Sample Pass: Aldehydics

As some of you know, I have been yammering for ages about hosting an aldehydic sample pass- and here it finally is! Most, more likely all, perfumes contain aldehydes but not all are aldehydics. I hope this pass will demonstrate the difference. Aldehydes provide lift and sparkle to a scent; without them, perfumes tend to sit flat and heavy on the skin. When we refer to scents that are aldehydic, we specifically mean those containing straight chain aliphatic aldehydes, typically C10-C12. No.5 is a textbook example, with its overdose of aliphatic aldehydes. It was also the inspiration for this pass, after having my own from hate to love experience with it. But not all aldehydics smell like No.5 and this diverse little group of samples will prove that. I spent months carefully editing down to what I thought should really be here. There were loads more I'd have liked to include but sample passes can sometimes become scary when they grow too large. If the interest is there however, I could easily offer a series of aldehydic passes. For now, I'd like to offer these:

Amouage Gold- thanks to our lovely 30 Roses!

Weil Antilope- introduced to me and shared with the group by our jujy54. A perfectly fitting scent for the queen of the universe!

Givenchy l'Interdit- VINTAGE parfum. This was Audrey Hepburn's scent. When told this would be released to the public, she said, "I forbid it"! Of course, she lost that argument.

Lancome Climat- La Collection re-issue

Two from Guerlain- Chant d'Aromes and Liu, both current. Liu is a 2009 re-issue of this classic Guerlain aldehydic.

Divine l'Ame Soeur

Le Labo Aldehyde 44- the Dallas city exclusive

Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle Iris Poudre

Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche- rose bathroom spray to me but does get enough love from others to deserve a spot here. Someone is bound to love this.

Etat Libre d'Orange Sex Pistols- the most fun of the bunch! Black leather, Aquanet and sparkly, aldehydic citrus. Leans masculine but I'd love to have this to wear out on wild nights!

Knize Two- again a masculine and a gorgeous one, too. This girly-girl would also be very happy to own a bottle of this scent.

Caron Nocturnes

Andy Tauer Tableau de Parfums Miriam- one of the most masterful of the group. Absolutely divine- if only I could get along with that darned sour Tauerade.

Estee Lauder Pleasures Intense- I knew I had to include the snowblindness-inducing aldehydes of the Lauder house but had no White Linen on hand. This one still serves as a fine example, though.

Chanel No.22- VINTAGE Eau de Cologne. The current Exclusifs EDT is recognizably 22 but the vintage is quite different and preferable if you ask me. This particular juice is beautifully preserved; aldehydes fresh as the day they were born. Our own Warum is the lucky owner of this gorgeous bottle.

And of course we have the BIG dog- Chanel No.5. Not just some No.5. though but all of it!
Every version of No.5 is a different beast. We get so many posters asking which concentration is "best". I've decided to offer each of the currently available-in-store concentrations for comparison so some of you can answer that frequent question for yourselves. I have left out Eau Premiere as it's a flanker and not terribly aldehydic (o.k., o.k., we are including it! Peer pressure works.). So we have:
No.5 EDT
No.5 EDP
No.5 Sensual Elixir- a gel based perfume. The little insert that comes with it claims this version uses more natural materials than all other versions.
No.5 Parfum
No.5 Eau Premiere
And for an extra special treat, I am also including Vintage 1950's No.5 Parfum! I'm very, very happy to be able to share this one! All credit to Whitefluffy for tracking this baby down!

So, there you have it! Seventeen very different scents, all from the same category. I think I can squeeze in 5 samplers. I have two spots reserved for Schilling and Genie Jeanie . That leaves 3 spots we can go ahead and fill right now!

Rules, I ask only that you be a registered BN member since Jan.1, 2013 and have made at least 10 posts. Also some of these samples are spray vials, which do tend to be used up faster than dabbers. Please limit yourself to 1-2 sprays with the spray decants, out of regard to those behind you in line.

Anyone interested? Doesn't matter if you're a veteran who has tried some of these already and want to re-visit or if you're newer to this and feel clueless and inept about aldehydes! I hope this will be a fun learning experience for us all!

And lastly, I must thank Warum and Whitefluffy for contributions to this pass. It would not be nearly as special without the scents you introduced me to and shared with me.

Mailing Order:
1. cacio
2. Genie Jeanie
3. Schilling
4. sjg3839
5. jujy54

Lucas! Thank you so much! My intro post is a bit rambly but if it's approved by an actual chemist, I'm cool with it! That stamp of approval means the world, my friend. You know a few of these; hope you'll pop in with some thoughts!

cacio, yes I was hoping you'd have time for this! In fact, if it's o.k. timewise for you, I'd like to put you first. Are you home for a bit, no immediate travel plans? I have a little sample I've been wanting to send you and this would give me the perfect opportunity to mail it. The other two sweet gals won't mind and I really don't think we'll have more takers than this pass can hold. And you have offered your share of passes-you are entitled to join!

