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The Perfume Challenge

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!

Re: The Perfume Challenge

My favorite soft rose is CHLOé - Chloé Eau de Toilette

Re: The Perfume Challenge

Tried a couple new fragrances today on paper!

 

Juliette Has a Gun Vanilla Vibes 3.4oz/100mL was more or less a play-doh vanilla on me. Slightly creamy. I actually like the smell of play-doh buuuuuut I don’t want to smell like it!

 

PHLUR - Améline Eau de Parfum bills itself as a unisex rose fragrance. I did not get rose so much as an abstract, pretty floral, maybe peony, with a strong hit of citrus. A fresh and clean scent, lacking depth. If you want a safe synthetics/clean version of Stella’s Peony, try this.

 

RE: Re: The Perfume Challenge

Thank you @pocketvenus! I’ve been so curious about Vanilla Vibes because I have been craving vanilla scents lately but I haven’t really been down to blind but my It because I don’t 100% trust JHAG’s scent descriptions - to me they are always bang on or totally off depending on the scent. I did notice that many people were comparing it to « Beach Walk » and that’s not what i was hoping for - I was hoping for more of a true deep vanilla scent with added sweetness and creamyness but with depth as well so I don’t want to blind buy a take on sunscreen even if it’s a nice one it’s not what I am looking for ATM so review is both timely and helpful - thank you!

Re: RE: Re: The Perfume Challenge

You're totally welcome @RoseCharlie ! I will say that Vanilla Vibes was not really like Beach Walk to me and it was more vanilla forward. For a deep and creamy vanilla scent, I'd suggest Mona di Orio's Vanille. It's not that sweet though, especially when compared to other vanilla perfumes.

 

I'll also say HG's Lustre will be different from the Lutens - SMLR has this sort of just-cut stems edginess going on that I haven't found in other fragrances. But they definitely share a bright, fresh quality 🙂

Re: RE: Re: The Perfume Challenge

Thanks @pocketvenus !! : ) that’s really helpful to know. Hmmm you know what maybe a few people compared it to beach walk because their fragrance palette is more limited (like not to seem snobby or anything) but I guess people can only compare something to something else they know and if they haven’t smelled a ton of perfumes than their references are more limited and there may not be an incredible likeness between the two it’s just the closest they can think of.  That’s helpful though, I like beach w’ak It’s not bad but I’m wasn’t looking for something like it so it’s good to know vanilla vibes is different : )

Re: RE: Re: The Perfume Challenge

@RoseCharlieyou're totally welcome! It could also be that on other people's skin, the scent indeed begins to smell more similar 🙂

Re: The Perfume Challenge

I've always been fascinated by poisonous plants and their uses throughout history, so when a friend told me about Sixteen92, who has an entire line of perfumes inspired by poisonous flowers, I had to give it a try, and I ordered a sample set of the entire line.

 

My first one is Atropa Belladonna. At first whiff, I thought it was an overpowering floral, and I was getting hints of lily, maybe tuberose--neither of which are my favorites. But as the perfume dried down, things got way more interesting, and it started smelling like a summer garden full of vegetables and flowers--the green tomato really started coming through, and the complex scent is really rather lovely.

 

Notes: nightshade berry, narcotic flowers, green tomato, green pepper, soil, broomstick, velvet plum

RE: Re: The Perfume Challenge

Cool! That sounds super interesting - love the sample set theme @txcatx

Re: The Perfume Challenge

@txcatxthis house looks pretty interesting and AB sounds perfect for this time of year 🙂 Luca Turin gave a couple good reviews too!

Re: The Perfume Challenge

Todays scent is Tender Romance by the house of Ralph Lauren. It a soft pretty feminine scent filled with light white flowers in a blond wood base.  It has a 8 hour silage and float on any wind.  The scent is a bit dated,  but if ladylike pretty that's perfect for spring and last all day is in order,  it's nice. 

