Saturday Freebie Thread - Page 3

No problem.Meowmo, if it doesn't fit you, I'm on the queue for adoption.

No problem, Moore! How about you PM me your address and I'll decant some for myself then send the rest to you?

Ohhhhh, sorry, yes! It's great!!! And the wrapping was LOVELY!!!!!

Thank you dear G I received it and i LOVE IT

Hmmm, I'm a guy and I'd rather get something for myself but if no one want to claim it then I guess I will. Hopefully my prom date will like it

How about a deal, just to keep Hillaire from feeling like a #####

Mr. Icy56, I'd be happy to put together a nice sample pack for you! I have a bunch of masculines, both decants and samples, that I'd be happy to send your way. That way you get to try alot more fragrances, rather than taking a risk on a bottle that I have a feeling you are not going to like.

Deal? PM me if interested.

What a great offer, Cello! Wonderful idea. And Hillaire, my dear, you are anything but a #####. )

I see nothing wrong with it. It should go to someone who really wants it. practical and fair.


icy56, you're very fortunate there are sweet and generous people on here like cello.

Welcome to Basenotes, Icy56! I think Cello's sample pack will be much more enjoyable for you than Hillaire's bottle. Congratulations on your good fortune.

It's easy to take things for granted, so I hope you really appreciate her generosity - not just for giving you some samples, but for taking the time to choose things you may like, and then pack them up, and mail them out. For all of us, time is one of the most precious commodities - that is a bigger gift than the juice itself. By the way - it's good form to report back your impressions when given samples. Don't worry about feeling clueless - it doesn't stop me.


Who could ever think that? I think you handled it very gracefully. To quote Mary Poppins, "A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down".

Cello and Hillaire - you are both awesome. Have a great day, ladies!

Wow thanks!!!! I feel bad though because this is just too much. You are too generous. I'll take it only if I get to pay for something like shipping :P. Ill feel even more bad if I don't end up paying for anything.



Its fine, I completely understand . I agree, it would definitely be better if this went to someone who really wanted it and i'm glad it is going to someone. Sorry if you took it the wrong way. :/ You guys are just way to generous! Don't think that you are a ##### because you are definitely far from one.

Cello very generous of you. A BN member did this for me, I did this to another. This is what I like about basenotes. There are a lot of great people here

You guys are really something: younger folks and newer members have a lot to live up to, encouraging everybody by personal example.

Icy56, hi there. Believe in karma? Ever heard "goes around -- comes around" old-told truths? Make somebody's day, go right ahead, make them feel they are special/lucky/winners.

It's been a while since I took receipt of Hillaire's Rose Cardin - time for a proper review, to show that it found a good home (and it did!)



This fragrance wowed me before I even got to open the box. The smell of the package which Hillaire sent me, when just opened, was magnificent. I was, like, "OMG! This **** smells GREAT!"

While I have a lot of good to say about Hillaire's generosity, her packing technique is the mechanical equivalent of the Japanese "just in time" workflow methodology, meaning "just enough to save the fragrance from disaster, and not one single plastic bubble more". Whatever - it worked! But her package literally fell apart on my counter as I began to open it! I mean it - USPS annihilated her package, and it died right before my eyes, with the fragrance falling out on the counter, completely unwrapped. My jaw just dropped that the box got to me undented.

So - what does it smell like? WOW! Let's start with the opening. Really amazing. Very classical, and I can see why Hillaire was calling it her rosewood chypre. I think the opening is the best part. The combination of rose, rosewood, aldehyde, and iris notes is extremely well-composed, and just impresses (the iris gives it a lipstick quality that reminds me of Saks Fifth Avenue and Dior Homme). It almost strikes me as a mixture of YSL Paris, Prada Infusion d'Iris, and Angel minus the candy. Yes, it's a big, neon synth-a-rose, but it's good and it's classy. The opening is the most complex. As the heart kicks in, it seems fairly linear to me. The thing veers soapier and soapier after that, and turns into a glowing rose soap after a while, with some really, really well-done, clean soap musks. Spicy notes meander in and out, but it basically rides the rest of the way as a floral soap. Others mention animalic notes - since Kouros smells "clean" to me, I suppose that might be true. I get a cross between classic feminine perfume and the cheap but heavenly-smelling white bar soap of small American motels.

Our friend "The Non-Blonde" loves it, but describes it as kitschy and campy, and I'm in full agreement. In its moment, it was probably very classy and just a bit edgy, but time has been unkind to it, and it smells - well, it just smells like "too much". It's not even "old lady", if you will, because it still retains a very youthful quality. The scent is almost flawless, but it's too big, too loud, and all wrong in a beautiful way, like hooker-red lipstick on a Baptist choir-girl in the countryside. It's an American Idol hillbilly diva - a classic beauty with flawless skin and a golden voice - who makes it to Vegas but gets booted from the contest for dancing drunk and naked on a craps table in the casino. Of course, it's the winner in my book! I have nothing - and I mean NOTHING - in my wardrobe like this stuff.

