Planning to order some niche samples

[JyyskNotes]

Hey,

I'm planning to order some niche samples based on reviews I've read. At this point I'm thinking of Creed's: OV and GIT and Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle 's: Vetiver Extraordinaire, Musc Ravageur and L’Eau d’Hiver. Now I'm asking from you some suggestions. I'm very open to every kind of fragrances but some woody/spicy kind of niches would be nice for fall/winter so feel free to post your favourites. And to let you know I'm a newbie and don't know too much about niche world. Only niche bottle I own is Aventus which I've been very satisfied with. Thanks!

[OctaVariuM]

I hear Tobacco Vanille is great for winter, though I don't think it's supposed to be super spicy. I ordered it a few days ago as a sample.

[Jack Hunter]

Frapins Caravelle Epicee - One of imo the best spicy frags for the Fall.
Penhaligons Opus 1870 - Rose and peppery cedar. Nice and spicy.

[JyyskNotes]

Thx for the responses so far. Unfortunately Tom Fords are not available in the website I'm ordering from. Would be more than happy checking TV out if I only had a chance. Same think with that Frapin. But what comes to Opus 1870 I actually was thinking about it and might give it a shot.

[OctaVariuM]

In that case, perhaps check out Amouage as a house in general. They are pretty spicy, so check out Jubilation XXV, Honour Man, etc. I've never tried them, but their note profile seems to fit what you are looking for.

[Kagey]

Suggest:

Parfumerie Generale:
- Iris Oriental
- Coze
- L'Ombre Fauve

Parfums d'Empire
- Cuir Ottoman

Etat Libre d'Orange
- Tom of Finland
- Eloge du Traitre

Tauer
- L'Air du Desert Marocain
- Incense Rose

Serge Lutens
- Filles en Aiguilles
- Ambre Sultan.

[alfarom]

Parfumerie Generale:
- Coze

Parfums d'Empire
- Cuir Ottoman

Etat Libre d'Orange
- Tom of Finland
- Eloge du Traitre

Tauer
- L'Air du Desert Marocain
- Incense Rose

Serge Lutens
- Filles en Aiguilles

those up here, would be my picks as well. I will add

Ormonde Man
Santal 33
Sbsolue Pour Le Soir
Epic Man
CDG White
Idole De Lubin EDT
Red Aoud
Dark Aoud
Jubilation XXV

[hednic]

Montale Black Aoud
Montale Aoud Purple Rose

[cacio]

The warm spicy in the Malle range is Noir epices. Musc Ravageur, which you mentioned, is also spicy in the drydown, but I feel Noire epices is richer.

cacio

[JyyskNotes]

Thanks for all your awesome suggestions so far! I sure will check some of those out.

[L'enfer]

Parfums d'Empire, Maison Francis Kurkdjian, Juliette Has a Gun and Penhaligon's all do sample sets. You need to pay but you get multiple samples for your money.

Parfums d'Empire give you a sample of each of their perfumes as does Juliette Has a Gun who also offer you a discount equal to the cost of the sample kit if you purchase within X amount of time. Penhaligon's send you one sample of each of their "male" fragrances. If your looking for samples these houses are good places to start.

In my experience Tom Ford, Miller Harris and Annick Goutal will send you samples if you email them or visit a boutique.

[Nazz]

Portrait of A Lady, Musc ravageur, Memoir Man, Jubilation XXV.

[mike_d9]

Ambre Sultan
L'Air du Desert Marocain
Black Aoud

[dollars&scents]

Do try Musc Ravageur by Frederic Malle.

I own and enjoy it.

See my impressions below ↓↓↓:

Musc Ravageur by Frederic Malle - A blast of freshness hits you with the hay-like sweetness of lavender commingling with the zesty citrus of bergamot. This refreshing opening transitions to its middle with the boatload of cloves, imparting a thick, wet earthiness with a faintly sweet dimension. This raises the dark avenue of travel for this composition. As the cloves percolate, a warm, mellow cinnamon with a hint of a civet musk gather steam, and stew with the hearty cloves. The billowing animalic musk coupled with the extraordinary spices transforms the heart into a rapturous sensuality. Hints of sweetness in the form of vanilla and tonka bean tug at this sexual melange leading it to the captivating base. As the spicy component of the heart fades away, the musk mixes with the tonka bean to give a fleeting chocolate aura drawing it closer to the base. The vanilla and tonka bean envelop the rousing musk and join with a woods backdrop, to wit, balsamic cedarwood, aromatic sandalwood and sweet guiac wood, to give creamy and powdery facets to the mellifluous drydown. This well blended and complex fragrance has excellent longevity and good projection, after 5-6 hours becoming a skin scent.

[Diamondflame]

Instead of taking a scatter gun approach or picking 'faves from each house', I'd instead recommend sampling by house to get a sense of a house signature OR sample by favorite accord/style to get a sense of how far a note could go and what complimentary notes go well with it. It's a long journey so pace yourself.

[JyyskNotes]

At this point I have actually 2 different sites that have samples I'm interested in. The only problem is I will only order from one of those two sites and their offerings differ a little. So these are the sample packs:

1.
Frapin - Caravelle Epicee
Frapin - 1270
Creed - Green Irish Tweed
Penhaligons - Opus 1870
Parfum D'Empire - Cuir Ottoman
Andy Tauer - L'Air Du Desert Marocain
Amouage - Jubilation XXV

2.
Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle - D. Ropion - Vetiver Extraordinaire
Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle - J.C. Ellena - L’Eau d’Hiver
Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle - M. Roucel - Musc Ravageur
Penhaligons - Opus 1870
Creed - Green Irish Tweed
Amouage - Jubilation XXV

So, what do you guys think which one is a better deal? The prices are almost equal with both packs. For me it's quite hard to make a decission since I haven't been able to sniff any of those fragrances.

[Kagey]

You have to start somewhere. I'd go with the first one.

[chili_willi]

L'Air du Desert Marocain

Concur

[calilove]

Musc Ravageur by Frederic Malle.