I went through quite an unhealthy phase some years ago sampling any and every perfume I could get my hands on. On the good side, I learned a lot about what notes to look for or stay away from. On the bad side, a lot of it felt like a waste of money. Perfume collecting is an expensive hobby, so I’m glad that my mind has eased off it.

Last year while in Florida, I was able to drag my sisters to a niche perfume store.

We ended up purchasing two perfumes. Personally, I wouldn’t have gone with anything by Vilhelm Parfumerie, but Mango Skin was the one my sisters (and probably mom) could agree on. I mean, it does smell good. But every Vilhelm scent I’ve smelled so far just reminds me of nice shampoo. 😶

The one by Atelier des Ors, though??? YES. It had been on my list of scents to sample for a while. This was another scent that my sister could actually agree with me on. 😅

So Lune Feline by Atelier des Ors has pretty much been my favorite scent for the past half a year. That rules out recency bias. 🤫 It’s a spicy, smokey vanilla. Not super sweet and has really good longevity. ❤ 10/10 for me. From morning to night, I never get tired of it.

The bottle design is also unique. I don’t care for the gold flakes, but they do make it stand out. The bottle tends to fall over a lot though, since it’s so flat…

Since I was the only one using it back when I was with my family, I took it back with me to Japan as payment for helping house moving work. (I asked.)

On to the samples…

Okay, now this is why I find perfume to be so much fun… Amouage – Guidance immediately caught our attention, in a good way. It packed a punch right from the atomizer, and just smells “different.” It only took my sister actually wearing it for me to completely do a 180. In short, it smells like body odor and is extremely loud. You can actually smell it from across the room, AT ALL TIMES. It never backs down, never gives up. 😱 Which would be cool, if it didn’t smell so bizarre…

Casamorati – Italica: Almond bomb that felt like another standout among the others. First spray is a shock to the system. Harsh at first but doesn’t stay so. To put things simply, it reminds me of an almond/cherry dessert.

Casamorati – Dama Bianca: Super pretty, delicate floral/powdery vanilla. However, after a while it reminds me of perfume on day-old clothes. For some reason, I feel that way about a lot of soft “purple” florals.

Initio Parfums Privés – High Frequency: Simply a nice floral almond. Nothing too special, but an easy wear.

Vilhelm Parfumerie – Dear Polly: Fresh, citrusy. Like a lot of Vilhelm scents, it’s a bit boring. Though I didn’t really get to give it a proper wear. People say it’s a tea scent, but I don’t remember being reminded of “tea.”