Sample Grab Bag

Sometimes you just find no one or two things in the sample closet that call to you as needing a review, so I went and grabbed a bunch of new to me things from the sample bag to see which charms and which might bite me.

perfume sample grab bag

Mona di Orio – Bohea Boheme. A tea scent with notes of Bergamot, sichuan pepper, cardamom, iris, chamomile, balsam fir, boxwood, geranium, black tea, juniper, smoke, oak, sandalwood, beeswax, bay leaf, benzoin, vanilla.  I am pretty much liking this.  It’s a very soft tea, more creamy and a little floral.  One for tea lovers to try for sure.

Majda Bekkali Tulaytulah – notes of Cherry blossom, cypress, star anise, bitter almond, frangipani, malt, musky leather, blond suede, tonka bean, vanilla.  This is a really interesting gourmand, heavier on the gourmand on the open, but steps it back a bit.

Agonist Nordic Noir – Notes of Cardamom, rosemary, spearmint, mint, orris, ginger, heliotrope, cedar, sandalwood, vanilla, musk.  Okay, just no. I thought maybe at first, but the spearmint/rosemary/heliotrope combo turned it into cough syrup on me.

Memo Marfa – holy tuberose!  Notes of Mandarin, orange blossom, agave, tuberose, ylang ylang, sandalwood, cedar, vanilla, white musk.  This a pretty big tuberose. Not my favorite tuberose, but a decent one.

The Renegades Mark Buxton – Notes of Basil, lentisque, black pepper, cassis, galbanum, leather, rhododendron, labdanum, gaiac, vetiver, amber.  A Buxton incense gives me no end of pleasure, and the basil sharpens this just a little in all the right ways.  And wow.  Love it, it seems really close to that mosuljewreligion thing he did.  Perfect incense.

The Renegades Geza Schoen – Notes of Pink pepper, lemon, bergamot, cassis, lime, osmanthus, iris, fir, juniper, hedione, mate, iso-E super, cedar, sandalwood, labdanum, incense, myrrh, castoreum, ambrette.  Iso-E landed in a forest and grew incense on the the mossy tree bark. I really kind of love it.

The Renegades Bertrand Duchaufour – Notes of Pink pepper, bergamot, cardamom, gin, cassis, galbanum, red berries, olibanum, hinoki, balsam fir, driftwood, amber.  Normally I loe Duchaufour, and I have a feeling this should work fo rme, but I think it’s the gin note that I’m anosmic to that is making this read all alcohol.  I get a lot of interesting things, then the alcohol note just buries everything else. This is the fault of my nose, not the fragrance.

Those are the quick hits for today.  I’ll do a drawing for one lucky winner to get all of my little samples in this post from the comments.  Which one sounds most like you’d love it?

Winner of last week’s drawing for the Amouage Myths samples – SamanthaL, Fleurious, Elaine and Petunia. Just click on Drop Us a Note at the top, send me an e-mail, remind me of what you won and get me your mailing address. I’ll send you a quick e-mail to let you know I got your e-mail and it didn’t land in a spam filter and then get it on the way to you.

 

  • Allyson says:

    The Bohea Bohemia sounds wonderful!

  • katrin says:

    I’d go for The Renegades by Mark Buxton. I am in the mood for the perfect incense!

  • Tiara says:

    The Renegades all sound enticing but I’d have to go with Bertrand Duchaufour’s. That list of notes sounds wonderful.

  • Marianna says:

    Renegades sounds very interesting. So does Bohea Bohemia!!

  • Audrey says:

    Can’t decide which one I would like to try most. But I will let you know if I win! Thanks for the chance.

  • PJ says:

    Memo Marfa! I’m afraid I’m something of a tuberose, uh, whore. I pretty much never met one I didn’t like. I don’t know of this one, though, and it sounds enchanting.
    Love this post.

  • grizzlesnort says:

    NoT the Agoniste—based on your review! Anything else, though. xxoo

  • Cindi says:

    My Aunt Annie was quite a lady! She was lovely, funny and adored perfume. I remember all of the times when I went to visit her, she would have perfume samples for me to try
    ( she worked at Famous Barr in cosmetics )! To this day, I adore various fragrances. If the ones you mentioned in your article, The Renegades Geza Schoen, sounds the most interesting to me…
    Many thanks, Cindi

  • Ellen M says:

    The Renegades Mark Buxton, Bohea Boheme,and the Memo Marfa sound the most interesting. Love incense, tea scents and woods.

  • Irina says:

    oh, all new and interesting…I think Bohea Boheme would click with me.

  • Janice says:

    I’ve been wanting to try the Renegades, but your description of Bohea Boheme makes it sound like the one I’d love. Always ready to try another tea scent.

  • HeidiC says:

    I’ve been wondering about the Renegades ever since y’all reviewed another Buxton recently, and because I saw it being hyped on LuckyScent. I think the Buxton one sounds fantastic, and the Schoen one sounds intriguing. I’m also interested in the Bohea Boheme — the long list sounded like a hot mess, but the end result you describe sounds lovely. Thanks for the draw!

  • Sherri M. says:

    Tulaytulah…I love the sound of the unusual note of malt mixed with almond, cherry blossom and leather.

  • furriner says:

    The Renegades have piqued my interest. Maybe the Mark Buxton more than the others.

  • Jackie b says:

    I have been reading about the Mona di Orio and it is calling to me, but I love a good incense…Mark Buxton please.

  • elisa p says:

    The Madja Bekkali sounds interesting to me. And I love their bottles. Thanks for the draw!

  • jane says:

    Boheea Boheme sounds lovely.

  • Lemoncake says:

    A few of these sound interesting to me…..Bohea Boheme & Renegades Mark Buxton, Also Memo Marfa – have been overdosing on tuberose lately.

  • Queen Cupcake says:

    The Renegades Mark Buxton sounds like my jam, and all of these look pretty interesting. Thanks, Patty! In anticipation of a warm day, I’m wearing Le Jardin Sur le Nil.

  • Sherry B. says:

    Geza Schoen from The Renegades sounds very appealing to me.

  • Donna S says:

    Awesome array but The Renegades Geza Schoen is one I’ve really wanted to try. Thanks for draw.

  • Neva says:

    I love Mark Buxton’s work so far, so I think I’d prefer The Renegades Mark Buxton…and incense became one of my favourite notes, especially in the summer.

  • Emma says:

    The Renegades Bertrand Dufour – cardamom is one of my favourites, especially combined with juniper and sandalwood.

  • Nelle says:

    Mona di Orio sounds divine!

  • cys says:

    Tulaytulah Sounds interesting to me!

  • Sal Crow says:

    Amber? Yes! I love heliotrope, albeit with a very light touch. What I like sometimes defies description (or even good taste), but I’ve never met a sniffie I didn’t appreciate. Ironic that most modern perfumes make me sneeze, but single florals make me swoon. If anyone knows of a pure carnation/gillyflower scent, please shout out…

  • eldarwen22 says:

    Nordic Noir sounds the most interesting to me for some reason.

  • The Renegades Geza Schoen! Chemistry with a dash of forest? Yes please!

  • Memo Marfa! Right up my alley.