On Getting Free Samples from Companies Now - Page 2

I wrote to The Art of Shaving regarding a sample of their Sandalwood fragrance, and generously, they sent me a general sample kit (a small booklet and samples of shaving creams/after-shave balms,etc) for free. It included a small sample of Sandalwood Essencial Oil EDT, but it's kind of like a scented tissue. When I opened the seal, I first was impressed by the eucalyptus-woody sandalwood (very medicinal). I actually kind of maybe liked it. Unfortunately, there was no way to keep this tissue wet and scented, and it eventually dried out in a matter of hours. I usually test-drive fragrance thoroughly because I may like the scent from a bottle but I might not like how it smells on my skin, or I may simply get sick of it after using several times like "Oh, the fir needles it are getting a little too much!". To prove you dislike something is fairly easy. Smell once and if you don't like it at that point, (though it may grow on you after frequent use) chances are you don't like it. On the other hand, it takes such a long process to prove to yourself that you truly like something. In my case, I usually need 5 to 10ml before I can comfortably say "I like it!" (typical samples in one of those 1ml vials are usually too little for me to reach the verdict on my mind) . Well, this AoS sample was a tissue (which lookes exactly like one of those disposable alcohol pads we use in a hospital, but less wet than that), and there was no way I could test-drive it, to begin with. It's almost like smelling from a bottle at a department store once, and trying to recall what it smells like later. I guess I like it because it's a very refined and sharp sandalwood, but I may get to dislike it eventually (after using several times) because it may be too medicinal with eucalyptus. Now, I'm left here with a nice alluring booklet saying "Sandalwood Essential Oil EDT $70" on its last page, a dried-out sample tissue (wow, "sample tissue" almost sounds like a medical term, doesn't it?), and the poor heart of mine who cannot decide if I like it or not....... Thank you, The Art of Shaving, but....... I guess I should try to find some small decants on the swapping/selling forum though so far I haven't seen any.... Â*

VV

OK so I'm new to BN also and wanted to explore niche scents. That's why I jumped on the bandwagon when I heard about free samples. I haven't recieved anything yet, but have positive email responses from:

Trumper, Ormonde Jayne, Amouage, Malle, and Art of Shaving.

Still waiting for Truefitt and Hill, and hopefully I would love to get back from L'artisan.

BTW, how are people getting samples from Lutens, all I found was a phone number on the website listed?

Finally got two Frederic Malle 5ml samples and a lovely handwritten note!!! :-* ;D ;D
Le Parfums de Therese and Noir Epices. Sampled Therese and it's lovely, beautifully complex but dunno whether I'd make a buy of it. Alas, Noir Epices started off strong and interesting, but degenerated to sharp cold earth similar to that found in a crypt. :-/
Smells magnificent on my brother though, it runs the full gamut of complexity on him :

Couldn't believe how generous they were. Now if only they had a counter in Oz so I could test more and find a HG to invest in.
Maybe in 10 years... Oz is soooo far behind :

Today, I got 5 Amouage samples (with a packing slip), 2 5ml spray samples from Malle along with a hand-written note, and 7 samples from Truefitt plus 2 shaving cream's and some balm.

The samples from Palais also had a small hand-written note included, and a book about the company and the fragrances (in french), and the Truefitt one came with a catalog.

This stuff worked out pretty well.

Can someone describe what wax samples are?

Another person happy with Editions de Parfums here, they sent me a well packaged box containing a hand-written note and two 5ml sprays of Noir Epices and Vetiver Extraordinaire.

The wax samples I got are each a little circle cut out of one of two layers of cardboard, and filled with the wax, and covered with a peel-off plastic cover. The wax is very soft, and can be rubbed into your skin. I think they use wax because of shipping regulations on alcohol (flammable) or because it's cheaper. You don't get much, but you can probly get 3 applications out of it, or 2 if you use a lot.

I got my samples from Trumper yesterday, 8 sample vials in a little cloth pouch.

I received all the truefitt and hill samples, and these l'artisan samples:

Ananas Fizz
Mure et musc
vanilila
navegar
tea for two
l'eau d'lartisan

ananas fizz is so addicting so far, smells like pineapple soda

flying moose, where did you get the sample request form for serge lutens???

I emailed Givenchy for a sample of Pi and they emailed back with:


Dear Mr Basile,

Today, I am sending you at the address that you mentionned below a sample
of Eau de Toilette Pi.

We hope that you will enjoy this product.

