I haven't purchased samples for some time now, in fact not since early September. In the intervening two months, I have managed to obtain quite a number of free samples from my two local department stores, where a number of the sales staff are very generous and willing to hand these out. By way of example, I've received samples of the reissue of Houbigant's Quelques Fleurs, Pehaligon's Sartorial, Amouage's Memoir Man and Woman, Cartier's Declaration and two of the new Lubin's, to name but a few.
Anyway, I've recently ordered a handful of samples from Les Senteurs in London. I've written about Les Senteurs a couple of times before and I use their sample service relatively frequently. I like ordering from them for a number of reasons - they are friendly, the sample sizes are very generous and reasonably priced (£3 for about 2ml of juice) and their range is very good. For example, they carry the entire ranges of Amouage (excluding attars), Frederic Malle, Parfumerie Generale and Parfum d'Empire, as well as stocking Lorenzo Villoresi and Caron. Not bad.
In any event, this time I've tried to order a good mix and range of samples:
Molinard - Habanita
Frederic Malle - Portrait of a Lady
Jean Desprez - Bal a Versailles
Rosine - Twill Rose
Heeley - Iris de Nuit
Boadicea the Victorious - Complex
I'm taking a bit of a chance with some of these. For example, the first three are feminine perfumes, although I have read reviews stating that Habanita and Bal a Versailles can be worn by a man, so we'll see. Rosine has been a bit hit-or-miss for me, while I've read mostly negative reviews of Complex. As for Heeley, Sel Marin turned me stone cold, but I enjoyed Cardinal, so I'm hoping Iris de Nuit will be a good surprise. I'm sure I will get round to reviewing these in due course.
I'd say that Habanita can without a doubt be worn by a man-- in fact, for quite some time I thought it _was_ a man's scent. It's gorgeous, but I associate it with the worst migraine I've ever had in my life, so I approach it warily.
ReplyDeleteBal a Versailles, I'm not so sure about. When I look at my comments about it, I see that I referred to it as "ladylike," with some surprise, because I was expecting an animalic femme fatale frenzy. But it's very interesting, with a lot of transitions - it's probably worth the ride, even if you never wear it in real life.
Michael, Habanita is an interesting choice - I can see that as being right 'up your alley' as it were.
ReplyDeleteI ordered it several weeks ago (about six) and have not yet sampled it properly.
Must hear your impressions/review on Habanita.
I'm looking forward to hearing about your new samples. I know what you mean about Sel Marin - it's very unusual - but in the right circumstances I think it could be interesting.
ReplyDeleteChickenFreak, I've received my samples, so I'll let you know how femme I find Bal.
ReplyDeleteJosephine, I so often set myself up for a fall, but I must admit that I'm really looking forward to trying Habanita.
MPL, I will give Sel Marin another chance. There was just something about it that reminded me of Hermes Apres La Mousson, which I didn't personally like, but hey, tastes do change!
oh you lucky dog, able to get Portrait of a Lady! And looking very forward to reading what you have to say about BaV!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks Frida. I do like a lot of Frederic Malle fragrances, so hopefully this will be brilliant!
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