Re: The Perfume Challenge

Hiram Green's Lustre is a fresh, dewy, bright rose. This is not really my style. The rose fragrances I gravitate toward are the darker, like La Fille de Berlin and Eau de Protection. However, this photorealistic soliflore is well done, managing to be both luminous and substantial. The closest comparison I can think of is Luten’s Sa Majeste La Rose except it is very floral-shop green, like a dozen fresh cut roses wrapped in cellophane whereas Lustre is softer, like bringing your nose to a rosebush in a garden when the morning sun is dawning after a light evening shower.

 

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Now that I've had time to sit with the Greens for while now, I've noticed that the scents can vary from time to time. I wore Moon Bloom last night and found it more smoky and leathery than other times. I have no idea why but I loved it.

 

The core part of a Green scent is always the same. Moon Bloom is always a milky tuberose. Slow dive is always a waxy honey. But there can definitely be a lot of nuanced variations and you never quite know what you'll get 🙂

RE: Re: The Perfume Challenge

@pocketvenus Ooooh i have been looking for a way to replace Sa Majeste La Rose since they’ve decided to stop selling it and (from what I have read) only make it available in the much pricier cloche format and special line and only in the Paris store and 1 or 2 other chains at a very steep and painful mark-up. I had a chance to buy an old 50ml bottle at a huge price and I went for a terrible perfume that I hate instead and I could just hit myself over the head: anyways you post made me feel a bit better I’ll definitely try to get my hands on a sample of this it sounds like something I would love, thank you!

Re: The Perfume Challenge

Today I’m trying 

L’Interdit by the house of Givenchy It’s a dark sultry scent that reminds me of my youth. The summer I spent in hostels and partied with the Fashion Industry in New York. The smell of Central Park, underground clubs, late night showers, and brand new clothes. There’s a smoky tobacco note that must be in my imagination. 

 

In truth, it’s a fruity patchouli and the smoky note might be Ambroxan. But I like it.

Re: The Perfume Challenge

Arbole Arbole is a spicy, floral woody fragrance with a sweet base. The listed notes are patchouli, cedar, sandalwood, vanilla, tonka bean. What I smelled was very different. It actually doesn't remind me of woodt. Neither citrus nor lavender are listed, but to my nose, the hespiridic and lavender notes are very strong in the opening, with the lavender lending a medicinal character to the fragrance until vanilla enters the scene to soften things up.

 

All this is laid over the patchouli which hums very quietly from beneath. I’ve read reviews of this being musty, or clothes in storage, but I get none of this. I also do not get the baby powder note some people smell. I do however, briefly get a kind of "lemon fresh" household cleanser edge popping up now and again although the realism of the notes and the vanilla keeps it from veering too far in that direction.

 

On my skin, AA is bright, warm and wonderfully herbaceous, with a touch of the gourmand along the lines of lemon tart and baked carbs. This reminds me a little of one the Histoire de Parfums, I forgot the year, but it’s the Casanova one that also features citrus, lavender and vanilla. However, AA is far more plush and filled out.

 

arbole arbole.jpg

Re: The Perfume Challenge

Yesterday I tried JO MALONE LONDON - Wild Bluebell Cologne  It is a light, fresh scent with a hint of watermelon.  This is definitely a spring/summer scent.

Re: The Perfume Challenge

I tested Hyde today. It's a birch tar scent but this reads to me more like cade on my skin. Its opening is unmistakably a birch tarry smoke and the projection is massive, not at all what I was expecting from an all-natural fragrance. After a couple minutes, Hyde opens up and becomes wonderfully complex. It definitely remains centered on the scent of charred wood and smoke, as if you've been sitting around a bonfire outdoors, but there's also aromatic wood notes, coniferous notes, and even black tea. Sweet, smoky labdanum lends a mellow fullness to the scent. Unfortunately the next phase flattens out for a bit as the smoke picks up again, choking out the more interesting notes but eventually the fragrances softens up. At this point, the drydown becomes textured and leathery but softened with vanilla. It reminds me a lot of a personal favourite, Papillon's Anubis, but it's more charred logs than tanned leather.

