The 2nd Annual, 2012 BLIND Sampling Tournament Will Begin!

The coins and wrinkled singles have filled up the jar I keep in my kitchen and that means it's time to waste it all on perfume!

Some of you may remember that last year I held a Blind Sampling Tournament, where I began blindly sampling 22 different fragrances, narrowed them down to 10, and pitted them against each other in a round-robin, March Madness-style tournament. The winner of the entire tournament was Ambre Precieux, defeating such giants as Tobacco Vanille and Ambre Sultan.

The bracket can be viewed here: http://tinyurl.com/cgu8h85


The purpose of the contest was to find that next great bottle (and have fun doing it). And it worked! Not only is Ambre Precieux one of my favorite fragrances, but I also ended up getting a split/decant of Tobacco Vanille and a tester of A Taste of Heaven over the course of the following year, and today I enjoy both of them very much. So 3 worthy bottles actually resulted from the tournament. Furthermore, doing the tournament was a great time, and I got to digitally meet and talk to a lot of different basenoters from all over the world. It was a cool experience.

Well, now I'm looking for a new addition to the wardrobe. I want something really special to add that is unique, different from anything that I own, and highly wearable--something I'm comfortable with and can use often.

I've spent months doing research, watching youtube reviews, reading store and house descriptions and finally managed to narrow everything down to 16 samples (the perfect number for a tournament!). Some samples were carefully and wisely selected. And some of the samples I picked had nothing to do with my months of research, I just picked them on a whim at the last minute and said "to hell with research!"

This year the theme is: NICHE ONLY. I've just about exhausted the designer world for the moment, mainly because they're so easy to find and test, but the niche universe is still relatively new to me.

I began by looking for a fragrances that combined Incense and Mint (yes, I love mint, I know many of you hate it and I'm okay with that, I'm at peace with your distaste for mint), and fragrances that could be described as "elegant woody" and just sort of branched off from there. So you might recognize an Incense, Mint, and Woody theme present among the samples. One fragrance, "Atlantic," may even be an Elegant Woody Fragrance with Notes of Mint and Incense (as they're all in the pyramid). But maybe it smells like old gum scraped off the sidewalk...WHO KNOWS!? At the same time I also just went with some frags that sounded good to me, with no particular note or style as the focus. And there were a couple that I had been wanting to sample since last year's tournament (per the fine suggestions of informative basenoters like yourselves).

So without further ado, I present This Year's Contestants!. For the sake of interest, to the right of each fragrance I've included its:

1) Basenotes score, in the order of: Postive, Neutral, Negative reviews (For example: 30-10-5 would mean this fragrance has received 30 positive reviews, 10 neutral reviews, and 5 negative reviews)

2) Fragrantica score, in the order of: Overall score out of a possible 5, followed by the number of votes/scores submitted (For example, a "4.5/100" would mean that out of 100 votes or scores submitted, the fragrance averaged a score of 4.5 out of a possible 5.)


The Contestants Are:


Ambre 114: Histoires de Parfums 16-0-0 4.6/100

Ambre Russe: Parfum d'Empire 31-4-3 4.37/199

Atlantic: Strange Invisible Perfums 1-0-0 5.0/1

Avant Garde: M. Micallef 2-1-1 4.38/24

Cereus No.6: Cereus 0-3-1 4.0/6

Cereus No.11: Cereus 3-2-0 3.6/10

Coze: Parfumerie Generale 19-8-2 3.96/107

De Bachmakov: The Different Company 5-2-1 4.41/38

Frank No. 2: Frank Los Angeles 9-0-0 4.27/11

Gaiac: M. Micallef 12-0-1 4.46/81

Jade: Olivier Durbano 3-2-0 3.97/33

L'Ombre Fauve: Parfumerie Generale 18-2-2 4.54/29

Memoir Man: Amouage 22-7-3 4.28/166

Ormonde Man: Ormonde Jayne 28-10-6 4.51/67

Thundra: Profumum Roma 5-7-1 4.13/23

Wazamba: Parfum d'Empire 9-4-4 4.0/151


Some things to note:

I'm really excited about this tournament because other than Amouage, M. Micallef, and HdP, I've never tried any fragrances from the other houses. They're completely unfamiliar to me. And even my experience with the other 3 is very limited (to maybe 1 or 2 frags).

Ambre 114 is the highest ranked fragrance between basenotes and fragrantica. Russe, Gaiac, and L'Ombre Fauve also hauve high rankings.

Cereus No. 6 and Thundra are the lowest ranked fragrances, particularly on basenotes, where their negative reviews outweigh their positives. Hmmm...I wonder why?

Memoir Man and Ambre Russe are the most reviewed of the group.

Fragrantica loves Ormonde Man , Basenotes not so much (is this Luca Turin backlash at play?).

I know absolutley nothing about Wazamba, De Bachmakov, Thundra, or Avant Garde other than what was described on Luckyscent.

As far as the tournament is concerned, here's a few categories I put some frags into:

Heavy Hitters: Classic, respected fragrances with lots of fans and reviews.

Memoir Man
Ormonde Man
Ambre 114
Ambre Russe

Sleepers: They sound good to me, but there's very little info on them.

Frank No. 2
Atlantic
Jade

Wild Cards: I don't know anything about these! (other than the flowery prose found on lucky scent)
Wazamba
De Bachmakov
Thundra
Avant Garde

These categories mean absolutely nothing!


Notes About the Tournament for 2012


This year every fragrance will be sampled blindly until the very end. No fragrance names will be revealed until a winner is declared.

There will be more pictures in this year's tournament...probably.

Once again, giveaways will abound (though they will abound less and less often, but abound better when they do)

The procedures and style will be different than last year's tournament (I don't know if this will make it better or worse, but I do know that if you didn't see last year's tournament then it doesn't matter anyway )



Tomorrow I will explain everything: Tournament Procedure and Process, Contest Rules, Etc.


