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!

[Vmaster]

@lachaton  I think you will enjoy Camel. The sweet date note is really nice and it also is easy to wear.

[lachaton]

Thank you, @Vmaster ! I think I will. I haven't tried many scents with date, but you know I'm partial to sweet scents 🙂 

[Vmaster]

@lachaton, 🙂

Camel is an Oriental. Dried fruits (gourmand) are what you smell the mostly at the get go. It gets a little smoky, resinous and slightly animalic soon afterwards. Camel reminds me of an Arabian type of fragrance. Granted it is not a floriental (floral oriental) fragrance (which I believe you enjoy the most) but it is not an overly sweet gourmand either. It can be potent - most likely due to the Myrrh, so you probably only want to do one or two sprays and gauge it from there. It will mellow out as it moves into the drydown.

[pocketvenus]

Just sprayed Zoologist's Civet maybe 2h ago. I was expecting something very difficult and musky because of the name but it's not at all. It has a very engaging opening with citrus and spice notes that zing around like Bat's did. This blends with a panoply of other notes very quickly. It's rich and reminds me of an old-school chypre going in a sweet and leathery direction, although it's not as architectural as a vintage. The dry down is very rich, a little burnt and a little sweet in a good way and it's not "dirty" like I thought it might be. I associate the house with avant garde sensibilities so it's interesting that this smells much more classical. Ultimately, I think I'd like something more angular but it's still good and I'm glad I tried it!

[txcatx]

@pocketvenus What an interesting collection of perfumes. I saw "civet" and immediately thought of the kind of coffee I have absolutely no interest in trying, ha.

[Vmaster]

@txcatx  For what it's worth, Zoologist only use aromachemicals, so there are no actual animal notes used in any of their fragrances. Real Civet does smell nice but they have to kill a civet cat in order to harvest the glands, which is not good.

On the other hand, when Siberian musk deer are killed, the whole animal is used (primarily for food and clothing) so it is not some sort of senseless killing.

[txcatx]

@Vmaster I assumed, and that's definitely good to know. But my mind just immediately went to everything I learned from a former roommate who worked for a local coffee roaster. I always found the concept of civet coffee intriguing, yet disgusting. 

[Vmaster]

@txcatxWell, the beans are cleaned afterward. 🙂

I did add some info to my previous comment.

[pocketvenus]

I tried Zoologist's Bat last night and today thanks to a recommendation by @Vmaster 🙂

Bat has a challenging, kaleidoscopic opening that is dizzying. Sweet, tropical fruit; rich black topsoil; cold, wet, flinty stones; growling animal musks, these are all present from the beginning, vying for your attention. In rapid succession you find yourself with fleeting impressions of peeling open a ripe banana, peering into sunless caves with dripping water, thrusting your bare hands into moist earth, catching a whiff of rotting compost.

The scent settles down into a perfect balance between dank edges softened by a fruity, musky sweetness that blend more and more harmoniously as time passes. The sweetness eventually takes over the in the dry down but only in its final stages. Very long lasting!

The dankness of Bat reminds me of a personal favourite, Dzongkha by L'Artisan Parfumeur. Bat is like you began with Dzongkha, but fell from the shadows of those airy, smoky, mountainous peaks, landed softly in clods of dirt and fallen fruit and was slowly rolled into the wet mouth of a cave.

[Titian06]

Interesting description, @pocketvenus.  Sounds like the name is on the money.

[Vmaster]

@pocketvenus, I am glad you got to experience Bat.

It is like a work of art in a bottle - A little confusing at first, until you begin to understand it.

Thank you for your review!

[pocketvenus]

@Vmaster, it's so weird but I want to keep trying it ha ha

[pocketvenus]

A couple more fragrances from Libertine

• Eros Fig opens with a fantastic milky fig with a touch of green fig leaf that dries down rapidly to a soft and cozy sandalwood. I’m a huge fan of L’Artisan Parfumeur’s Premier Figuier and this is like a creamier, less woody version of an old favourite.
• Smoked Bloom is a pretty osmanthus which I found very realistic, capturing the flower’s complex profile with hints of tartness, mellow honey and wine, all of which which is balanced well with a hint of smoke. This one dried down to a gentle sweet fruitiness. Easy and pleasant but not to my taste.

[moxiepancakes]

I love figs and will have to check this out. @pocketvenus

[pocketvenus]

@moxiepancakes, I think they have a sale going on right now 🙂 15% off

[moxiepancakes]

That sampler set is calling my name. @pocketvenus 

[Titian06]

@pocketvenus - Fig is something I've not tried before.  This one's going on my list to try.

[pocketvenus]

@Titian06, if you are curious about fig perfumes, the reigning champions are L'Artisan P's Premier Figuier and Diptyque's Philosykos, both "authored" by Olivia Giacobetti. They are both worth checking out ❤️

[moxiepancakes]

@txcatx @Titian06 I have both the Diptyque and L'Artisan fig fragrances. Philosykos is dry sweet, powdery and soft with more fig fruit emphasis. Premier Figuier is warm sappy, green and much bolder, it smells like a fig tree in the sun before the fruit is fully ripe. I enjoy both and they are incredibly different interpretations of fig. 

[txcatx]

@pocketvenus I love fig scents, including the Diptyque one, and now I'm going to have to check out the other ones. As always, I appreciate your fragrance knowledge and recommendations!

[pocketvenus]

@txcatx, you are always welcome!! ❤️ There's a great blog called Bois de Jasmin and the author has a "fig" tag that should bring up other good recommendations 🙂