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!

[lyravega]

@pocketvenus  You're definitely not the only one. The dry-down is really surprising. I mean, it's like a completely different fragrance on me compared to that wonderful tea I get for the first hour or so. 

[pocketvenus]

After @lyravegahad such a good experience with Santal Nabataea, I snagged a sample and.... I cannot even begin. It is good. It is really, really good. I am not a huge fan of sandalwood because most sandalwood notes are super synthetic and just very bland to me. A kind of sweet and creamy one-dimensional woody note that’s about as close to the real thing as fruit loops are to fruit. SN, on the other hand, has a lush creaminess combined with other facets. It's fresh, aromatic, spicy, arid, dusty, bitter. It’s swooningly beautiful, exquisite and complex, just tear-inducingly good. Everytime I sniff my wrist it’s too much. Mona di Orio has made the only vanilla perfume I care for, and now, the only sandalwood!! Ultimately, this is not a "me" fragrance, but I really appreciate it. It's like encountering a gorgeous dress on a hanger that you know won't work on you but you just want to keep looking at it and touching and examining it. @Vmaster, you might enjoy trying a sample of this 🙂

[lyravega]

@pocketvenus  Glad you like it. It is DIVINE! I'm obsessed with it! I used to think that I like sandalwood. I mean, I do. But the truth is, I don't like most sandalwood fragrances out there. So maybe I don't? Or maybe it is exactly what you're talking about here: they are  "as close to the real thing as fruit loops are to fruit." Ha! Love it! And so true. Plus, the combo of notes in this one is just perfect! Everything about it is pure perfection! I just love how it's all put together. It's a true masterpiece to me personally. ( I don't even remember the last time I was so taken/smitten by a fragrance. ) 😛

[pocketvenus]

@lyravega, oh I love it! And I can totally see why you're so taken with it. Thank you for posting about it here ❤️ I know what you mean, I thought, the opening is amazing but it's going to flatten. Instead the complexity remained in the dry down, I was really impressed, just so wonderful. And yes, all the notes supporting and bringing out the sandalwood in a beautiful way. Such a good find!!

[Vmaster]

@pocketvenusThat does sound interesting, thank you! If you are ever on etsy, check out Rising Phoenix perfumes. The attars he makes uses a 100% Australian sandalwood base oil. Myself and a number of others on Basenotes were able to participate in a sample pass for his attars. He distills the sandalwood and oud himself. Great products!

[pocketvenus]

@Vmaster, wow, I admire people who learn to work on ingredients like this! I'm curious, what did people think of how his sandalwood smells compared to commercial perfumery?

[Vmaster]

@pocketvenus, Everyone loved his fragrances. Many even purchased the product for themselves.

Real sandalwood oil compared to a synthetic sandalwood note is like the difference between night and day. The real oil is deep, multi-faceted and complex where the synthetic sandalwood is more one dimensional (pretty much the same between real oud and synthetic oud).

Along with the attar samples, he had also included a two samples of sandalwood oil from 2013 and 2014 (those two years are from memory so I may be off). Anyway, one was a dry sandalwood and the other was a creamy sandalwood. Bother were amazing, in my opinion. The creamy one was my favorite.

Due to the attars having a sandalwood oil base, that note was prominent throughout the experience (wand application through the dry down). Yes the attars are expensive, but then again the real stuff usually is since it has to go through the distillation process, which takes months for some ingredients and more than six months for oud.

I would also like to add that house Rising Phoenix was kicked out of the IFRA when they found out he used non-synthetics.

[pocketvenus]

@Vmasterglad people loved it 🙂 6 months distillation process!!! I have some oils from India that are called ittars, but I'm not sure they're the same thing. They don't remind me of the pure extracts that I have smelled.

[Vmaster]

@pocketvenus  Attars and Ittars are one in the same. In India they are called Ittar. Normally Attars/Ittars are essential oils derived from botanical sources. Many places (but not all places) these days use synthetics due to the cheaper cost. Oud takes a very long time to distill. The length of time plus the age of some of the agarwood equals the crazy prices you see for real oud which run anywhere between $250 US to $10,000 US for 3 ml which is also known as a quarter Tola (a Tola being 12 ml).