See ya soon!


Buysblind

Oh yes, I'm in full-on nerd-mode right now.


Can't argue with that.

Alright, alright, alriiiigghhhhtt....

I'm back. And the contest can begin.


I'm accepting the first 20 contestants, or if that doesn't happen (b/c it probably won't), anyone who signs up by Wednesday, 5 p.m. Eastern Time.

To enter the contest:

1) Send me a PM with the following in the message title: "Sample Tourney 2012: USERNAME"

2) Inside the message, include your shipping information, in the event that you somehow win.


PART ONE: The Preliminary Round...You Do Lots of Work!

For the next four days I will be blindly sampling 4 fragrances a day. Fragrances will be assigned a random number between 1 and 16. I will write a brief description of each. If you are a contestant, you must guess which fragrance I am describing out of the list of fragrances that I have provided above, in the original post. After I have described all 16, send me a PM with a list where you include the Fragrance Number and what you believe is the NAME.

For example: #1: De Bachmakov #2: Coze #3: Ambre Russe etc.

Include all 16 fragrances in your list. You will receive ONE point for every fragrance you correctly guess. My wife will be adding up your scores (LUCKY HER!) as I will not know which fragrance is which number until the very end of the entire tournament. I will post your scores after I have collected your lists. This will kick off the tournament! And unfortunately, for this part of the contest you will be relying on my insanely inaccurate and misleading descriptions. So...Good Luck!

P.S. Feel free to talk about what you think is what based on the descriptions. Or...be as stealthy and secretive as you wish. Maybe you can even make a wrong suggestion, to throw off the competition. Do whatever you want...I don't care.


Part Two of the contest will begin after the preliminary round. It will be a round-robin March Madness style tournament, which I'll explain in further detail when we get there. All fragrances will be included in the tournament.

Oh, every fragrance that I sample and test over the next four days will be on PAPER ONLY. I'm saving my skin for the Tournament...and applying plenty of Cocoa Butter in the meantime in preparation. My skin is silky smooth.

Okay, while I wait for people to enter the contest, I'll put up the first 4 descriptions of the first 4 samples. I've provided a list of all the possible fragrances for convenience's sake right above my descriptions.Here we go:


List of All Fragrances

Ambre 114: Histoires de Parfums
Ambre Russe: Parfum d'Empire
Atlantic: Strange Invisible Perfums
Avant Garde: M. Micallef
Cereus No.6: Cereus
Cereus No.11: Cereus
Coze: Parfumerie Generale
De Bachmakov: The Different Company
Frank No. 2: Frank Los Angeles
Gaiac: M. Micallef
Jade: Olivier Durbano
L'Ombre Fauve: Parfumerie Generale
Memoir Man: Amouage
Ormonde Man: Ormonde Jayne
Thundra: Profumum Roma
Wazamba: Parfum d'Empire

Paper Test Strip Blind Sampling Madness Preliminary Round: Day One!


#1: This opens very fresh with a citrus/fruity top. It almost smells like a high quality designer fragrance, or maybe something Creed would release. There seems to be some melon floating around, and some anise or licorice providing a sweetness. The anise note is fairly distinct. If Millesime Imperial went slumming and had a love child with Nautica Voyage, this would be the result. I think this would make a really nice office/work scent. It's smooth and well-blended. and although it's not the most interesting scent I've encountered, it's extremely pleasant. A good Spring/Summer option. Hopefully my skin doesn't screw it all up. Half an hour later and this frag has become a non-descript, vague blob on the test strip. I wonder about its longevity. I can't imagine a woman wearing this.

#2: Cotton Candy, Benzoin, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Cloves, Tonka and Sweet Amber. That's the first thing that comes to mind. This has a bit of a gourmand feel to it. I find it VERY APPEALING. There is an excellent balance between the amber and what I believe is Cinnamon or Nutmeg. It's smooth, and the sweetness is tempered perfectly with well-blended spices and woulds. As it warms up it gets really soft and cozy, in a sexy way. There's a smokiness to this that reminds me of a freshly baked Christmas cookie, or gingerbread served with a glass of Eggnog. Nice. Unisex leaning toward masculine. I have an idea of which fragrance this might be, but I'm really not sure.

#3: This opens with a strong Pear note. I don't think I've smelled pear in a fragrance before and I'm not sure how I feel about it. This is like a green, slightly unripe pear with a slice of lemon. Very pear dominant. I'll probably find out that there's no pear at all in this fragrance and be all embarrassed. But that's what I smell, dammit. There's not much else going on, maybe it will react different on a human. Definitely unisex. About an hour later and this has revealed a spicy bottom (!) marked by cloves. I'm pleased with its development.

#4 I like the opening silage of this one---it's fresh and kind of sweet. This is really interesting...It definitely seems like Cumin is in play, but it's weird because it's underneath a bubblegummy sweet top. Not overly sweet, but very fresh, kind of like the top in Spice Bomb or One Million, but not that sweet, and I think I like the understatedness (is that a word?) of this one more (despite really liking Spice Bomb). The cumin contrasts really well, but it's not overpowering or exhibiting its B.O. tendencies this time around. This works just fine for me. In the past, I've found that bubblegum note has been provided by Saffron or Pink Pepper in combination with a flower like Jasmine, so maybe there's some of that in here (I don't know, your guess is as good as mine...literally, because you're relying on my impressions! ). I'm dying to know what these notes are. This is well-blended, but simple. There's not too much going on. It's a good one. Feels unisex to me.


That's it for today! I hope to see some of you in the contest!


By the way, the PRIZES are:

1st Place: A 5ml Decant in a snazzy atomizer of the winning fragrance, plus your choice of 6 of the remaining samples from the tournament or) A 99% full 100ml bottle of Rocawear Evolution (Ha!)

