Hi Perfume Posse! WOO HOO! Order Arrived. So…. you know I love to sample stuff, right? Well recently I went on a bit of a Surrender To Chance Sample Binge. I grabbed about 20 samples of different sizes and from a few of my fave crews. They arrived and I’m a bit overwhelmed. As I probably won’t get around to doing full posts on them all I thought you might like to have a couple of quick prose bites about two I really liked.
Surrender To Chance Order Arrived!
Musk Gold: Ermenegildo Zegna
Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Coriander, black pepper, musk, patchouli leaf
Years ago Patty did a Musk Post with some of the best at the time. If that post were updated Musk Gold would definitely make the grade. More Kiehl’s than MKK yet still managing to plump up the funk to 90%. Never was a musk quite so naughty kitty. Don’t be fooled though, Musk Gold is also gourmand. I have bought a bottle of Musk Gold for my mate Scott who bathes in the stuff. It’s so good on him that I wanted to see how it would wear for me. Consequently it went in the STC cart. So when this order arrived I spritzed about 1ml on myself and it is fabulous. These are not white musks, though I’m sure they’ve used some to smooth the composition. Rather, Musk Gold is the sexy scents of animals.
Drama Nuui: Parfumerie Generale
Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Jasmine; wood, absinth, spices
A fragrance that perfectly captures the fresh breeze of spring. Photo realistic jasmine features in such perfect detail that I’m transported back to my childhood home and the enormous jasmine climber over our boundary fence. Somehow Pierre Guillaume has managed to capture the feeling of walking down the driveway in the afternoon sun and being hit by this sheer but all encompassing fragrance. Yes, Drama Nuui is more than simply jasmine but what is most standout to me is the memory it conjures.
Don’t you love that Order Arrived excitement? Anything come for you lately?
Portia xx
I love sampling. I recently received an order from a new place I discovered that has some niche lines that I have been curious about. One sample stood out for me, Frassaï Verano Porteño. It’s by Rodrigo Flores-Roux. As much as I like Drama Nuui, i like Verano Porteño more. This is a beautiful jasmine on me.The back story on it is fun too – ” jasmine infuses the streets of Buenos Aires…. Like the seductive rhythms of tango,” How could I resist.
Just got very generous decants (20 ml. +) of Iris Ganache and Dioramour, both of which left me gasping with delight, and scheming my way to full bottles. Honestly, IF I ever proclaim a signature scent (please shoot me if I do) it would now be a toss up between L’Heure Bleue and Iris Ganache. Also got Aroma M’s new Botan (abstract Japanese Peony) which is breathtaking! I am SO screwed….???????? xoxo
Hey there Robert,
The happiest kind of screwed. Is the Dioramour a new one in the Prive line or an oldie I don’t know? All sorts of FOMO going on over here.
Portia xx
It’s new for 2018! Gorgeous and classically Dior.
I love package arrival excitement! I have a Sephora package arriving tomorrow and I can’t wait for it to arrive. Just about to surf Luckyscent to see if there is anything that catches my eye.
Have fun trolling LuckyScent Eldarwen22,
SO MUCH FUN.
Portia xx
I like knowing that there is always something in the pipes for me. I’m a compulsive tracker. Love the anticipation of new arrivals. Portia has unleashed my new found love of all things funky and animalic.
Antique Ambergris was a huge hit. In a similar vein, Russian Oud Areej Le Doré is on it’s way. Gotta go track it now! Bye!
EXCELLENT Marcella.
portia xx
I just had a sample order arrive and am excited to try many things, especially Sundrunk and Remember Me. After this latest batch is experienced, maybe this weekend, I am tossing them into a round robin box. Then on to another order. I need the new 4160s and Atelier des Ors releases. It never ends, even when I say I am a bit burnt out not finding anything fb-worthy, that only lasts something like a week! 😉
I’d love to hear your thoughts on Sundrunk and Remember Me!
I love that feeling!
And want to hold on to it.
I try to plan so that I don’t just put it away and forget what I have… I should get back to my Google doc of new scent reviews.
Recently I had a very long Dry spell and and did not buy anything. Then, finally, blessedly, it rained! And STC had Areej Le Dore on sale, which incidentally had been my last exciting sample purchase quite some time before.
I got larger sizes of the samples I loved and generous sizes of the new ones I thought I would love. Have taken two for a test drive. So far so good!
I have been learning the hard way that discontinued is really really gone and I should get backups before things are gone forever. I can’t afford back up full bottles but I can definitely now afford backup decants.