Best regards

Aurelie Bonjour
Consumer Service

That was 11/6 and it arrived 11/12. To my surprise when I opened the package they also sent me a sample of VI for Men, with a kind letter of:

Dear Mr. Basile,

Following to your email, we have the pleasure to send you a sample of Eau de Toilette Pi. We hope you will enjoy this fragrance.

We also have the pleasure to send you a sample to introduce you to our new Eau de Toilette for Men: Very Irresistible for Men.

Assuring you always of our best attention.

Yours Sincerely,

Aurelie Bonjour
Consumer Service

Note of my own: I will be buying both of these fragrances very soon. ;D

I sent some emails out to the majority of the companies mentioned in this thread really late last night. I have yet to get a reply from any of them and it's 1:25 PM.

I asked for samples of their products in most of them, but it was so late a night that I forgot to mention names of their fragrances. Do you think it will have any effect on them?

patience, young skywalker. it's sunday.


you can wait and see what you get. if they don't send you the ones you want, just write again.

Some companies kindly write you back saying "we will send you some samples" (Amouage and Trumper are great examples), but some others don't. Some of the latter group are just too prestigeous to write back to individual fans any more, namely Chanel and Guerlain (they never wrote me back or sent me anything), but most are kind enough to send you something by mail eventually, from my experience. Anyhow, patience seems to be a key here because, whether or not they write back, they truly take their time. It took me about one month before I finally got Trumper samples. They're really generous, though. I received 10 samples in a small sac with a logo of Trumper, though I requested only a sandalwood cologne sample. Divine also took their time, but they sent me a sample of not only L'Homme Sage (isn't this cologne great?) and L'Homme de Coeur (this is what Dior Homme fails to smell like, IMHO!), but also some others like L'Ame Soeur, Divine EDP. and L'Infante. Â*What truly amazed me was L'Artisan. I remember writing to them as if writing to Santa Claus, "I'm interested in Dzing, Mechant Loup, Eau de L'Artisan, Bois Farine, Passage d'Enfer......" hoping I'd be lucky enough to get at least one of these. To my surprise, they sent me a nice sample of all the the fragrances I had listed in my email! Probably, one of big disappointments was Floris. I asked them a sample of Sandalwood. They were kind enough to write me back saying "We will have someone send you something", but all I received was what must have been a piece of scented paper, which was already dry in a regular paper envelope and did not give off any scents any more by the time it got here. Well, besides the few generous companies I mentioned above. most of the great samples I have now (CdG, for example) are from generous Basenoters like Scentemental and Buffalo_Gal. They are very generous and whenever I purchase decants from them. theyÂ*kindly let me choose some samples from their loaded list. The packages they send me are always loaded with interesting samples..... Anyway, going back to the main topic, patience is the key when it comes to obtaining samples from fragrance companies for free.

VV

I got two samples of Ormonde on Friday. I tried them both and don't particularly like either one of them.

I found the Lutens request form on the internet archive, it's from like 5 years ago.

I'm relieved to read this, because they promptly answered my request and told me the samples were on their way, but that was three weeks ago, and I must admit I was starting to lose hope. Now I'm optimistic again ;D

I contacted Divine fragrances to obtain salmples of Lhomme sage and Lhomme de Coeur and received this response:

"Cher Monsieur,

First of all I would like to thank you for your interest in our perfumes.

I am pleased to inform you that samples of our creations have been sent to you today.

I hope that Divine fragrances will charm you.

Do not hesitate to contact us again for any question or comment.

Très cordialement,

Ms Katell PERENNOU
Export manager"

haven't received the samples yet but the response was very gracious.


B.G.

I didn't know if it'd work, but I tried emailing Editions de Parfums (Frederic Malle), "I've been a great fan of Concentree Bigarade. I'd like to know if there's anyway I can obtain a sample of fragrance called Noir Epices....." Of course, they did not write me back. But several weeks passed. and to my surprise! I receive a 5ml spray bottle of Noir Epices. The scent per se was not that impressive (a lot of ginger, isn't there?), but I was moved by their generosity! Â*

Frederic Malle are great! I emailed them about 2 weeks ago expressing an interest in trying 4 of their fragrances and asking whether they'd be kind enough to send me samples.

So what bobs up in my mailbox today? Free 5 ml samples of all four fragrances, together with a lovely handwritten note from FM! All the way from Paris to Sydney.