2nd Place: A 3ml glass atomizer filled with the winning fragrance, plus 6 of the remaining samples from the tournament of your choice (after 1st place has chosen theirs) or) a 99% full 1.7oz bottle of Hugh Parsons Blue (yuck!).

3rd Place: 4 of the remaining samples from the tournament and a giant 6oz. bottle of "R" by Revillon (sorry silent rich, it gives me a headache!)

Goodluck and Godspeed!

Thanks, Birdboy. This year's is going to be a little different than last year's.

Hey, if you haven't actually sampled some of these you can always read up on the others to try and get an idea of which one I'm describing.

Yeah, I don't know...Last year Ambre Precieux won, so I'm kind of not looking for an Amber fragrance this year. However, good is good, and if Ambre 114 is all I've heard it is, then it has a very good chance of winning. At this point, I've sort of forgotten all of the details that I've read about it, and I'm intentionally not reading anymore until the tourney's over.

@HDDP: I appreciate the Serge Lutens L'Eau Froide suggestion. It's been mentally noted and my mind is like an iron trap. I just hope it doesn't smell like Sigmund Freud and I also hope Chris Sheldrake didn't do it. Something about his compositions don't jibe right with me.

@HDD8: Did you know there's another guy in this post named "HDDP?" Weird, eh?


Okay, there's still way too many slots to fill in this contest, so if you have any inclination at all send me a PM with the following information: In the subject heading write "Sampling Tourney 2012: USERNAME" and in the message include your shipping information Everyone's welcome. I mentioned the prizes above, but they basically include left over samples, small decants of the winning fragrance, and a bottle of Rocawear Evolution or Hugh Parson's Blue.

Here's some pictures taken before the Preliminary Round (which is going on now) just so you now I'm not pulling a fast one on you.

http://tinyurl.com/bs44ua6

You'll see 1) A pile of Luckyscent dab vial samples I emptied and dumped into spray vials on top of a Mexican food menu. I dislike dab vials, but loooove Maria's Kitchen. 2) The red jar I'm going to cash in when this thing's finally over. 3) My notebook and some more samples. 4) Sample vials wrapped in blue tape so I can properly deceive myself (I was worried b/c a few samples have green juice, but with the reflection of the blue tape ALL THE JUICE IS GREEN!)

Anyway, here's the four mystery fragrances I sampled today.

Paper Test Strip Blind Sampling Madness Preliminary Round: Day Two: Happy Same Day!



#5 This smells like one fine classy and very WASPY gentleman. The kind of man who sips aged Cognac in his personal library of leatherbound books after a day of duck hunting in the marshes with his hounds. Returning to his estate he unwinds before an elegant fireplace and reads Atlantic Monthly. Honestly, does anybody know anyone like this? But how many times do you read reviews that refer to such a man? Well, this fragrance smells just like him. The top is very...Bel Ami, Bois du Portugal, PdN New York and--it kept annoying the crap out of me until finally--YES! HERITAGE! It smells very much like Heritage in the opening; lemony, pepper, lavender, etc. But what's weird is it takes a fruity floral turn and becomes cooler rather than richer. And something that smells like a pear emerges. This is fresher than Heritage, BdP, and New York. It's like a Chypre-Light. A Fruity, Floral Chypre, which I just discovered is actually a real fragrance group. I didn't know there were fruity Chypres. Well, this is kind of like that.

#6 I get a BIG blast of amber right off the top. This smells very similar to Ambre Precieux (last year's winner), but it is less spicy and more clear. Powdery, with some vanilla, and very smooth. It's nice. It's a pure straightforward amber, definitely unisex maybe even leaning a little bit toward the feminine side. It's not as interesting or dynamic or complex as Ambre Precieux, but quite similar. If you are looking for a pure amber, check this one out. Oh...that's right. You don't know what this one is!


I'm adding this to break the monotony of black and white text.


#7 Have you ever smelled Lorenzo Villoresi's Uomo? No? Then have you smelled this? Well, if you have, you've smelled Lorenzo Villoresi's Uomo. This smells just like it. The resemblance is startling. Lemon and Bergamot over Pepper, Vetiver, Coriander, and Cardamom and other stuff. This is a good every day scent for work. It's very well blended, smooth, and has a nice minty note that keeps it cool all the way. But it still packs a little spicy kick. This is really well done. However, I find Uomo much more lively. It's more dynamic, and in the words of Bigsly the Blob Hater, there is greater "note separation." (As a side note, I don't think Bigsly liked Uomo very much or found it to have any dynamism or note separation for that matter). Although this isn't what I'm looking for at the moment, it could be a great signature scent for the right person. It's a traditional citrus-aromatic with some woods and it stays fresh and smooth enough to never feel dated. It has a timeless feeling and could easily appeal to an older gentleman or a young guy who wishes he were an older gentleman.

#8 Jesus, what is it today? The opposite of opposite day? Same Day? This is the 3rd fragrance I've sampled in a row that smells exactly like another fragrance. I own Terre D'Hermes and I sampled Red Vetyver in last year's tournament, so what is this lackluster carbon copy I have on my test strip here before me? The opening is practically identical to TdH. It's just a teency eency bit more sour (in a bad way). It lacks the earthiness of Red Vetyver. It seems the mineralic flint note has been replaced by some kind of...violet? I dunno, flowers are not my forte. This is a castrated version of Terre d'Hermes. TdH Light. "Oh, well Terre d'Hermes has always been castrated!" What's that you say, you Kouros loving Musc Koublai Khan fanatics out there? No it hasn't. Go drink a bottle of Yatagan! And if you think TdH has been castrated, then wait until you get a whiff of this eunuchy mimic. At least Red Vetyver is a good imitation of TdH. But this is just appalling. And guess what? I know what it is. Do you?

HASTA MANYANA!

- - - Updated - - -

Anybody else want to enter the contest?