The Non-Blonde said it best:

"But even as a campy and a little trashy fragrance, Rose Cardin maintains a level of fabulousness you rarely find in mainstream perfumes nowadays."

So true! In a way it's Angel without candy - a fascinating proposition.

Has it found a good home? In the words of more than one redneck songstress, "Hell yeah!"

Excellent review, redneck! Had a great time reading it!

Thanks, rednails!

I should also mention the drydown, which I noticed I had forgotten. Rose Cardin leaves an excellent cedar scent on skin - a combination of rosy floral, a touch of clean musk, and a very fine, smooth cedar, possibly tempered with rosewood. In fact, the drydown is as enjoyable as those of my favorite Chanel feminines. I'm not sure if the saying "they don't make them like they used to" applies here, but I have to say that they sure did make this one great.

Great review redneck, good read

Update: So I just got the sample pack and I have to say, thank you sooo much cello!!! This is just too much. You really just made my whole week. I really wasn't expecting to get this many samples and decants of niche fragrances and then you include a nice little bottle of tommy bahama! Haha now I cant even decide on what to try out first! Thank you thank you thank you sooo much! I think ill find something perfect for prom in these samples. Ill be updating sometime next week about what I think of each fragrance. Gosh i'm soo excited to try everything out!

^^^^ You're like me when I received as gift some samples of a good soul: I was like a kid on Christmas time!! It's an indescribable feeling. That's great! Congrats! for you Cello.

Great that you got the package icy56! I had forgotten I had that little mini of Tommy Bahama, so I thought I'd throw that one in there. Enjoy your sampling, and I'll be curious to hear if anything works for you

As promised here are my first impressions . Sorry about my noobish ways to describe these fragrances since I'm not quite experienced enough to really describe them and point out each different note. Keep in mind, I haven’t really spent that much time with these fragrances. Most of these are just my first impressions.

L'Artisan Havanna Vanille or now known as Vanille Absolument: This was the first fragrance I tried out and from my first wiff of it, I fell in love. It smelled delicious. I could smell that nice vanilla note and some other note that I couldn't quite pinpoint. I don't think i've ever smelled a fragrance that smells this delicious. I’ve smelled rochas man and one million which are considered sweet scents but I don’t think they were mouth watering like this. Overall I love how this smells. I find it a shame though that it didn't project much. Longevity was pretty decent. Another problem I found with this is although it got me compliments, when I would ask what did it smelled like, most would say like someone who just smoked. Now that is going to be a big issue with me especially since I am still in high school and I don't want people to be getting the wrong idea. I love this fragrance but I don’t think ill be purchasing a bottle especially with the projection issues and what it reminds people of. If it had a little better projection and none of that tobacco? (I guess that’s whats causing that smoker smell?) then this would be just perfect for me.

L'artisan Tea for Two: Now this fragrance although it has a LOT of love on this forum, I didn't quite like it. I guess its because of my inexperienced/not mature nose but I thought it smelled like tea and cigarettes. It just didn't smell good to me. I think ill give it another try but right now it isn't a contender for my prom scent.

Serge Lutens Chergui: Lets just say I love this and its definitely one of my contenders from prom. I didn't quite enjoy the opening but the longer it stayed on my skin, the more I liked it. It smelled very floral, sweet, and classy, quite different from all the other fragrances I have tried. The reason why I find this perfect for prom is because,well, I cant really see myself in any other situation where I can pull this off. It doesn't smell like a fragrance that you can just wear as a casual daily scent or to a date, etc. Its a fragrance that you can only wear to very special occasions, i.e. prom. Overall I really like this scent. To me it smells very pleasant and unique. The only problem I find with this is the versatility of it leading me to question whether a full bottle of this would be worth it or not but for that one night of prom, this is perfect. I still have to see what my date thinks of this. Hopefully she likes it aswell.

Creed Virgin Island Water: This fragrance is a love and hate thing for me. The smell, I absolutely love. It reminds me of a tropical beach. Its very unique and I like it. The biggest problem with this however is the projection and longevity. It didn’t even last for half of the day for me and other people could not smell this at all. If it had better longevity and projection, I would probably consider buying a bottle of this.

Hermes Un Jardin Sur Le Nil: This fragrance is the same as the Creed for me. I love how it smells, but longevity is meh. It gives me a nice jamba juice type of vibe with the very pleasant mango note. Its a nice green fragrance that I could see myself wearing around springtime. Projection on this seems to be pretty good but it feels like the scent disappears within 4 hours. I like this fragrance but I don’t think I would invest in a bottle of this because of the longevity.

