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]

Reviving this thread for anyone who wants to participate again ❤️ (I know it's a day late but we're free to extend the challenge beyond the month :P)

Today I'm trying Le Labo's Jasmin 17. It's a very pretty, unassuming jasmine with a creamy sandalwood and vanilla base. The citrus notes give it a fresh lift upon opening. I must admit, I've had bad luck with Le Labo - their scents open just fine but they seem to collapse upon themselves on my skin in the dry down and become unpleasantly one dimensional and too fuzzy. I have the suspicion the Jasmin won't be any different...

[lyravega]

Oooo, this sounds so lovely @pocketvenus ! Wanted to try this one for quite some time now. Do let us know if it ended up being one dimensional and meh like the rest of your experience with these ( my experience with them is pretty much the same ).

Edit: ok, just saw on the other page you had no luck with this one, either... Shame... 

[pocketvenus]

@lyravega 
Ah, people rave so much about Le Labo - esp the Rose and the Santal - but I guess there's something about how they mix with my skin that doesn't work!

[Samtian]

Ellis Brooklyn. I recently purchased the Bibliotheca Set. I've tried three so far.

Sci-Fi- I really like this one. Definitely different.

Rrose- I hate rose scented things, but this one wasn't too bad. It had the smell of actual roses, but it wasn't very strong.

Rives- I did not like this one at all.  It smelled like how I thought the French Riveria smells. I really hate lavender, and it did smell too grainy for me.

[Anonymous]

Anyone have a good dupe for Nest's Indigo perfume?

[Samtian]

@AnonymousI haven't found anything yet either. But they do have sample packs or the little deluxe bottles for sale a lot, so you don't have to pay a lot for a full sized bottle.

[Talitha84]

Nope! Just watch for the deluxe samples for beauty insider. I have worn probably over 300 perfumes in my life (just an estimate lol) and have never smelled anything quite like that one. Just wish it would last a bit better on me. 🙂

[pocketvenus]

Tested CdG's Sequoia today from its Red series. It's a very wearable wood scent with an earthy opening - think of dark, rich, moist soil - but the dry down is cosy although also chemically, like a laundry dryer sheet. Apparently there's some oud in this but honestly, if it wasn't for the note pyramid, I wouldn't have guessed as it's not detectable to me

I was debating whether to try this or some of the stranger releases like Tar. I chided myself into getting an easier scent because I have so many samples of odd perfumes I can't wear regularly (if at all!). Now I kind of wish I'd just gone for the weird stuff.

[pocketvenus]

Tested Beaufort London's Vi et Armis. The notes sounded amazing:

TOP: cardamom, black pepper, tea leaf

HEART: whiskey, incense, opium

BASE: tobacco, birch, oud

The opening is horrific, an utterly bizarre clash involving smoked meat and oddly, harsh lemon cleanser. The scent mercifully calms down into something more manageable. It's smoky and peaty and slightly sweet. There's also a moisture to it that's really off putting. Like you accidentally spilled water into a leather pouch packed with tobacco leaves, let that marinate for some time and then mixed that into the silty dredges of a stained pot of black tea left out on the counter. The scent continues to improve as the meaty and wet notes fade, the cleanser note becomes tamed into a more fragrant cardamom and the smouldering smoke becomes smoother. Eventually, this fragrance becomes quite fantastic from a distance - but when you get right up to the skin, you'll still be treated to a whiff of barbecue. It takes forever to fade and blend into the rest of the notes.

I would wear this if I could fast forward the whole process and get straight to the end. Good longevity and strong projection. Fans of Le Labo's Patchouli or Cuir might want to try this one out. Beaufort seems like an interesting house, not sure if I'll try another because the opening for this was so monstrous.

[pocketvenus]

Tested Papillon's Dryad - it's a wonderfully complex chypre. Every time I smell it, different notes come to the fore. It's earthy and herbaceous with a shifting plane of brightness - imagine the sun shining through forest leaves while a slight breeze is blowing. There is also something gentle about Dryad. Moore's earlier scents are beautiful but also raw - Dryad is more like a calm and mellow day in a meadow. It's not really to my personal taste but it's quite lovely and enjoyable. Excellent staying power.

Papillon really seems like one of the best priced niche houses making fragrances I like. They are priced at US$160/50 ml but can hold their own with fragrances costing 50% more.