You guys know it's free, right?

- - - Updated - - -



No. That's awesome.

Okay....

I'm extending the timeline to enter the contest until Saturday. By then all my initial impressions will be up and we'll be ready to start the tournament bracket.

Here's today's samples:

Paper Test Strip Blind Sampling Madness Preliminary Round: Day THREE: Is My Nose Breaking? Why Does Everything Smell Like Chocolate?


#9 This is a weird one...It opens with...chocolate? And some kind of earthy/rooty vegetal smell. Now it's taking a turn and it smells like crumbled blue cheese. There's also some berries poking through. The blue cheese/gorgonzola note is really weird. I'm wondering if there's some kind of reaction with the paper test strip that's throwing off the composition. I don't really like this. It's hard to tell what's going on and it's all over the place. I've had enough of Crumbled Bleu de Chanel!

#10 This is a good one. Dry, dark chocolate , dirty, earthy patchouli (i think), and some cloves that smell like weed (the kind you smoke, not the kind you rip out of your garden--unless you grow pot in your garden!). Very original and different. I like it, though I'm not sure if it's something I could wear too often.

#11 The opening smells like boozy chocolate liqueur, to be specific, those little bottles wrapped in tinfoil you see around the holidays. When this wears off I'm left with spicy tobacco. There's an accord I've smelled in Ambre Sultan and Absolue Pour Le Soir, it's musky and a little skanky. The scent seems sort of subdued or reserved. At least on paper.

#12 This is weak. Or I'm anosmic to something in it. It kind of smells like wet socks. Sour, minty musk. I think there's even some sweat in there, the sour, musky kind (like in Kouros). The whole thing is so faint. I'll be damned if this is something I had high hopes for. Now it's half an hour later and the scent has actually increased in strength. As it develops it gets really dirty, skankier, muskier, and...patchoulier. I'm not crazy about this one at the moment.


WARNING: These last descriptions may be horribly inaccurate. For some reason everything smells like it opens with chocolate...but I can remember ordering only one sample that actually had chocolate listed as a note. I have no idea why I'm smelling chocolate in everything.

Fish? Yuck. I got fish from Hypnose once and couldn't never look at it the same.

Besides chocolate, I'm not sure if I was supposed to be smelling crumbled blue cheese either.

It's really possible my nose was shot from all the sniffing I've been up to the last week.



The Final 4 Impressions will be posted tonight. YOU CAN STILL ENTER THE CONTEST. For some reason I have a paltry number of constestants this year and I would like to increase the number before moving on.

The next round is the face-off, where frags start getting knocked out. It'll be fun. Especially since you will know what the frags are, but I won't. You'll fill out a bracket (March Madness NCAA style) and you'll be able to see how off-base some of my impressions are while secretly rooting for your favorite one to make it through.

Be back soon!

- - - Updated - - -

Alright, here's the last 4 samples of the group:

Paper Test Strip Blind Sampling Madness Preliminary Round: Day Four: Out Without a Bang


#13 I like this immediately. This mint is more apparent in this one than any other I've sampled so far. And there's incense too. The mint is very plant-like--a wet, herbal mint....And the incense disappears, and then comes back almost in waves. It seems to play back and forth with the mint, and the incense becomes ashier with time. The mint seems to move to the background and the mildly smoky incense comes to the forefront. This is not a loud scent, but it's unique, and one I immediately liked.

#14 A pale yellow and white scent. A citrusy floral. Very spring-like. It also seems there's some light spice to it, maybe pepper or coriander. It's a familiar scent, but at the same time there could be a couple notes I've never encountered before. I can't identify the floral note but it's kind of sharp, but in a really fresh way, and could be one that's used more often in women's perfumes. The floral accord really emerges as the scent settles in. This is unisex leaning toward feminine.

#15 This is a WEIRD one. Talk about your Froot Loops, Apple Jack Fun Dip Sweet Tarts opening...I've heard people compare M7 Fresh to Froot Loops and even some lunatic compare Invasion Barbare to Fruity Pebbles, but this takes the cake. A very synthetic frosted fruit opening follow up by......CIGARETTES IN AN ASHTRAY? Is that myrrhe? I don't know what's responsible for it, but it smells like the house of a smoker. A serious cigarette-ash base. And in the middle it's spicy and smoky. A very strange transition throughout. Don't know if I could wear it, But at least it's interesting.

#16 Here's a Haiku!

Damp musty green tea
And unremarkable mint
Neither here nor there


And there you have it--16 Blind Samples and 16 Impressions. I'm dying to know what they are, but won't know for a while. However, my wife will post a link revealing all the samples' names once I receive the guesses from the contestants.


So, if you're in the contest or wish to enter, after you read through the impressions, take a look at the list of Fragrances that are on the test list, and try to guess which is which. I'll post the answers after I receive all the contestants replies...

You can still enter the contest! Just read through all the rules and stuff. Registration is open until Sunday @ 8 PM.

That's right, Birdboy I'm curious to see how these frags react on skin as opposed to the test strip. I'm hoping the ones I liked just get better and the ones I didn't like develop differently. Fat chance of that.


It's good to see some of you guys following this!


Okay...My Side of The Preliminary Round is COMPLETE!. Now it's time for the Basenoters who entered the contest to send me their lists with their guesses. So remember, just list the Fragrance Number, and what you believe is the name. My wife will tally up your score and I'll let you know how many you got right. That will be your score before we begin Round 2.

I've made my guesses already. I went through my list of impressions and read reviews on Fragrantica, Basenotes, and a bunch of other websites and tried to determine what I was sniffing. But of course, I don't know how many I got right or wrong, and I won't know until this tournament's completely over. But, I will post my guesses (after I receive yours). And my wife will post a list revealing the correct fragrance names and matching numbers that you can look at to see how you did (and how I did). I will not view this link (though it will be very tempting) because it would ruin the experiment. Then, finally, I'll set up the tournament bracket for you to fill out--at this point, you'll know which fragrances are battling which, but I will still not know. Got it?

