Perfume shopping and samples
February 21, 2024 perfume shopping
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. πΆ
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. π
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. π€« It’s a spicy, smokey vanilla. Not super sweet and has really good longevity. β€ 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. π± 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 PrivΓ©s – 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.”