keep samples around. 

[pocketvenus]

@Samtian Sounds very festive 🙂 Really enjoying reading your reviews!

[Samtian]

@pocketvenus Thank you!!! It racks my brain trying to describe things. 

[itsfi]

Oh, this one sounds absolutely beautiful @Samtian! 😍 I told myself I should hold off on picking up more fragrances of any size until I make my way through a few more samples or sample sets, but this one has been added to my list of samples to pick up. 

[Samtian]

@itsfi I can't wait to hear your thoughts when you get to it.

[Titian06]

@Samtian - I'm so happy for you that this is a winner! 🥳

[Samtian]

@Titian06 Thank you me too!

[Samtian]

Room Service

From Lucky Scent-

The Scoop

Picture this: Greta Garbo at Carlyle – a superstar who chose herself above Hollywood’s siren song. Alone in her hotel room, attired in a drift of satin and poignant allure, waiting for her ultimate luxury: a bath of flower petals, the warm water releasing this collision of citrus and red fruits, bamboo, violet, black amber and sandalwood.

What We Think

Juicy and lush, but with a decidedly un-sweet sophistication, this is a fruity floral with a grown-up sexiness.

Room Service Fragrance Notes

mandarin nectar, blackberry, pink orchid, bamboo, violet, black amber, musk, sandalwood

2/5 - Starts smoky, blackberry. Nectar and violet hit next. Final dry down reminds me of a musky spoiled milk. Wear time is over 4 hours. 

[itsfi]

@Samtian, too bad about the dry down on this one. I was all onboard until I got to the part of it smelling like "musky spoiled milk."

[Samtian]

@itsfi Haha yeah that was a long wait to stop smelling bad. 

[cianni]

Tried a couple samples today - Louis Vuitton Matiere Noire and Louis Vuitton Fleur du Desert.

Matiere Noire Key Notes:

• Agarwood
• Sambac jasmine
• Narcissus
• Rose centifolia
• Cyclamen
• Patchouli
• Incense

i was looking forward to trying this one. I didn’t get any of the beautiful notes or complexity I had hoped for. It pulled very mature floral (like grandma-level). I got a heavy rose scent, and hardly anything else. No patchouli or incense. Unfortunately was a no for me, but the staying power was 8+ hours on my skin (it’s always the ones I don’t like that seem to hang around the longest!)

Fleur du Desert Key notes:

• Jasmine from Grasse Absolute
• Sambac Jasmine Absolute
• Orange Blossom Absolute
• Centifolia Rose Absolute
• Bulgarian Rose Essence
• Oud Wood Essence

i wasn’t expecting too much for this one. If anything, I thought it would smell like how Matiere Noire ended up smelling. I could not be more wrong. The rose was much lighter and I could get a hint of the citrus. The first spray was very peppery to me - almost like a Mugler Alien. Lasting power was ok. Overall I wouldn’t purchase it because at this price point ($425 Canadian), I expect way more uniqueness and creativity, but it wasn’t awful. 

this was my first experience with LV fragrance. Has anyone had luck? I don’t know anyone who wears any, and haven’t heard too much buzz about them.

[pocketvenus]

@cianni I haven't tried them all but of the ones I tried, I'd say they are very safe, or we are to be less charitable, not the most creative so at this price point one could find easy alternatives. There were a couple I liked. Turbulences is a true tuberose with a kind of mushroomy darkness that was interesting. Orage is a versatile refreshing citrusy woody vetiver. I did not enjoy MN.

[cianni]

@pocketvenus that's the perfect way to put it - i was waiting for them to be complex and deep (based on the notes and beautiful product pages online dedicated to them.. i think FDD even had a full-fledged video dedicated to it), and they were a little generic

[pocketvenus]

@cianni Agreed about generic. They're nice but at the price point, one hopes for more than nice!

[Samtian]

Oh my. I am in love. This new scent I tried today is quickly in the top 10 of my favorites. It is so intoxicating and lush. 

Gardens Of India
by Parle Moi de Parfum-  Oh man this is intoxicating, so luxurious. Starts with a honey, almond, jasmine scent. 9 hour wear time.

[sister13]

Oooh that sounds amazing! Might have to find a sample! @Samtian