By the way, anyone still wishing to enter is free to do so, since the Prelim Round is still open.


So for the sake of convenience, and to condense everything into one easy-to-use place, I will post below a list of the fragrances involved in the tournament (they're listed in alphabetical order, so it has nothing to do with the random numbers they receive), and all of my impressions from the preliminary round. In the meantime, I'll wait for your guess lists! Let's try to get them in by Tuesday night.

FRAGRANCES

Ambre 114: Histoires de Parfums
Ambre Russe: Parfum d'Empire
Atlantic: Strange Invisible Perfums
Avant Garde: M. Micallef
Cereus No.6: Cereus
Cereus No.11: Cereus
Coze: Parfumerie Generale
De Bachmakov: The Different Company
Frank No. 2: Frank Los Angeles
Gaiac: M. Micallef
Jade: Olivier Durbano
L'Ombre Fauve: Parfumerie Generale
Memoir Man: Amouage
Ormonde Man: Ormonde Jayne
Thundra: Profumum Roma
Wazamba: Parfum d'Empire


IMPRESSIONS LIST

#1: This opens very fresh with a citrus/fruity top. It almost smells like a high quality designer fragrance, or maybe something Creed would release. There seems to be some melon floating around, and some anise or licorice providing a sweetness. The anise note is fairly distinct. If Millesime Imperial went slumming and had a love child with Nautica Voyage, this would be the result. I think this would make a really nice office/work scent. It's smooth and well-blended. and although it's not the most interesting scent I've encountered, it's extremely pleasant. A good Spring/Summer option. Hopefully my skin doesn't screw it all up. Half an hour later and this frag has become a non-descript, vague blob on the test strip. I wonder about its longevity. I can't imagine a woman wearing this.

#2: Cotton Candy, Benzoin, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Cloves, Tonka and Sweet Amber. That's the first thing that comes to mind. This has a bit of a gourmand feel to it. I find it VERY APPEALING. There is an excellent balance between the amber and what I believe is Cinnamon or Nutmeg. It's smooth, and the sweetness is tempered perfectly with well-blended spices and woulds. As it warms up it gets really soft and cozy, in a sexy way. There's a smokiness to this that reminds me of a freshly baked Christmas cookie, or gingerbread served with a glass of Eggnog. Nice. Unisex leaning toward masculine. I have an idea of which fragrance this might be, but I'm really not sure.

#3: This opens with a strong Pear note. I don't think I've smelled pear in a fragrance before and I'm not sure how I feel about it. This is like a green, slightly unripe pear with a slice of lemon. Very pear dominant. I'll probably find out that there's no pear at all in this fragrance and be all embarrassed. But that's what I smell, dammit. There's not much else going on, maybe it will react different on a human. Definitely unisex. About an hour later and this has revealed a spicy bottom (!) marked by cloves. I'm pleased with its development.

#4 I like the opening silage of this one---it's fresh and kind of sweet. This is really interesting...It definitely seems like Cumin is in play, but it's weird because it's underneath a bubblegummy sweet top. Not overly sweet, but very fresh, kind of like the top in Spice Bomb or One Million, but not that sweet, and I think I like the understatedness (is that a word?) of this one more (despite really liking Spice Bomb). The cumin contrasts really well, but it's not overpowering or exhibiting its B.O. tendencies this time around. This works just fine for me. In the past, I've found that bubblegum note has been provided by Saffron or Pink Pepper in combination with a flower like Jasmine, so maybe there's some of that in here (I don't know, your guess is as good as mine...literally, because you're relying on my impressions! ). I'm dying to know what these notes are. This is well-blended, but simple. There's not too much going on. It's a good one. Feels unisex to me.

Thanks for reading....go stretch your legs!

#5 This smells like one fine classy and very WASPY gentleman. The kind of man who sips aged Cognac in his personal library of leatherbound books after a day of duck hunting in the marshes with his hounds. Returning to his estate he unwinds before an elegant fireplace and reads Atlantic Monthly. Honestly, does anybody know anyone like this? But how many times do you read reviews that refer to such a man? Well, this fragrance smells just like him. The top is very...Bel Ami, Bois du Portugal, PdN New York and--it kept annoying the crap out of me until finally--YES! HERITAGE! It smells very much like Heritage in the opening; lemony, pepper, lavender, etc. But what's weird is it takes a fruity floral turn and becomes cooler rather than richer. And something that smells like a pear emerges. This is fresher than Heritage, BdP, and New York. It's like a Chypre-Light. A Fruity, Floral Chypre, which I just discovered is actually a real fragrance group. I didn't know there were fruity Chypres. Well, this is kind of like that.

#6 I get a BIG blast of amber right off the top. This smells very similar to Ambre Precieux (last year's winner), but it is less spicy and more clear. Powdery, with some vanilla, and very smooth. It's nice. It's a pure straightforward amber, definitely unisex maybe even leaning a little bit toward the feminine side. It's not as interesting or dynamic or complex as Ambre Precieux, but quite similar. If you are looking for a pure amber, check this one out. Oh...that's right. You don't know what this one is!

#7 Have you ever smelled Lorenzo Villoresi's Uomo? No? Then have you smelled this? Well, if you have, you've smelled Lorenzo Villoresi's Uomo. This smells just like it. The resemblance is startling. Lemon and Bergamot over Pepper, Vetiver, Coriander, and Cardamom and other stuff. This is a good every day scent for work. It's very well blended, smooth, and has a nice minty note that keeps it cool all the way. But it still packs a little spicy kick. This is really well done. However, I find Uomo much more lively. It's more dynamic, and in the words of Bigsly the Blob Hater, there is greater "note separation." (As a side note, I don't think Bigsly liked Uomo very much or found it to have any dynamism or note separation for that matter). Although this isn't what I'm looking for at the moment, it could be a great signature scent for the right person. It's a traditional citrus-aromatic with some woods and it stays fresh and smooth enough to never feel dated. It has a timeless feeling and could easily appeal to an older gentleman or a young guy who wishes he were an older gentleman.