Chanel Allure Homme Edition Blanche: I really like this fragrance actually. It has a very nice lemon pie scent. Its also very versatile. I can see myself buying this fragrance simply because it seems like a scent I can wear to ANY occasion. It can be classy, casual, date scent, anything. Projection and longevity is also pretty good on this. I'm quite surprised that I didn't get a single compliment on this one. It definitely one of my favorite scents out of all the ones I sampled. Its a shame they are discontinuing this. I haven’t tried any of the other Chanel fragrances but hopefully they are similar to this one because I really like this.

Cartier Roadster: This fragrance, I cant really describe. It smells nice, green, fresh, and pleasant but I have no idea what that smell is. All I know is, I like it. It projects pretty good and lasts throughout the day. I find it weird that this is what got the most compliments for me. The first day I wore it, bam, easy 6 compliments. I like Chanel Allure Edition Blanche more than this but this just got so much more compliments. I would consider buying this but there are others that I like much more.

Sean Jean I Am King: Meh, this fragrance is alright. It smells soapy like a body wash. Not really my type of fragrance.

Fragrances that I still have to try out: Tommy Bahama, Exceptional, Lalique Eau de Lelique, L'Artisan Piment Brulant, and Ferre Bergamotto Marino.

Well thank you soo much Cello for giving me a chance to try out all these fragrances! It was really nice to finally get my nose on some of the most highly regarded fragrances on this forum. This sampling leads me to three questions however:

1) Do Niche fragrances typically have longevity and projection issues? I noticed this when the Creed, L'Artisan and Hermes fragrances didn't last or project to well on my skin when I could easily get 10+ hours with a designer like one million or le male.
2) What note causes Tea for Two and Havana Vanille to make the wearer smell like they smoke? Is it the tobacco note? I have no idea how fresh tobacco smells so im not sure if that’s it or something else. I'm just curious because I really don’t want to be smelling like I smoke so knowing the note might help me avoid fragrances that incorporate it in the future.
3) From a female's perspective, what would be best for prom? Chergui, New Haarlem, or I love New York for All? I currently have samples of each and I was thinking maybe I could just wear the sample to prom since I cant quite afford these fragrances right now.

Great follow-up, Icy56! Your opinions will change over time, so I suggest you hang on to these and try them again after a while.

Chergui is very nice. I think its pretty versatile. I wouldn't wear it to work, but I wear it on the weekends, evenings at home, and evenings out. I think you could easily wear this on dates. It can be a bit too much at first, but it settles down into something very nice after a while. It lasts forever, too.

The ones that you like that have crap longevity - there are a few things you can do. Spray them on clothes. They will last much longer that way. Also, not everything has to last all day - if you love something that lasts 3 hours, just carry a small sprayer of it and re-apply. Isn't it better to smell something you love and carry a small atomizer than to wear something you don't like so much?

As for your questions,
1) it don't think so. Hermes is actually designer - they tend to be more subtle, with less sillage than typical designer frags. I don't know Creed much, but I think they vary. Most Serge Lutens have very strong sillage and longevity. Most L'Artisan last about 30 minutes on me and are very weak.

2) I think Havana Vanille has a fresh tobacco leaf note - very different from cigarette smoke. People will recognize the smell and may associate it with cigarettes, but it's nothing like the smell of someone who has been smoking. If you like it, wear it.

3) I'm not a woman, but I'll answer anyway. Wear the one you like best, as long as your date likes it too. In fact, you may just want to wear the one she likes best if you can get her to sniff beforehand.

Glad you enjoyed a few of those Icy56! And thanks for letting us know your thoughts, it's fun for us all that way

L'Artisan fragrances sometimes do not last that long, depending on the fragrance. As a brand, they get knocked for that a bit. HV has a pretty heavy musk drydown, actually pretty much all the way through, and it could be that you don't smell that musk very well.
Tea for Two is known as a "smoky tea". Sometimes people do think it smells of smoke, as in cig smoke. So look for descriptions that describe a smoky smell, and maybe you want to avoid those. some like it and think it adds depth, others just don't.

Have you tried Dior Homme? They should have that one at a Sephora, and you probably have one in your town. You may not love it for an everyday fragrance, but you can sample it, and it would make a great prom night fragrance, as I find it kind of a masculine dress up fragrance.
I think Chergui and New Harlem both would be great for prom night. I'm not familiar with the other.

I think you should wear what makes you feel classy and confident to prom, and it would be great if you knew ahead of time that your date liked it too.

Nice reviews, Icy56!!! Really enjoyed those.

awesome reviews man