I participated in their questionaire the other day and they e-mailed me back with suggestions! They said they would send samples if I'm not close to one of their stores so I asked for noir epices, musc ravageur, and vetiver extraordinaire. They haven't e-mailed me back yet but I did leave an adress so hopefully it is coming in soon : )

hi everybody i'd like to know if you could give me some brands address on the web to ask for free samples ,did you try on serge lutens ? i'would like to try many fragrances but i dont know what to do

the ones i look for

guerlain
lutens
caron
cdg
floris
penhaligon's
creed

the easiest way is to simply buy all of them from someone. That way, you get everything you want and in a good time frame. Free is a better price, but it takes some effort.

Many topics on this subject already. Search the community. You will have a hard time finding "free" samples of all those scents. Go to the buy and sway forum and see what you can find.

Jim

Trumpers and Amouage came up big with samples and in a very short time.

Here are some brands I've recieved free samples of (you can find their e-mail address on their homepages):

IUNX
L'Artisan
Frederic Malle
Amouage
Trumper
Ormonde Jayne
Divine

I'm going crazy trying to contact every niche house to get samples in my search for new, great scents. I just now sent emails to Malle and Divine, but am looking for more. If you guys know which houses usually give samples and have their contact info, that would be awesome! This could be sort of like a niche house contact directory thread. Thanks for the help guys!

Trumpers.com sent me sample vials of almost the entire mens line and 6 shaving soaps in a special drawstring Trumper bag all for free, visit the site and email them requesting samples, hope this helps...Gio

Montale. 8 samples
Trumper
Frederic Malle: 2 x 5ml samples

To add some, I have recieved the whole Amouage and Ormonde Jayne men's-line, and a couple from L'Artisan

So far, L'Artisan has completely ignored my email.

Mugler on the other hand, sent me a fabulous package. Cologne samples of A*Men, B*Men, and Mugler, along with face creame, shampoos, etc.

(RANT WARNING)
Editions de Parfums (Frederic Malle) wrote and told me they would not send samples as I live in london where there is one outlet; les senteurs. This makes no sense as les senteurs ship worldwide, so why does it make any difference where I live? They could just as well send samples to Australia. Though I live in london, it is very difficult for me to get to the shop.

Also les senteurs offer a very poor service in my experience. They have charged me twice for an order of £150 then failed to appologise. They have also "lost" one sample order I made after charging me and got two others wrong. Thats four errors out of four orders, so I do not want to use them.

So malle has lost a customer.

acqua di parma sent samples in three days!

I told them I love the cologne and asked for after-shave samples. Top stuff!!!

(wanders off quacking happily.....)

Received my first samples from L'Artisan a few days ago. Emailed them on 12th telling how I've heard nice things about their products and how it's hard to sample them here.

That was nice and the first time seems exciting in this area, too :-) (tm)

If anyone is interested, I just received samples of Lacoste PH, PF, Style, Essential, Touch of Pink, and Cool Play in the mail. It did take a while, but it was free through their site and I have received everything I applied for.

Well I got positive responses from trumpers, malle, ormande...amouage reccomended I buy the sample pack but I think that was because I accidently sent an email meant for Lartisan to Amouage OOPs! I cringed as soon as I did it.......

Could you guys give me an idea what you said to amouage...I really want to try their frags....Ill use my girlfriends name to send them to her......

Chris

bump

Today, I recieved a package containing samples of Molinard Homme I and III, Teck, Rafale, Double Fraicheur, Madrigal and MM...Took only a week or so, and this was to Norway..Not bad

I got so ticked off when someone at Keiko Mecheri emailed back saying that in order to keep costs down, they will not be sending samples to me, but to hold tight and will be available at my Neiman-Marcus very soon.

What a bunch of tightwads!

I have had nothing but good experiences with my sample requests. The sole negative came from Guerlain, but they were very polite. Truefit & Hill hooked me up with an extremely generous array. I received measures of 10 different products:

Spanish Leather (I'm wearing this now and it rocks)
West Indian Limes
Clubman
Grafton
Trafalgar
1805 (2 vials of this)
T&H Pre-Shave Oil
1805 Shaving Cream
Ultimate Comfort Shaving Cream
Ultimate Comfort Aftershave Balm

T&H is now on my must-buy list.

