It's sample time again!

This is a bit of a nonsense post I suppose, but I am quite excited as I have ordered my first batch of samples in about three months. As I'm sure most of you know, or have experienced, obtaining new perfumes can become a bit of an obsession; some would even say an addiction, whether it be full bottles, decants or samples. I can't really afford full bottles or large decants, so samples it is for me, and has been, for at least two years now. I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but my usual sources of purchased samples (I'm not above literally begging sales staff for samples by the way, and am sure I am viewed as a bit of a sicko, or pest, at my local department stores) are Luckyscent in the US, First in Fragrance in Germany, and Les Senteurs in the UK. I have also purchased from The Perfumed Court, but I do find them quite expensive, but admittedly they have an incredible stock. As the pound is currently weak against the Euro, I've also found First in Fragrance quite pricy and can often get the same stuff from Luckyscent for two thirds the price, although admittedly their sample vials tend to be smaller. My experience with The Perfumed Court was good, but a little strange, at least for me. I wasn't used to receiving little packets of perfumes from the various sellers, at different times. In a way it was quite nice because I had three lots of anticipation and deliveries.

I ordered some samples from Les Senteurs yesterday, who are based in London. Again, I've mentioned it before, but for those of you from the US, if you're ever in London, do make the effort to pop into this place in Belgravia, which is but a stone's throw away from Victoria Station. They carry a lovely range of perfumes, including Frederic Malle, Caron, Parfumerie Generale, Serge Lutens, Lorenzo Villoresi, ELDO, Parfums D'Empire, Creed, Mona Di Orio, Parfums Delrae, Byredo and Robert Piguet. Here's a link to their website. What I love about Les Senteurs is that although you pay for samples if you order online, if you visit in person they will happily decant any reasonable number of samples for you, for free.

This is a list of what I ordered: 

Parfumerie Generale - Querelle

Caron - Yatagan

Mona di Orio - Les Nombres D'or Cuir

Andy Tauer - Orange Star

Frederic Malle - Iris Poudre

Byredo Baudelaire

Yatagan was one of the first niche perfumes I ever sampled, more than three years ago, but I can hardly remember what it smelled like, so am keen to try again now that I have more experience. I haven't tried the others before, but have read fairly good things about them.

I would be interested in finding out if any of you have sampled some or all of these.

Incidentally, my scents of the day today were Chanel 28 La Pausa and Czech & Speake's No 88. I have reviewed La Pausa before. I quite like it - very refined and sophisticated. Very Chanel I suppose.  No 88 just doesn't speak to me. I've had samples of this for a year or two now and have worn it at least a dozen times, but nope, it just isn't me. I know it has some ardent fans but I can't get past that slightly sweet, geranium and rose combination, which for some reason reminds me of the smell of a chewing gum we had growing up as kids, called Pepsin. It was almost a wintergreen smell and in itself is quite nice, but for some reason I just don't like it much in a perfume. In fact, I don't like the smell of geraniums very much. Is that strange?

Image credit: www.theperfumeryuk.com

Chanel 28 La Pausa and 31 Rue Cambon

Following on from my recent foray into the world that is the Chanel Exclusifs, today I am sampling 28 La Pausa and 31 Rue Cambon. La Pausa opens very dry, with a rooty, carroty accord of iris. I don't smell much else for the first few minutes; I do perhaps detect a slight fizz of aldehydes, but it is muted. I haven't found any firm list of notes, but some have listed iris, violet, white musk, vetiver and even pink pepper. I must admit, I struggled to categorise La Pausa. The iris is the dominant note, but once the opening passes, it is neither particularly woody, rooty nor powdery. If anything it is a hybrid of all of this. In the heart La Pausa continues fairly dry and I do find this a very subtle and muted perfume. It has that Chanel "edge' of sophistication and elegance, but I find it almost too light and restrained. I wish it had more 'oomph'. The dry down continues as a fairly light and now woody iris. If anything it takes on a more fruity accord at this point. Someone referred to La Pausa as smelling a bit like Estee Lauder Pleasures, with a fruity white musk component, and I definitely do feel a slight Lauder vibe going on here!

31 Rue Cambon opens very green, even creamy to my nose. It has a much more forceful aldehydic fizz in the opening and is a bit sweeter. To me the green smells like galbanum, although I can't see this listed anywhere. It reminds me a bit of no. 19, albeit a lot smoother and restrained. I found it quite feminine at this stage. In the heart there is still quite a lot of greenness to Rue Cambon, but it also becomes mossy and loses the sweetness. It does wear like a chypre, but to me it smells nothing like Mitsouko, to which it has been compared. I'm not sure what to make of Rue Cambon. I have read a lot of favourable reviews of it, and it seems like it is the favourite Les Exclusif of many, but frankly, I don't get it.

Of the two, I prefer La Pausa. I especially like iris as a note, and if I'm honest, green perfumes are not my favourite genre. That's not to say that Rue Cambon is not good, but it isn't me. Having said that, so far neither of these two is really up my alley. I much prefer Bois des Iles and Coromandel, both of which made an immediate impact on me, whereas I'm feeling almost guilty about being lukewarm about La Pausa and Rue Cambon. It just goes to show how different everyone's taste is. I will give both of these another chance, as I do with most fragrances, because you never know - it could all be so different on another occasion. For the time being, Rue Cambon goes into my purgatory basket, while La Pausa is just on the right side of the fence.

Image credit: www.fashion-forum.org