#8 Jesus, what is it today? The opposite of opposite day? Same Day? This is the 3rd fragrance I've sampled in a row that smells exactly like another fragrance. I own Terre D'Hermes and I sampled Red Vetyver in last year's tournament, so what is this lackluster carbon copy I have on my test strip here before me? The opening is practically identical to TdH. It's just a teency eency bit more sour (in a bad way). It lacks the earthiness of Red Vetyver. It seems the mineralic flint note has been replaced by some kind of...violet? I dunno, flowers are not my forte. This is a castrated version of Terre d'Hermes. TdH Light. "Oh, well Terre d'Hermes has always been castrated!" What's that you say, you Kouros loving Musc Koublai Khan fanatics out there? No it hasn't. Go drink a bottle of Yatagan! And if you think TdH has been castrated, then wait until you get a whiff of this eunuchy mimic. At least Red Vetyver is a good imitation of TdH. But this is just appalling. And guess what? I know what it is. Do you?

Secret Buried Prize: PM me your name and shipping info and I will send you a free 5ml decant of Abercrombie and Fitch Fierce....it might even be 10mls, I'm not sure, but I think it's 5. In the subject title write "GIMME DAT DECANT, FOOL!

#9 This is a weird one...It opens with...chocolate? And some kind of earthy/rooty vegetal smell. Now it's taking a turn and it smells like crumbled blue cheese. There's also some berries poking through. The blue cheese/gorgonzola note is really weird. I'm wondering if there's some kind of reaction with the paper test strip that's throwing off the composition. I don't really like this. It's hard to tell what's going on and it's all over the place. I've had enough of Crumbled Bleu de Chanel!

#10 This is a good one. Dry, dark chocolate , dirty, earthy patchouli (i think), and some cloves that smell like weed (the kind you smoke, not the kind you rip out of your garden--unless you grow pot in your garden!). Very original and different. I like it, though I'm not sure if it's something I could wear too often.

#11 The opening smells like boozy chocolate liqueur, to be specific, those little bottles wrapped in tinfoil you see around the holidays. When this wears off I'm left with spicy tobacco. There's an accord I've smelled in Ambre Sultan and Absolue Pour Le Soir, it's musky and a little skanky. The scent seems sort of subdued or reserved. At least on paper.

#12 This is weak. Or I'm anosmic to something in it. It kind of smells like wet socks. Sour, minty musk. I think there's even some sweat in there, the sour, musky kind (like in Kouros). The whole thing is so faint. I'll be damned if this is something I had high hopes for. Now it's half an hour later and the scent has actually increased in strength. As it develops it gets really dirty, skankier, muskier, and...patchoulier. I'm not crazy about this one at the moment.

How ya doin so far? 4 more to go!


#13 I like this immediately. This mint is more apparent in this one than any other I've sampled so far. And there's incense too. The mint is very plant-like--a wet, herbal mint....And the incense disappears, and then comes back almost in waves. It seems to play back and forth with the mint, and the incense becomes ashier with time. The mint seems to move to the background and the mildly smoky incense comes to the forefront. This is not a loud scent, but it's unique, and one I immediately liked.

#14 A pale yellow and white scent. A citrusy floral. Very spring-like. It also seems there's some light spice to it, maybe pepper or coriander. It's a familiar scent, but at the same time there could be a couple notes I've never encountered before. I can't identify the floral note but it's kind of sharp, but in a really fresh way, and could be one that's used more often in women's perfumes. The floral accord really emerges as the scent settles in. This is unisex leaning toward feminine.

#15 This is a WEIRD one. Talk about your Froot Loops, Apple Jack Fun Dip Sweet Tarts opening...I've heard people compare M7 Fresh to Froot Loops and even some lunatic compare Invasion Barbare to Fruity Pebbles, but this takes the cake. A very synthetic frosted fruit opening follow up by......CIGARETTES IN AN ASHTRAY? Is that myrrhe? I don't know what's responsible for it, but it smells like the house of a smoker. A serious cigarette-ash base. And in the middle it's spicy and smoky. A very strange transition throughout. Don't know if I could wear it, But at least it's interesting.

#16 Here's a Haiku!

Damp musty green tea
And unremarkable mint
Neither here nor there


Send me your lists!.

See ya!

Brackets are coming on Thursday or Friday.

Tomorrow all the scores from the first round will be added up, then we'll start Round 2.

I'm looking forward to seeing how everybody did!

We're back! And the tournament will continue...

I am posting a link that reveals the real list of fragrances and their corresponding numbers. Keep this list on hand, as it's very important for the next round when you set up your bracket. I have not seen this list (only my wife has), and will not see it until the end of the tournament:

http://tinyurl.com/ah9en4g

For the contestants, I'll post your scores (based on your guesses) up in the next hour. This is your PRELIMINARY ROUND SCORE. It's what you'll begin with before the bracket tournament begins.

Be back soon...

- - - Updated - - -

OKAY!

PRELIMINARY ROUND SCORES ARE IN!

Here are the contestants, their scores, and guesses.