Ormande Jayne got my samples her in 2 business days from britain to NC!!! and i love their frags


I have not heard a response from Lartisan or amouage...should I re email?

i have not had a lot of success with l'artisan (2 of the 3 bottles exploded in transit, and they haven't responded to my request to resend the lost samples), but amouage ha been /exceedingly/ generous with their samples. they have been quick to respond to emails as well, so my guess is that your email got lost somehow along the way. so, yes, i would re-email amouage, as i'm sure they'll be more than happy to accomodate your request. (btw, you might want to try this email address for their chicago branch: camylle@marilynmiglin.com)

Hey Guys,


I just wanted to let you know....I was reading and posting on the "free sample" Thread about getting some exotic samples to try and possibly buy down the road and i wanted to tell you how impressed I am by the service at Ormonde Jayne, I sent the request to them on thursday night late and today monday I got the samples all the way from the UK! Thats fast service! Not only that but I love the iskafarand (sp) and Ormand PH fragrances they are almost like Creed in their complexity and depth....I think I am gonna splurge and buy a bottle of each..... The ormand ph smells like M7 musk and mystery with the sweetness underneath it of Vera Wang.....the Iskafarand smells like the dry down of some really really good fragrances (like issey blue) but thats the top notes and when it drys down it metomorphisizes into something even better!

They have a customer for life here because of their fragrances and the outstanding service.

Chris (Pugsley)

did you email amouage at the address i gave you? any success?

yeh i just sent it a few mins ago......what did you say in your email to amouage and Lartisan to get samples?

Godiamond2006@hotmail.com you can respond back here on my email....

i'll respond here, as i think everyone could benefit from knowing how to best inquire about samples. it's really quite simple for me, as i live in a fairly remote town in the midwest. so, i explain how difficult it is for me to gain access to stores with company X's fragrances, that i would like to sample their product before investing a lot of money in a larger bottle, and then i thank them nicely for any help they can provide. most of the companies i've had contact with are sympathetic to my plight (living in the midwest can be brutal in regards to fashion and fragrance), and the ones that are not so sympathetic simply decline. nothing gained, nothing lost. a note to any company rep. reading this thread: those companies that are sympathetic gain customers for life (i'm thinking dyptique, bond no. 9, montale).

what is a good spectrum of montales fragrances that I should request to find a few I like?

bump

I sent to Malle, Trumper, and Amouage. I sent one directly to Malle about Musc Ravageur and I'm already getting that one I know. I also did the quiz and someone got back to me ASAP recommending things, but I asked for samp-les and I'm positive I'll get one or two of those also. Trumper is sending samples. I have yet to receive a reply from Amouage. If I don't I'll be sure to email them again. Ciel Men looks pretty damn good to me. Also Ormonde Jayne is sending me samples too. I have to try Divine and L'artisans. Any other places I should try?

Haven't received from Trumper's...but Truefitt and Hill sent a VERY generous amount of samples, ALL of their men's juices and some shaving products...can't wait to try the shave cream, of which they sent 2. Malle was MORE than generous with their 5 ml samplers...those will be my next purchases without a doubt...absolutely fantastic service...I genuinely wanted to try them and they were much more than helpful. 5 ml's each of Vetiver Extrordinaire, Musc Ravageur, and Bigarrade Concentree...FANTASTIC...with a hand written note...very nice...like I said, those are my next purchases without a doubt....

Can someone give me the website for Divine? I can't seem to find it.

a friend of mine is having a /terrible/ experience with frederic malle right now. she requested some samples, they asked her to fill out their questionaire, and then they told her to go buy some herself at her local retailer. the only reason she even contacted them is because she /doesn't/ have a "local retailer", which she explained to them in the first email she sent. is this how they treat potential customers??? has anyone else here had difficulty with them? and, if so, how did you solve the problem? or did you just give up?

What should I say that would make me sound interested enough to send me samples?

Say there's no retailer and that you've heard wonderful things about their scents, but don't know which one is for you. Then say that it would be very helpful to you if they sent you samples as there is no local retailer near you. Then say if they could send you some samples, that you would happily buy the product from their site.

yes, i had a similar experience, outlined earlier in this thread

i'm happy to say frederic malle has eradicated the problem i spoke of in the post above. looks like it's safe to to say they're a company willing to go the extra mile (even if does take a little extra effort on the consumer's part).

Could you name 6 or 7 of montales fragrances that I should request to find a few I like?

To Spiritussancti (such a name! :-) ): it's www.divine.fr

Thank you iggy, for both the compliment and the website



So far I know Ormonde Jayne, Trumper, Mugler, L'Artisan, Malle, and Hermes are sending samples. So far Amouage, Acqua Di Parma(even though I belive they're not responding, just sending samples), Truefitt and Hill, Joop, Creed (long shot I know), and Bond#9 haven't written back (again a long shot).

From L'Artisan I'm getting 7 samples, Mugler I'm getting the male fragrance samples, Malle I'm getting Musc Ravageur, Noir Espices, and Carnal Flower, and Hermes is sending Terre d'Hermes. Sweet deal so far.