Short Reviews of Finished Perfume Samples Pt. 1

There are so many fragrances out there, and I do not want to commit to an expensive full-size. If I pass by a fragrance store, or if there's a fragrance sample, I just can't resist. 

Replica Jazz Club by Maison Margiela

I have never been to a jazz club, and if it smells like this, I probably won't ever go back to one. Its top notes are Pink Pepper, Neroli, and Lemon. Middle notes are Rum, Java vetiver oil, and Clary Sage. Base Notes are Tobacco Leaf, Vanilla bean, and Styrax. I got none of the top notes and only got tobacco!

As someone who cannot stand the smell of cigarettes, this is not for me. I rarely wore it, instead opted to use it as a bed linen spray... I gotta use it up somehow! I felt like a sugar baby sleeping in the bed of my cigar-smoking, whiskey-drinking, 40/50-year-old sugar daddy. He smells like divorce and mid-life crisis. Trying to find himself, exposing himself to the arts and some people. I've tried other Margiela fragrances in Sephora, and none stood out to me. I can say with 70% certainty that I won't ever purchase a Margiela fragrance. 

While on the topic of masculine-leaning scents.

No. 02 Le Long Fond by Maison Louis Marie

I purchased Maison Louis Marie's discovery kit because I love Bois de Balicourt (the more subtle dupe of Santal 33). This was a terrible first discovery. I am scared to smell the rest. The top Note is Hinoki Wood, Middle Notes are Cedar and Patchouli, Base Note is White Musk. Luckily it's on my spreadsheet. This is what I had to say about the EDP: this is a toxic relationship. I know it's not right for me, but it's growing on me/I'm ignoring the red flags. It's woodsy, medicinal, and herby. There's this cooling sensation when you first smell it. 

Gaiac 10 by Le Labo

This is the Tokyo exclusive that you can only get outside of Japan during specific months of the year. I went to the Le Labo shop in SoHo (yes, I'm from New York) to purchase a couple of samples. My friend and I tried this in the shop; we could not smell a thing with our masks on. When I wore this to school/out with my mask on, I couldn't even smell it on me throughout the day. This is not a "Pandemic-Friendly Fragrance." 

This is a linear perfume. The notes are Musk Guaiac Wood, Cedar, and Olibanum. It's very woody and incense-y. It reminds me of the smell of the air in Hong Kong. I'm becoming increasingly wary of incense and cedar. 

FYI (if you hate those dabber decants like me): instead of purchasing samples from decanting websites, you can purchase samples directly from Le Labo for $6 each, each SPRAY vial is 1.5ml. 

Sì Passione by Giorgio Armani and Black Opium by Yves Saint Laurent

I'm putting these two together because I think they smell similar. When I randomly pulled one out from my mix of samples, I could not distinguish one from another. It's probably because both have Pink Pepper and Pear Top Notes, Jasmine Middle Note, and Cedar and Vanilla Base Notes. They're both sweet, generic fragrances. If you want to smell like Black Opium but don't want to wear Black Opium, perhaps try Sì Passione. 

Flowerbomb by Victor&Rolf

Flowerbomb is distinct and generic. When I smelled this on my sister, I knew what it was. It's headache-inducing and one of my least favorite perfumes. 

Cassili by Parfums de Marly

This perfume proved my fear: I am (slightly) allergic to fragrances. Lucky scent sells samples in these vials that are a pain to open with this "dabber" in the middle. I spilled some of the already tiny sample on my thigh one night, and a pink rash appeared immediately. Lucky scent didn't have Delina, so I purchased the other perfumes from the brand. It's a sickly sweet floral perfume. I don't get any currant at all, but there is a little bit of rose.

Top notes: Red Currant, Floral Notes, Bulgarian Rose

Middle Notes: Frangipani, Plum, Petalia, Mimosa

Base Notes: Vanilla, Tonka Bean, Sandalwood

What's your favorite fragrance at the moment? Do you also have trouble spraying the last bit of perfume in sample sprays? How do you even recycle these sprays?!