I stopped at Marshall's, TJ Maxx, and Macy's on my way home from work today to see if I could sample anything. Â*Unless it is something I have personally wanted for a long time, I usually write down the fragrances I see at these stores and then get a better impression of them from the reviews here. Â*It isn't that I don't recognize most of the fragrances, but I like checking in here before buying blind because I've made some mistakes in the past. Â*One problem I have when I go to these stores is I get too caught up in purchasing blind and making tough decisions that often I end up not buying anything at all. Â*Today was one of those days. Â*
My first stops were Maxx and Marshall's. Â*TJ Maxx had most of the run-of-the-mill stuff I'm seeing more and more of at these stores such as Curve, Puma, and Escada (although I like 'em!). Â*Marshall's had a lot more unique stuff since my last visit, and they really loaded up on the YSL. Â*Full-size Live Jazz, Kouros, and M7 were there for $19.99 each. Â*I have never smelled M7 before, and I don't have a ton of faith in YSL. Â*I don't like the original Jazz, nor do I care for Kouros, including the more recent Sport version. Â*Now that I have read the reviews again I regret not buying M7 blind, but there were plenty of boxes so I'm not concerned about it going away soon. Â*Some others I looked into include Perry Ellis Portfolio Green, the original Claiborne for Men, and FCUK Him.
Finally, I stopped at the Macy's in the mall, but they only had the usual suspects. Â*Armani, Ralph Lauren, Hugo, and Curve dominated the department. Â*I got a SA try to pitch Gio and Code to me, which I shrugged off with a general, "I'm not interested." Â*I was disappointed they had NO cards whatsoever to spray anything on, so I had to just spray a couple on myself. Â*I went with Emporio White on one wrist, since I haven't tried it for about a year. Â*I like the scent a lot, but since I've written up to this much in the review, it seems to have faded significantly. Â*On the other wrist I have Z, and I think it smells fine, but it is so unnecessary in a market still flooded with this kind of stuff. Â*I received samples of Unforgivable, Be Delicious, and the new red alternate of it, but I just pocketed them before leaving, so I didn't notice they had given me the women's sample of the new apple by mistake. Â*Oh well, I'll take whatever I can get. Â*One interesting note is that since Christmas, Givenchy seems to be disappearing out of all stores in my area. Â*I have been to three department stores, Maxx, Marshall's, Sephora, and Alta since that time, and none of them carry Givenchy anymore. Â*Humph. Â*
Today was a pretty chaotic day of searching. Â*Fighting traffic and fending off the sales associates is not fun - especially after a long day of work and coming home empty-handed! Â*I think I may go for the M7 or Claiborne this weekend. Â*I hope this post wasn't too boring, but I have no one else to vent my search results with. Â*
**Update** I sampled the new Tommy Summer for this year, and I have to say that it smells incredible. I don't know if I'll buy it since I already have a lot of colognes that fit the bill for hot weather, but it is my favorite release from Tommy, hands down. Though aquatic and citrusy at first, a harmonic blend of pepper joins the fray after a half hour or so, resulting in a truly addictive scent that lasts forever without becoming cloying. If you've been thinking about any of the Summer colognes, this would be the year I'd recommend going for it.
My first stops were Maxx and Marshall's. Â*TJ Maxx had most of the run-of-the-mill stuff I'm seeing more and more of at these stores such as Curve, Puma, and Escada (although I like 'em!). Â*Marshall's had a lot more unique stuff since my last visit, and they really loaded up on the YSL. Â*Full-size Live Jazz, Kouros, and M7 were there for $19.99 each. Â*I have never smelled M7 before, and I don't have a ton of faith in YSL. Â*I don't like the original Jazz, nor do I care for Kouros, including the more recent Sport version. Â*Now that I have read the reviews again I regret not buying M7 blind, but there were plenty of boxes so I'm not concerned about it going away soon. Â*Some others I looked into include Perry Ellis Portfolio Green, the original Claiborne for Men, and FCUK Him.
Finally, I stopped at the Macy's in the mall, but they only had the usual suspects. Â*Armani, Ralph Lauren, Hugo, and Curve dominated the department. Â*I got a SA try to pitch Gio and Code to me, which I shrugged off with a general, "I'm not interested." Â*I was disappointed they had NO cards whatsoever to spray anything on, so I had to just spray a couple on myself. Â*I went with Emporio White on one wrist, since I haven't tried it for about a year. Â*I like the scent a lot, but since I've written up to this much in the review, it seems to have faded significantly. Â*On the other wrist I have Z, and I think it smells fine, but it is so unnecessary in a market still flooded with this kind of stuff. Â*I received samples of Unforgivable, Be Delicious, and the new red alternate of it, but I just pocketed them before leaving, so I didn't notice they had given me the women's sample of the new apple by mistake. Â*Oh well, I'll take whatever I can get. Â*One interesting note is that since Christmas, Givenchy seems to be disappearing out of all stores in my area. Â*I have been to three department stores, Maxx, Marshall's, Sephora, and Alta since that time, and none of them carry Givenchy anymore. Â*Humph. Â*
Today was a pretty chaotic day of searching. Â*Fighting traffic and fending off the sales associates is not fun - especially after a long day of work and coming home empty-handed! Â*I think I may go for the M7 or Claiborne this weekend. Â*I hope this post wasn't too boring, but I have no one else to vent my search results with. Â*
**Update** I sampled the new Tommy Summer for this year, and I have to say that it smells incredible. I don't know if I'll buy it since I already have a lot of colognes that fit the bill for hot weather, but it is my favorite release from Tommy, hands down. Though aquatic and citrusy at first, a harmonic blend of pepper joins the fray after a half hour or so, resulting in a truly addictive scent that lasts forever without becoming cloying. If you've been thinking about any of the Summer colognes, this would be the year I'd recommend going for it.