Hobbes22: 7 points

1: Cereus 11
2: L'Ombre Fauve
3: Atlantic
4: Ormonde Man
5: wazamba
6: Ambre 114
7: frank 2
8: Cereus 6
9: Micallef Gaiac
10: Coze
11: Ambre Russe
12: Thundra
13: Memoir Man
14: De Bachmakov
15: Avante Garde
16: Durbano Jade

Gamma: 7 Points

1. Cereus no.11: Cereus

2. Ambre Russe: Parfum d'Empire

3. Gaiac: M. Micallef

4. Frank No. 2: Frank Los Angeles

5. Atlantic: Strange Invisible Perfums

6. Ambre 114: Histoires de Parfums

7. Ormonde Man: Ormonde Jayne

8. Cereus No.6: Cereus

9. Avant Garde: M. Micallef

10. Coze: Parfumerie Generale

11. L'Ombre Fauve: Parfumerie Generale

12. Thundra: Profumum Roma

13. Memoir Man: Amouage

14. De Bachmakov: The Different Company

15. Wazamba: Parfum d'Empire

16. Jade: Olivier Durbano

JiveHippo: 4 points

1. Cereus 11
2. Frank no 2
3. Atlantic Strange Invisible Perfums
4. Wazamba
5. PG Coze
6. HdP Ambre 114
7. Jade
8. Cereus 6
9. Ormonde Man
10. Avante Garde
11. L'Ombre Fauve
12. De Bachmakov
13. Memoir Man
14. Gaiac Micallef
15. Ambre Russe
16. Thundra

Birdboy: 3 points

#1 Cereus No.11

#2 Avant Garde

#3 Memoir Man:

#4 Gaiac

#5 Atlantic

#6 Ambre 114

#7 Ormonde Man

#8 Cereus No.6

#9 Frank No. 2

#10 L'Ombre Fauve

#11 Coze

#12 Wazamba

#13 Jade

#14 De Bachmakov

#15 Ambre Russe

#16 Thundra

vbs: 0 points: guesses not submitted That's okay, you can still participate in round 2!


Here's MY list of Guesses I don't know how many I got right or wrong, but you guys can take a look if you want.

1. Cereus #11
2. Gaiac
3. Thundra
4. Ormonde Man
5. Frank No. 2
6. Ambre 114
7. Atlantic
8. Cereus #6
9. Avant Garde
10. Coze
11. Ambre Russe
12. L'Ombre Fauve
13. Memoir Man
14. De Bachmakov
15. Wazamba
16. Jade


So, at the end of the Preliminary Round we have:

Hobbes22: 7
Gamma: 7
JiveHippo: 4
Birdboy: 3
vbs:0

Next we kick off Round 2: The Bracket Tournament. More on that later!

- - - Updated - - -

12/10/12 I'm a little bored at the moment and the tournament bracket isn't up yet, so I'm going to add to this post by giving insight into some of my guesses, that I listed above. It's possible nobody will read this, but it can't hurt the post and I'd rather get it all down before heading into the next part of the experiment which will move fast and be over before I know it.

So here's the how and why behind my guesses:

#1: Cereus #11: The anise note gave this away. It's listed as containing anise and there is a definite anise note in the top. Some reviews also describe it as a very nice masculine. I would agree (at least on paper).

#2: Gaiac, M. Micallef: I'm not positive about this guess, but after reading as many reviews as possible, one particular review caught my attention, describing Gaiac as the smell of "freshly baked spicy cookies." In my blind review of this fragrance I likened it to holiday cookies, or freshly baked gingerbread cookies. Also, a lot of references to "sweet," "spicy," and "warm," which this fragrance is.

#3: Thundra: I arrived here via process of elimination only. I get a kick out of how some fragrances are marketed or described by the house, and the effect that the power of suggestion has on subsequent reviews. Thundra is described by Luckyscent as "A solitary walk through a cool, damp forest after the rain." Not surprisingly, about 84% of the reviews on basenotes, fragrantica and other sites make some allusion to a wet forest and rain and being alone when describing Thundra. Well, if this is indeed Thundra that I've tested, then my response to Luckyscent and the other 84% of reviewers is "Ummm...Okay." That's why I do this blind--to avoid all that sensational crap. Anyway, I smell something like pear or apple, and maybe citrus and mint. Not very solitary or wet or foresty.

#4: Ormonde Man: Contains pink pepper (which I detected) and cardamom and coriander (which I think I mistook for cumin). I found this extremely well blended, and apparently so have many others. It's described as sweet and spicy, and I agree. And one guy said it reminded him of Declaration--and I completely disagree--but it affirms my cumin suspicion, and there's enough evidence here for a solid guess.

#5: Frank No. 2: Listed as containing bergamot, lavender, and musk, which I clearly pick up on. And it's very possible I'm mistaking pear, for what is really plum. Despite the fact that coffee and cognac are apparently very evident notes in this one, and I detect NONE, I'm chalking that up to the fact that I tested this on paper, and for some reason that caused them to disappear.

#6: Ambre 114: Many frag sniffers consider this a first cousin to Ambre Precieux, and I couldn't agree more. Besides Ambre Russe, the other amber fragrance I ordered a sample of, is supposed to smell like leather, booze, and cigarettes--and this smells nothing like that at all. This has to be Ambre 114.

#7: Atlantic:Very little info exists on Atlantic. And any review likening it to the Atlantic Ocean or (and this one is a hoot) any description such as: "The box says something about a well-traveled man's voyage across the Atlantic. I wonder if that's why when I first spray, I swear I smell an old wooden ship. Maybe a haunted one!" is ridiculous. Like I said before, one of the most fun parts of this whole thing is seeing how full of shit people get in their reviews. No offense, I get it. Anyway, after scouring the internets for a review remotely resembling a fraction of the impression I received from Atlantic, I stumbled upon the non-blonde's review of it. The non-blonde, wrote a review on her (his? I don't know. I don't know who the non-blonde is) website which states, "...it reminds me of a high quality men's cologne...in the best way possible." And that, is exactly what it reminds me of. Along with an importantly placed mint note in the background, these are the two reasons I'm going Atlantic on this one.