Hey MIM,
Discontinued is AWFUL! Especially when you have only a smudge left. Great thinking to keep some decants by. Better to have some than none.
Portia xx
Love the excitement of planning and waiting for and receiving an order. Sample orders are often the most fun of all – lots of little jewels to try. Yes, I have too many samples, but they are (mostly) organized and have saved me a bundle of unsniffed buys.
And speaking of sample orders, I recently received a LuckyScent package containing (among others), a sample of Keiko Mecheri Un Jour d’Ete, thanks to your recommendation, Portia, I want to say thanks for introducing me to this one–I wouldn’t have thought to try it myself, but it’s the most gorgeous thing I’ve smelled in a while. And oddly, I don’t really get the sunscreen vibe except maybe at the very beginning with a whiff of coconut and salt water. Later it’s a lovely floral/woods combo with a dash of amber at the end. Love it and saving up for a full bottle.
Hey Sprinfpansy!
Woo Hoo! So glad you’re loving Un Jour d’Ete, it gets quite a bit of love around here. Smooth and so easy to wear in any situation without being boring or plain. I bet you smell glorious in it.
Portia x
I really try very hard not to order any more samples these days. I feel like I’m swimming in samples that desperately need to be organized that I’ll never get around to testing. So many of the people I work with and friends say they’re allergic to perfume that I’m afraid to wear anything out of the house for fear of offending these people.
That is a real shame that your circle is all suffering from perfume. thank goodness you can spritz with abandon at home Tatiana.
Portia xx
I love the Order Arrived excitement! It never diminishes for me. Opening the package with the anticipation of smelling, whether it’s a bottle of a known perfume or new to me samples. I ordered a bottle of Trouble edp new in box found on eBay, I hope it’s as gorgeous as I remember. Thank you for reminding me Portia. I’m super excited for its arrival next week! I also have some samples on the way, some of Luca Turin’s Perfume book 4 and 5 star rated perfumes.
Hey Kathleen,
Trouble is a BIG swampy mess of gorgeous. Very easy to get completely engulfed. Spritz with caution.
that will be so fun going through the LT faves. enjoy it.
Portia xx
Nowadays I usually order sample sets from a certain perfume house to try out their complete line. The unpacking is always filled with joy and excitement! When it is wrapped nicely, like for example Zoologist does it, I keep the package on the table for a while to enjoy the mere sight of it. I rarely order FB online, except when I can’t buy the perfume around here but when I do, I immediately spritz unreasonable amounts of the perfume all over my skin and clothes and walk around in a cloud of perfume the whole day.
Oh Neva,
WE ARE TWINS!! I love to overspritz the new stuff.
Portia xx
I have received a package recently and it was pure luxury…gorgeous box, delicate tissue paper wrappings with decorative sticker and a hand written note along with two free samples (also in a lovely envelope) and a free travel spray (also lovingly wrapped) but the star was my full bottle of Reglisse Noire!!! So yes I was excited! I can’t remember the last time I was this excited! But the best part was also discovering a new love in the travel spray….Rose Cassis Paradis, a succulent , juicy rose that some say is even better than Lush’s Rose Jam.
YAY! Sounds lovely Brigitte.
Rose Jam is one of my all time faves, as you know. Interest piqued!
Portia x
I tried Drama Nuui some years ago and liked it a lot, but somehow it got pushed to the wayside and forgotten. My last sample order was from a place that carries a few of the niche lines I wanted to try. I had to try Frassai Verano Porteño by Rodrigo Flores-Roux. I love this man’s work! On me, Verano Porteño is very much a lovely jasmine and possibly FBW. I prefer it to Drama Nuui. I also enjoy when the perfume has a good story with it as Verano Porteño does……”jasmine infuses the streets of Buenos Aires….Like the seductive rhythms of tango”. Oh yes! Time to finish my wine and go to bed.
Hey Honey. I have no idea where you get your enthusiasm from, or interest in all this stufff. Dunno if I am jealous or happy. I had some Coromandel EdT arrive not so long back so I am not scared of running out. And soon some Mitzah from someone who cared enough that I smashed mine. A surprise package from Antonio G came yesterday. So yeah – I love a package too. But I never order samples of stuff I don‘t know. Never. Bussi.
WOO HOO! Lucky you. Coromandel EdT is like HENS TEETH nowadays.
Oooooh! How is Antonio’s newest stuff? Can’t wait to read about it.
Portia xx