 

o.11543.2

Re: The Perfume Challenge

I have so many many perfumes and samples and travel sizes - many bring indie or niche fragrances.  Replica the dark ones have been top on my list along with Nest, Juliette has a Gun Line and then Viktor & Rolf came out with those unique fragrances with The tarot like cards in them - dang I bought two.  Love Thierry Mugler’s Womanity and Angel Muse.  

 

Maison Margiela ’REPLICA’ Fantasies: Soul of the Forest 3.4 oz/ 100 mL

 

 

 

Re: The Perfume Challenge

I finished my vial of Angel muse, it had a soft red rose note on me and a hint of chocolate. Could be a nice daily perfume. Last about five hours on me. FYI I do smell a fishy ocean in the background.

 

mancera Black gold, started out smelling like sweet leather then changed to Russian leather, then Moroccan lamb skin. After the leather note took a background to a spicy oud. A very clean sandal laced oud. There was a background of sweet incense. The scent last a long time but the throw is very intimate. 

Re: The Perfume Challenge

Tested Hiram Green's Moon Bloom today which is a fantastic white floral scent that's very tuberose-forward. Jasmine and ylang-ylang are also listed in the notes and jasmine definitely makes an appearance but tuberose is always the dominant character and basically takes over the dry down to the point where I'd describe this as a soliflore.

 

I’m not a huge fan of tuberose when it takes center stage in a scent. I prefer my tuberose playing a supporting role, whether it’s curdling the badass leather of Bandit or being stirred like cream into the coffee of Café Tuberosa. But I can definitely appreciate Moon Bloom.

 

Moon Bloom's tuberose opens with a little spiciness and a hint of the menthol that I really enjoy in Serge Luten’s Tubereuse Criminelle. So it has a chilly air, but it’s not icy. This fades into more "pretty" territory, not at all indolic. Though there's still has some substance to it, shifting between a more creamy heft and a silky milkiness. So it’s not a powerhouse tuberose but it's also not the de-fanged, light-wearing tuberose of say, LV’s Turbulences. I would describe it as luminous, complex and easy to wear. Highly recommended for tuberose lovers who would prefer something more versatile than Fracas or Carnal Flower.

hiram-green-moon-bloom

Re: The Perfume Challenge

Tested two Hiram Green fragrances today

Hiram-Green-Discovery-Set-Sprays-500x500

 

Slowdive is billed as a tobacco scent but on my skin it’s a rich, mellow and waxy honey. I tested it twice and while it was unmistakably a honey fragrance both times, they were distinct. The first test was suffused with florals, mainly orange blossom. I wouldn’t call it powdery, but you could almost see the white, dry wax of fresh honeycomb. Fantastic. The second test was much softer. I read reviews from others citing hay, but to me the grain note I smelled was distinctly oatmeal. Like someone heating up oatmeal on the stove with honey and you walk into the kitchen. Both times, Slowdive was very sweet, but in a gorgeous, mellow way. The dry down is comforting.

 

Dilettante is an orange tree scent, featuring its flowers and bark. I would say the whole tree is present in the opening with a hespiridic brightness mingling with heady, glistening neroli flowers, and spicy petitgrain. I read a review by Kafkaesque who described deep resins, earthy patchouli and other complexities but I’m afraid I did not get that kind of development on my skin. It’s straightforward, but not simple. The notes are lovely, complex and three dimensional. They also maintain their integrity in the long dry down during which the spice of the petitgrain fades into something more gentle and honeyed but does not disappear entirely.

Re: The Perfume Challenge

Wow! @pocketvenus. These sound so nice. I am thinking of ordering this sample set. May I ask where you ordered it from? It looks like you can order directly from their site, but wasn’t sure what was best. Thanks! 

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