I'm pleased to announce that sjg3839 will be joining us! Will update the mailing order as soon as I hear if my plans work for cacio.

jujy, I could put you last so you can sniff at your leisure. Tempted?

Of course you can southerngardens, will put you in now!

Well that makes five! I will go ahead and put cacio in the first spot but will wait until Monday to mail; the order may still change as needed. Genie, I don't blame you, I know it sounds intimidating! I had to learn it all, too! You'll feel much more confident about aldehydes after this, I assure you. Thanks for joining everyone, looking forward to it!

You're more than welcome, Genie! It was a lot of fun to make this sample pass! Even though I do not like some of them. I learned a lot from these myself! I can't wait to hear how this L'Interdit compares to your bottle! I thought the sample was beautiful but I had never tried it before. Not an expert on that one at all!

Everyone, be sure to send your mailing details to the person ahead of you! Nighty-night, all; will check back tomorrow to see if cacio has any objections to the order.

Yes, I think we can still squeeze in our jujy! Some of these may run low but I'm sure there will be more than enough for jujy to get her fill.

southerngardens, still take all the time you need! I want you to get the most out of this you possibly can!

30R, thank you so much, that's an outstanding offer! I already have this pass sealed up and ready to go but I'd love to take you up on it if I do continue this pass as a series. But Genie Jeanie has been kicking around ideas for a pass and she was consdering an Amouage theme; if she'd like it, please share it with her instead. Genie, you are not rude-never be afraid to speak up here! That's how we get things done!

cacio, thank you for your flexibility! I know Genie is happy you're going first and I think the rest of the crew will feel relieved, too! Will be on its way to you Monday morning.

Plaisir, I never dreamed this would fill up so fast! I'll enjoy having you follow along, feel free to pop in with any thoughts/ questions. And do stay tuned; looks like we may be continuing this theme with more passes!

That's our smart 30R, always thinking! Yes, I like that idea! I think everyone will be happy to have Gold included and really, when a pass is already too large, what's one more?! Thank you, this is great! Will update our list now!

I'll PM the addy here in a sec!

Amount is up to you; these are varied in size. Some are just the 1ml sample vials, ranging up to 2.5ml spray vials. Some of these were hard to track down and I of course had to take what I could get. These are mostly sillage monsters though, as Genie noted. I know Gold is potent, I think just a small sample vial should do just fine.

Oh, yes! I expect you to help me out by sharing some thoughts, as your schedule allows! And any questions that may come up about those scents from your bottles could definitely use your insight, please!

Did I ever send you any No.5 Sensual Elixir to try, Whitefluffy? If not, I'll put it in your next package. Don't know what you'll think but maybe it's a version Mr. W will like!

- - - Updated - - -

The package went out first class (with DC) this morning! We're on our sparkly way!

cacio, I went way overboard with packaging, the envelope looks like a football! But the samples are in metal soap tins (except for the sample that is yours to keep; that is wrapped separately); you need not follow my example when you pass it on. And remember the Amouage Gold from 30R will arrive first!

Schilling, that's so sweet but I did actually intend to leave Eau Premiere out. It simply isn't very aldehydic and it's not a concentration but a flanker. To my mind, EP is more fruity floral than aldehydic. Let's leave this one out of this pass. No need to send it on unless cacio just would like to have it. But thank you, anyway!

Thank you so much, Lucas! I will be forever grateful if you can make time to enhance our chemistry lesson!

I'm so glad it made it time for the weekend!

No.22, you nailed why I prefer vintage- MUCH less sweet than Exclusifs EDT to my nose. Aren't those some seriously sparkly aldehydes? I love that EDC!

I'm hoping Genie Jeanie will be able to tell us more about the condition of that L'Interdit sample, as she owns a bottle. While I thought the sample was lovely, it felt a bit boneless to me. Of course, it could be that the lactonic florals are meant to wear that way; I have little experience with this one.

Knize Two is violety/irisy to me, will be interested to hear what happened on skin, cacio! Another one I just love.

And the Gold came from 30 Roses and I do believe it's an older bottle. Maybe we'll get lucky and she'll pop in with some details on that! Your sniffer is very astute; I bet you're right on this.

Was so happy to see you'd posted already cacio, I very much enjoyed reading your thoughts with my morning coffee! I had a feeling you'd tear into these right away. Hope you have fun with this!

Yes, I was thinking today, too. Mail usually arrives in the afternoon; will pop back in later and let you know if it came. I will post my thoughts here, as this one will be new to me!

Thanks again for all the info, 30R! That will be very helpful to everyone!

