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

Czech and Speake Frankincense and Myrrh

Czech & Speake is another of those slightly quirky, English perfumeries, also based in Jermyn Street in London (refer to my recent post on the Geo F. Trumper line). C&S, like Trumper, tends to turn out rather masculine perfumes, but not quite as old-fashioned as Trumper, with fewer colognes. They had a very generous sample programme about a year or so ago (perhaps they still do, it's worth checking) whereby if you registered on their website, they sent you samples of their entire collection for free. For some reason I registered twice by mistake, and lo and behold, I received two lots of their samples, so I am no stranger to their perfumes. I don't want to discuss the whole line, as it is relatively extensive, but one I wore today is Frankincense and Myrrh. I was in an incense frame of mind for some reason and thought I would revisit this oddity. The notes include citrus, basil, myrrh, camomile, clary sage, pimento leaf, lavender, frankincense, sandalwood and cedar. The opening is quite citrusy, and is joined fairly quickly by a muted incense note. If you enjoy perfumes like Heeley's Cardinal, Incense Pure by Sonoma Scent Studio, or Incense Extreme by Tauer, the C&S might just leave you feeling a little let down. Shortly after the incense interlude, a mild and quite sweet myrrh note emerges with a herbal accompaniment of Lavender. After that, Frankincense and Myrrh is all about Lavender on my skin, with some woods. It becomes slightly dated and the lavender dominates all the way into the dry down, and even then it never relinquishes its hold. In itself, this is not a poor fragrance, but I wanted more intense incense notes and in the end, I find it a wearable fragrance, but ultimately a little fusty and dull. It qualifies as unisex I suppose, but in my opinion sways more towards the masculine side.

While on the subject of C&S, I quite enjoy Dark Rose, which is a rose-oud combo very much in the vein of Montale's Black Oud, but milder and more approachable. It's probably my favourite in the line. No 88 receives a lot of love from male perfume lovers, particularly over at Basenotes. I find No 88 to be a slightly strange, musty and powdery rose-geranium perfume, not totally my cup of tea. It does have its rabid fans though, so who am I to disagree? The rest of the line is worth exploring, but I must admit that many of them leave me feeling slightly short-changed, particularly at these prices. However, if you can get free samples of these, then why not give them a go? You might just be pleasantly surprised. I suspect that a lot of the ladies among you might find C&S a bit easier to sample. Cuba and Citrus Paradisi in particular might be a good starting point, and although not my cup of tea, No 88 might appeal to the rose lovers among you.

Image credit: http://www.mensflair.com