Sample of the Day - January 2013

Here's wishing everyone a very Happy & fragrant New Year of sampling! Hope to see a few new faces joining in on this thread this year, as well as all the "old" ones!

Today l sampled Fifi Chachnil by Fifi Chachnil, who is apparently a French lingerie designer.

The main player in this fragrance, to my nose, is tobacco, which is apparent from the opening right through to the far drydown. ln the opening, there's a freshly herbal hit of coriander, with perhaps some incense. Over the first half-hour, the tobacco becomes richly sweet & smoky, like a gentler version of Habanita. Much later, there's a powdery amber & a little pepper in the base. The projection is moderate, but it's still going softly after eight hours.

l really like this one; it's comforting but also rather sexy, & l think much more unisex than its frou-frou packaging implies. lf l didn't already own a bottle of Habanita, l might be considering a purchase!

Yay cello, good to see ya!

Today l tried L'Ambre de Carthage by lsabey.

l get clearly discernable notes of bergamot, cistus & osmanthus in the opening, with an undercurrent of patchouli. The fruitiness quickly becomes overwhelmingly sweet & cloying on my skin, & l totally understand rogalal's description of this as a fruitchouli, albeit a better-than-average-quality one. Over the first two hours it develops a buttery quality, before settling into a much more tolerably sweet, powdery & ambery incense, fading out after five-six hours.

This one is marked as decidedly masculine on Luckyscent's sliding scale, but l cannot imagine why. lt is way fruitier than l expected, & even though l can usually tolerate osmanthus quite well, that apricot jamminess is too much for me here. And this is certainly not an amber-centric fragrance. l would, however, recommend it for lovers of fruity 'fumes to try.

This evening l'm sampling Daphne by Daphne Guiness for Commes des Garcons.

This one immediately reminds me of a favourite of mine; (a bottle l used up about a year ago) Tiptoeing Through Chambers of the Moon by Pilar & Lucy. lt has the same blend of tuberose, amber, incense & spices, which combine to produce a "headshop" vibe that is very appealing to me. The tuberose is perhaps a little fruitier here, & the amber turned down a notch, but overall it is strikingly similar. Four hours in, it has remained linear, except for a whiff of myrrh somewhere in the heart. The projection is good, & it's only just beginning to fade.

l had to try this one because Daphne was my late mother's name. l like this fragrance a lot; it is exotic & different, but it has made me pine for another bottle of Tiptoeing... which is, after all, less expensive, & less fruity.

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Today (Sunday 13th) l tried Geisha Rouge EDP by Aroma M.

The opening is quite medicinal & a little "off" to my nose, but thankfully this accord burns off quickly, allowing cinnamon & a liqorice-like note to come to the fore. Over the first hour, it all sweetens up with vanilla & a whiff off tobacco. The projection is low, & it slowly fades from there, pretty much disappearing after four hours.

l was interested in this one because it is apparently composed of notes traditionally used in Japanese incense. lt did not really say "incense" to me though, & although the cinnamon note is nice & warming on a cold day, l found the scent rather weak & short-lived overall. l will see whether this changes after l've decanted the rest into a spray vial.

And it seems the "update" feature is out to get me despite the "fix" l thought l'd found. Sigh.

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Today (Wednesday 16th) l tried Geisha Amber Rouge by Aroma M.

Like Geisha Rouge, l find the opening has a slightly "off" note, but is far less medicinal. The cinnamon is combined here with amber & clove, drying down to a lightly spiced honey base. This one is an oil, & has a much richer, denser texture than the EDP. lt stays close to the skin, but is more tenacious, only now beginning to fade after six hours.

l like this one, but for some reason l find myself wanting a candle that smells of this, rather than needing to smell it on myself.

lt's getting lonely in here, anyone care to join me in sharing your sampling experiences? All are welcome!

Today (Wed 23rd) l tried lncense Rose by Tauer.

Prominent in the opening are juicy orange zest & cardamom, & these notes continue to weave in & out throughout the life of this fragrance on my skin. They are quickly joined by incense, & then a dry, woody rose. Later on, vetiver & woods appear, & it all dries down to the familiar "Tauerade" base of ambergris, incense & woods, but still with those wafts of citrus & spice; perhaps a little clove? The projection & longevity are good, as seems usual for a Tauer, just fading around eight hours in.

For me, the rose is not at all prominent in this fragrance. l find it very similar to lncense Extreme, with citrus & spices added. These notes make the overall feel kind of "Christmassy" for me though; very pleasant on an icy winter's day.

Thanks so much cello for helping to keep this thread going! lt's a shame the "new posts" aren't updating properly ; l only saw your post because l came here to post myself!

lf anyone is out there feeling too shy to join in, please come & join us! lt is always interesting to hear people's sampling experiences; brief or detailed, whatever.

Today l sampled the first of my latest bag of goodies from the wonderfully generous freddie; Memoirs of a Trespasser by lmaginary Authors.

This is a deliciously boozy, woody vanilla with quite a bit of smoke in the drydown, & l loves me a bit of smoke! There isn't much development other than that, but there doesn't need to be. This is one of the loveliest vanillas l've tried; not too cupcake-sweet, but comforting & very "huffable"! The projection is moderate, & it's still going softly after five hours.

This house isn't in the directory yet, but l've put in a request for it to be added. ln the meantime, l recommend taking a look at their website (not affiliated). Each scent is based on a different work of fiction, & all of them sound quirky & interesting. Freddie has also reviewed some of them on his Smellythoughts blog. l'm tempted to try their sample set at some point.

Thanks for commenting Plaisir, l do hope you get to try these, & l would love to know what you think of them!

Cello, l'm glad you agree, & l think this one may well end up on my buy-list as well!

Freddie - thanks! lt's kind of cool that you don't remember what went in my goody bag; each one will be a surprise!

Today l sampled two of the Afteliers, starting with Sepia;

The main note l get in the opening, & which remains to some degree throughout, is horse manure! l have sniffed quite a few "dirty" or "animalic" fragrances recently, but never have l come across this note so distinctly before. l should say that l grew up in the New Forest, where the wild ponies are a feature of daily life, & so this scent is not as unpleasant to me as it may be to some. As my mum used to say, that's the smell of "fresh country air"! l'm not so sure l want to smell of it myself, though.
Hints of fruit, tobacco & amber drift in & out, before it dries down to a warm, rich, honeyed floral. This stage is most enjoyable, but it all fades out after around three hours, just when l'm wanting more. l will be compelled to revisit this one though, because the shock of that manure note is so strangely thrilling!

Secondly l tried Cepes & Tuberose;

This one is even weirder, & (for me) not in a good way. lt's also very difficult to describe. l get a kind of anisic floral opening, with a distinctly lactonic or coconutty undertone. There's also something vaguely woody, perhaps the rosewood? Soon after this, a peculiar note l can only describe as a "new car smell" begins to dominate, & remains for most of the duration. As a child, that smell always made me feel sick, & so this is not pleasant to me at all. l detected this same note in Tom Ford's Velvet Gardenia, & l wonder if this is how my brain interprets the mushroom note? (l would love to know if the two smells are chemically similar?) l hate mushrooms, & it's so long since one has been anywhere near my nose, perhaps l've forgotten what they smell like. The tuberose remains very much in the background until well into the drydown, & even here it is soft, muted, & almost sickly-sweet. This fragrance lasts longer than Sepia, still barely there five hours in, but l wish it didn't.