#8 Cereus 6: I found out this is often mislabeled as "Cereus 5." Hey, maybe Cereus should get off their asses and come up with some more creative names since the frag community is beginning to mislabel them. How about "Cereusly Overpriced?" or "Cereusly, We Didn't Know This Smelled Just Like Terre D'Hermes." "Cereus 6? I didn't even know that existed!" Don't worry, you're not the only one! No one did! Oh, I know this is Cereus 6 because it smells like a weak TDH, which is how everyone describes it. If you're in the contest and didn't get this one it's your fault for not doing your homework.

#9: Avant Garde I guessed this because it's listed as containing a dry cocoa note, and I definitely get that. But also because Foetidus (base notes most esteemed reviewer since off-scenter suffered an identity crisis and subsequently attempted to erase any trace of his online existence) said in his review of Avant Garde "I scribbled a vague, noncommittal description..." (to which he returned later). And that was my initial impression as well--vague and noncommittal. I just didn't know what the hell was going on, or if anything at all was going on. So this is my guess for number nine.

#10: Coze Definitely. Chocolate and Marijuana and Cloves---many people get this from Coze and so do I (though I find it more clovey than Mary Janey).

#11: Ambre Russe I got Boozy Chocolate liqueur, tobacco, and a sour skankiness. Some similarity to APLS and Ambre Sultan. That seems about right.

#12: L'Ombre Fauve I got wet socks. Reviewer "jcrich" states in his basenotes review, "there is, to my nose, a stale note in the opening which takes a couple hours to dissipate . It reminds me of the smell of laundry that hasn't aired properly." Jcrich was being nice. Perhaps we're onto something. That's why I think this is L'Ombre Fauve.

#13:Memoir Man It's just how I imagined it, just what I had wanted from mint and incense. My impression matches most reviews though it seems a little "happier" and less brooding than some have described. I'm fine with that.

#14: De Bachmakove This fragrance DOES very much evoke Spring and Luckyscent describes it as "a poetic fugue on the magical moment when snow begins to melt on the steppes and the earth gives way to the rites of Spring." Okay, that fits. It's also described as containing "aromatic bergamot, lemony shiso, and a tangy aldehydic fizziness, and white floral notes." Well, the first thing I felt about this fragrance was a pale yellow, and white floral, and what I described as "sharp" is described here as "tangy." I'm pretty sure this is de Bachmakov. If it's not, it's Thundra, and then my whole rant about Thundra that I made ealier on will backfire on me in an explosion of shame and humiliation. Also, De Bachmakov was created, I discovered, by Celline Ellena. And before I saw that, I was thinking to myself, "I can imagine Jean Claude Ellena creating this." I didn't know he had a daughter. I bet Celline smells awesome!

#15: Wazamba Holy smokes, I detected Myrrh and Myrrh is actually listed as a note here. It feels good to see myself making some progress as far as note detection goes. Two years ago I though Myrhh was....I don't know. Two years ago I didn't think about Myrhh! There's a review that states, "...fruity vibe mingles with pine to in to a different direction when the incense enters." Well, I don't get any pine but I agree with the rest. Fruity cigarettes. And the fruit appears to be apple and plum. Now, it's not Kwanzaa yet, but it will be soon, and in the spirit of the holiday I would just like to say, "WAZAMBA!"

#16: Jade Green tea and Mint. Yeah, that's what this scent is. Kinda booooooooooooring. Zzzzzzzzz.


I have no idea how many of these I got correct. But I think I did pretty well. We'll see. Well, you guys can check it out already
at this link: http://tinyurl.com/ah9en4g but I can't--that would be cheating.


By the way, if you read this, do me a favor and bump it. This thread seems to sink faster than a cinder block in the East River.



Hasta Luego!

Well, I think a lot of times when you're sampling something you've heard a lot about or that's been hyped up or whatever, you're expecting something particular from it, whether it's notes, a certain kind of mood, or just whether or not you'll like it in general. So sampling isn't something that you go into 'blind' when you have a pre-conceived notion. So as far as pleonasm is concerned, if you're saying that the phrase "blind sampling" is redundant, I don't agree, as I find it a much different experience when I don't know what it is I'm sampling than when I do.

As far as contamination, the purpose of blind sampling is to avoid that as much as possible, to test a frag without the influence of suggestion.


Then again, you may be asking something completely different so I'm really not sure how to address your question.

- - - Updated - - -


A*Men to that. I almost felt bad at times know you guys were relying on my descriptions for the first part of the game, like I knew my impression was either way off, or way different than what you'd be able to find in reviews and stuff.

Hobbes, I give you a lot of credit for trying! To guess, I tried a little of both (notes lists and metaphors) to see where I thought the two intersected and matched up. There were some times when it was obvious what it was, or at least what it was NOT, and other times where it was very tough to tell. I think it would be really interesting to try something like this with say, just vetivers, or leathers, and see how many you could identify.

Btw, I think I should have the 2nd part up tonight.

Okay, the tournament bracket is up. The link is in a new thread entitled "2012 Blind Sampling Madness: Round 2"

Take a look, print it out, or write it down.

All contestants PM me with your tournament predictions. In the subject title write "TOURNEY PREDICTIONS: USERNAME"

Correct Guesses Receive the Following Points:

Round 1: 1 point

Round 2: 2 points

Round 3: 4 Points

Round 4: 7 points (this would mean you predicted the winner from the very beginning)


Of course, MY BRACET LOOKS DIFFERENT. All I see are the Numbers, I don't see the names.

Once your predictions are in, I'll start posting the matchup results.

I won't look at your predictions until the tournament is completely over.


GOOD LUCK!


P.S. The tournament bracket was determined through a completely random process.


BY THE WAY! Here's a link to the next round as of December 15: http://tinyurl.com/crvjdef

What? That's crazy! It's like I just traveled to the past and then back to the future in ONE THREAD! Or was it two? And how many tabs did that open? AHHHHH!! I don't know anymore, these threads are chock full of time portholes. Watch out!