Yes, you do, jujy! And I think there should be at least a few dribbles of each one for you! But do not feel overwhelmed; remember you have the freedom to play with these anytime you see fit. No deadlines for you!

You know what, I thought of Antilope! I still think of it often, it's right up there with my favorite aldehydics. But I couldn't bear to beg a sample from you after you were so generous to us with that Weil pass. I will have to hunt up a sample for next time; it does look like we could do another round of aldehydics. More people should know Antilope.

And thank you for the compliment! Scents I love are always easy for me to describe. Scents I don't love....well, not so much!

I say go for it, jujy, if you're absolutely sure you don't mind sharing a bit more! Thank you so very much!

Now don't get scared, gang- it's only one more and I promise I won't add another after this one! I think some of you will be very glad to try Antilope. It's beautiful!

cacio, he of the perfume-eating skin, at least we know the No.5 extrait will last a bit for you! I can't tell you how much it aggravates me that I get no longevity with it-but you do! Lol!

That bottle is so gorgeous, 30R. For once, a bottle that really matches the scent inside! It does indeed seem that your bottle must have more natural jasmine than current bottles.

I'm trying Gold with you samplers-and loving it! Will write up a post on it soon!

Freddie, thank you! I will note your recs for a second, future aldehydic pass! The response to this one has been much more than I expected. I had it in mind to keep this pass to around 10 scents but obviously I found it impossible to edit down that much. To be honest, smaller passes work a bit better. But I really did feel all of these should be here; I just couldn't cut any more!

Miriam is the Tauer I wish I could wear. It's very nearly perfect if you ask me. I admire Mr. Tauer and his work so much but his base does not like my skin. Still, I wouldn't have him change a thing; he's an original. I do hope someone in the group will fall in love with Miriam.

cacio, some details on the dates of those scents for you:
Climat- you are correct, this is recent. Came from a La Collection bottle, the ones with the wonky caps that went to discounters shortly after their release.

Chant d'Aromes- yes, most recent version. Right again!

No.5- yes, EDT & EDP are current. My EDP was purchased in Jan. 2011, EDT and extrait in spring of 2012. All were bought new; my Chanels come from Macy's or Chanel.com. When I want vintage, that is left for Whitefluffy to seek out; she is the e-bay expert.

You were 4 for 4 on those cacio! Great investigative sniffing!

Oooh, I'm surprised (and happy!) that you liked the No.5 elixir!

Thank you so much for participating, cacio! I enjoyed each and every one of your impressions; very glad you joined. Wonderful, as always! Hope you'll be back when I round up another set of aldehydics.

Hmm, bilge in M/Mink? Will this make my stomach turn like SM did? Lol! Sounds a bit scary but I'm not above inflicting bilge on my samplers!


Southerngardens, you are coming along beautifully and already add much here! Do not worry about where you are in comparison to others. All you have to do is keep learning and you'll find your confidence growing. Focus instead on finding YOUR way of thinking and writing about fragrance. Join all of the giant, intimidating sample passes you can!

Yes, EP certainly has aldehydes but for me, it's the least traditionally aldehydic version of No.5. I originally cut this one from the line-up because I just don't feel it holds its own next to the others in this group. I was shocked to find the gel SE holds its sparkle on this skin more; I expected the Elixir to be much less aldehydic. You're right, it is fun to sniff them all side by side- go ahead and throw EP in if you like, cacio.

There are so many Tauers I think are beautiful- just not for my own wearing. My skin plays up the more sour aspects of Tauerade to an unpleasant degree, I'm afraid. When I first tried Miriam, though, I knew I had to give it some exposure. I do think it's one of the finest modern aldehydics out there. Now that I've lost my tuberose fear, I must try Loretta!

Oh, jujy, thank you again and again for sending out the Antilope! I'm so happy we're including that beauty!

I don't blame you, Genie! The site has exhausted even my nearly-bottomless well of patience. Hope it's resolved soon; meanwhile I'm considering other avenues for our discussion should BN crap out altogether. There is another, back-up BN disussion forum somewhere on these interwebs; will try to post a link tomorrow. We may just need it.

Freddie, I'm terrified yet intrigued, which means M/Mink is a must try for me! Glad you brought it up; I've actually been curious about the entire line. This will light a fire under me to get a sample order going. And I meant to tell you before, please feel free to chime in with your thoughts on any of these! You need not be in the group to post here about these scents- that goes for everyone!

I don't know, Whitefluffy, since my last post I've only become more baffled by tuberose! You're probably right. I have no idea why I sometimes love it and sometimes loathe it. But I'm willing to bet tuberose+Tauerade won't be a love for me! Of course, that's what I said about the HdP tuberose trilogy. I think we all know I had to eat those words!