[pocketvenus]

Today, I tested Tauer's classic, L'Air du Desert Marocain. It's a spicy, zesty wood scent with a dusty edge and a touch of floral and vanilla plushness that makes it much prettier than I'd expected. In fact, I've read so much about this one, it set my expectations really high and it wasn't nearly as dry and crackling as I thought it would be. It is quite different from the really rich, lush and creamy orientals out there so perhaps that's why many reviewers have emphasized the scent's dryness. But I also find this scent rich and lush in its own way. One of my favourite orientals is Malle's Noire Epices which is very dry and austere so I was expecting something even more spare and desolate from the Tauer. I was hoping for the fragrance to evoke utterly barren, shifting desert sands at night. This is a pleasant surprize though. It's more like a desert during the morning, following a traveling caravan loaded with spices and goods.

[belletrist9]

I LOVE this one. Your description of it is pretty much exactly my olfactory image of it. Spice caravan in the Sahara. 

[txcatx]

Oh, this perfume sounds so dreamy, @pocketvenus!

[pocketvenus]

@txcatxIt's definitely worth a try, esp if you like oriental frags 🙂

[pocketvenus]

I tested Slumberhouse's Kiste last night - I knew this would be a peach scent but this was like a juicy peach bomb. Boozy, honey drenched peaches dominate the scent and is given a sweet depth with tobacco and a bit of lift with spices. Very rich and too sweet for my taste, although it's a dense, gentle sweetness, not the kind of abrasive, refined white sugar sweetener I can't stand. It lasts for hours and dries down into a pleasant, peachy cloud. Not my favourite Slumberhouse but if you like peaches and bold scents, definitely give this one a try!

[belletrist9]

I love this one! My skin amps smoke and quenches sweet so it's not as sweet on me though still pretty honeyed compared to other fragrances. I couldn't get this one to last more than 3 hours on me, which was surprising given it's initial strength and the fact that it's a Slumberhouse. 

[pocketvenus]

@belletrist9  That's a shame it doesn't last very long! May I ask what other Slumberhouses you've tried/your favourite?

[belletrist9]

@pocketvenus Sure! Well... I think most of them aren't available anymore since the revamp of the packaging, but I had samples of:

Eki: I swear there was a sample by this name but from what I remember it was like Sadanne.

Sadanne: so freaking sweet, like late harvest riesling, just not my deal

Jeke: like burn beat up leather boot in the best possible way, reminded me of how some peat-y scotches smell

Ore: I really wanted to like this one given it's description and that it was like a pirate's hidden treasure den, but I found it sort of musty and non descript

Norne: this was and still is my favorite pine fragrance in the drydown, however, the first 5 hours were sweaty lumberjack BO and I just couldn't get past that part. 5 hours is a very long time.

Baque: tobacco woods but with a very medicinal aspect to it, which made it rather unique among other tobacco woods

Sova: Baque on steroids

Zahd: THE nicest, most sophisticated and artisan interpretation of a cranberry vanilla fragrance I have ever smelled, with incense on a bed of dry woods. Though, at the end of the day, it's still at it's core a cranberry vanilla. I actually have the bottle of this, and I only wear it between Thanksgiving and Christmas. 

I want to say I tried Vikt and Rume too, but I have no real impressions of them. 

[pocketvenus]

@belletrist9  Oh wow, thanks for sharing all your impressions ❤️

Yes, you are correct - some of these are sadly no longer available.

I've tried Jeke and Norne and liked them both although I don't wear them regularly. I like Jeke's end of harvest bonfire vibe - it sounds my skin doesn't emphasize smoke like yours though so the words russet apple (is that even a thing) and sorb apples (no idea how these taste) come to mind. Something tart and a touch sweet from fermentation. As for Norne, I do not get any sweat at all but it is sour for me in the opening. I like how it's not a "fresh" pine - there's an earthiness that works well with the bracing, oily, coniferous opening.

I'm on the fence with New Sibet which is less bombastic than the others and subsequently, more intimate. I want to describe it as comforting but it's far too animalic for that. I quite liked the first few hours, but the dry down gets too "day old skivvies" for me without any other strong notes to take the edge off - and I do like my skank (Absolue Pour le Soir, Salome). If you like iris and animalic notes though, it's worth a try.

[greeneyedgirl107]

@txcatx I just bought the Atelier Advent Calendar for a friend and am super excited for her!  I just hope she can hold out until December!  I'm hoping to buy one for my sister closer to Christmas b/c I know she won't be able to avoid temptation.  I just hope they're not sold out by then.  I'm usually not this excited about gifting!!!

[JJDeco]

 I bought this for myself, and opened the whole of it as soon as it got into my hands....In September.. It was worth it.