[pocketvenus]

@Vmaster, thank you for all the info!! I figured ittars were the same thing and I'm guessing the word itself has the same etymological root as attar but I always associated the latter with being very expensive and natural. I'm pretty sure the floral ittars I have are dosed up on synthetics. They smell great but not natural. Though there might be different norms for different areas, all using the same name so I'm guessing there are more natural/expensive Indian ittars too.

[pocketvenus]

Tested Louis Vuitton’s Le Jour se Leve on paper. Generic and unforgettable citrus with a musky dry down. This pricey line has been rather disappointing for the most part.

[moxiepancakes]

I recived my Libertine fragrance sampler pack yesterday. So far I've tried Eros Fig and Sex and Jasmine. Eros Fig was very easy and pleasant to wear nice strong bite of fig leaf on the top drying down to a mellow woody scent. I had low expectations for Sex and Jasmine as most jasmine fragrances smell acrid and totally unlike the flower to me. I got that acrid smell for just a second before it settled to a pleasant floral that I would describe as more of a lily than a jasmine scent. 

[pocketvenus]

@moxiepancakes, thanks for sharing your impressions!! Very interesting about how jasmine changes on your skin. I smelled like a high quality jasmine that became more reminiscent of "warm skin" in the dry down. Hope you enjoy the rest of the samples 🙂

[lyravega]

Tried Mugler Angel Eau Croisière today. It's way, way too fruity for me. All mango and grapefruit and something sweet. Very much sorbet. It's basically like this exotic/tropical chewing gum that I used to like when I was a kid. Very generic. Also, it's nothing like original Angel. 

[pocketvenus]

@lyravega, flankers are really hit or miss aren't they? Sounds like it was made for a younger crowd.

[Titian06]

Yesterday while I was at SiJCP, I tried a few perfumes.  I mostly tried them because I was there and had the opportunity rather than with the intention of giving any of them a really good test drive. 

- Gucci Bloom Aqua:  I really liked this one.  Not overpowering and it lasted a couple of hours.

- Gucci Bloom Nettere:  Not bad; very soft.

- Nest Black Tulip:  This one stinks!  I think I tried it before and felt the same then.  I'm not sure what my nose doesn't like, but I just want to wash it off!

- Nest Wild Poppy:  This seemed really nice.  I want to try again to be sure.

- Nest Cocoa Wood:  As soon as I put it on, I was met with the overpowering smell of cocoa powder!  I do not like gourmand scents at all.  Fortunately it only lasted for a few seconds.  I'm not sure where it went after that; I lost track after the cocoa powder!

[pocketvenus]

@Titian06, I have to admit, I wasn't expecting much from the Gucci flankers but I like the Acqua di Fiori even better than the original. I wish they'd make a 250 reward of it!

[Titian06]

@pocketvenus @greeneyedgirl107 - I received Gucci Bloom gratis from Sephora, but gave it to a friend who really liked it.  I was very hesitant about the other two since I didn't like the first.  I'm definitely going to get the travel size of Aqua.  It would be nice to use some of my points on the scent though.  😄

[greeneyedgirl107]

@Titian06 Yes!  Historically I've only used my points twice.  But now that the rewards have been re-vamped, I keep reminding myself to check out the Rewards Bazaar!  Fingers crossed for some good ones!

[greeneyedgirl107]

@pocketvenus Yes!  I do like Gucci Bloom but I like the Acqua even better!

[pocketvenus]

I finally popped into H&M to try their new perfume line. They really are dirt cheap! 10ml travel sprays for CA$6.99! Honestly, I feel some are comparable to more expensive designer fragrances.

I'm guessing it's easy to cut profit margins for perfume when you can recoup that hit through selling high volumes of units. The profit margins for prestige fragrances are already extremely high. We are talking about chemicals mixed in with alcohol, not garments sewn by human hands.

There are three series with H&M, a single note line, an EDT line, and an EDP/oil line which smelled the best, but I did not test on my skin.

I bought Formentera from the EDT line for a friend. It's basically an ultra cheap dupe of L'Artisan Parfumeur's Premier Figuier. Imagine PF but instead of earthy depth, delete that and replace it with lemony household cleanser. The dry down is a cheap musk but overall, it's a good buy for the price, not just generic crap.

I did not like the singles. I had heard good things about yuzu but it was just abrasive to me.

The other EDTs were alright, all very safe. If you like "fresh laundry" try Above the Clouds.

The EDP line seemed pretty good - the vetiver and ylang were both nice upon first sniff but I didn't do a skin test.