Skylar Discovery Set FULL REVIEW

Skylar is one of the first brand I stumbled upon when researching perfumes in the beginning of my journey. My first perfume from them was Fall Cashmere which I got as a sample with one of my purchase from Sephora. I rapidly got hooked and ever since then it has faithfully remained in my collection as a full bottle (even after all of my decluttering moments). I bought a Skylar sample set on Sephora as a gift to myself quite early in my journey because I was curious to try out what they had to offer. Unfortunately, I got a bit side-tracked by other perfumes, so I never really got to it. Now I'm trying to mow down my backlog of decants and I have turned my eyes back towards this sample set. Here goes my discovery set review!

Before I start this discovery set, I'm going to be honest. I wasn't sure if any of the perfumes in this set would be making it into my collection. From what I've seen, Skylar is a pretty generic brand with soft and clean perfumes. I've started my first trip down niche lane and my nose has shifted towards more bold, daring fragrances. If I had tried Skylar before, I believe one or two could have made it into my collection, but now... Keep this in mind while you read my reviews. They might not fit me, but are still beloved by others.

So here goes my full review:

Salt Air Eau de Parfum : This one had a lot of potential, but unfortunately fell short. It seems to struggle with its theme and balancing the different notes. The florals in the middle of the perfume are way too overpowering with their creamy florals. The drydown is not that great. Driftwood and vanilla do not pair well in my humble opinion (at least in this one, it didn't work out). The overall scent gives me a salted coconut scent even though coconut is not even listed in the notes. It reminds me of one of their other perfume "Coconut Cove | Skylar", a fragrance I didn't really enjoy because of the plasticky, synthetic undertone it had. Salt Air has also this synthetic vibe I do not enjoy. Will not be adding this fragrance to my collection.

Isle Escape: When I sprayed it on my skin, I was confused. I got none of the notes listed, instead there was coconuts, florals and a plasticky accord with a synthetic undertone. That's when it hit me: I had already smelled this fragrance in "Coconut Cove | Skylar". There might have been a mistake when packaging the discovery set and I really think I got the wrong fragrance in the Isle Escape vial. I'll have to hold off on evaluating this perfume until I get my nose on a tester in store.

Capri Summer: This fragrance is the first one I tried from the set because I thought I would love it based on its notes. Citruses are one of my favorite family of notes. Unfortunately, as soon as the scent hit my nose, all I smelled was air freshner. It never got better after that. The top notes are wrong: subdued, generic and almost synthetic. The florals in the middle note give off powdery and soapy accords which only contribute to the air freshner theme. The dry down has a weird woody note that doesn't vibe well with the fragrance. All in all, it's generic, unbalanced in the tweaking of the raw ingredient and just forgettable. I have better citrus and summer fragrances in my collection. This one definitely won't be making it into my collection.

Pink Canyon: At this point, I can't say I was expecting much more, but I was really disappointed with this fragrance. The notes seemed muddled and the perfume turned out generic. Sage sticks out like a sore thumb with its deep green herbal scent. Grapefruit paired with it turns out weird. In the middle notes, the flowers are subdued and I can't even make out one over the other. Drydown is strong cedar paired with salt, which is just off-putting to me. I won't be adding this one to my collection anytime soon.

Vanilla Sky Eau de Parfum: If you love coffee, you'll love this fragrance. At first spray, it smells like a cup of comforting, sweet and creamy cappucino. Jasmine and vanilla contribute to the sweetness and creaminess of this scent. Afterawhile things start to take a turn on my skin, when caramlized cedar takes its place. I don't know why but cedar always turns up way too strong on my skin, becoming almost bitter and acrid. The caramelized aspect of it did try to tone down the accord I dislike, but unfortunately didn't succeed. I'm left with a strong spicy and woody note that's trying to fight the coffee. I do get why it's beloved by many. It has better longevity and sillage than most of the perfume I smelled in the discovery set. Sadly, I'm not a coffee lover (I don't drink it) and I prefer Fall Cashmere over it. I also really disliked the strong cedar note that seemed to clash with the theme of the perfume. Will not be making it into my collection.

BONUS - Boardwalk Delight Eau de Parfum: review can be found here. (I own a travel size)

BONUS - Coconut Cove Eau de Parfum : review can be found here.

BONUS - Fall Cashmere: review can be found here. (I already own a full bottle)

BONUS - Honeysuckle Dream: review can be found here.

BONUS - Peach Fields Eau de Parfum: review can be found here. (I own a travel size)

BONUS - Sunkissed Dahlia: review can be found here.

BONUS - Citrus Reverie: review can be found here. (I own a travel size)

CONCLUSION

I've got to say... Even though my wallet is relieved none of the fragrances from the discovery set will be making it into my collection, I'm a bit disappointed. Skylar's fragrances are either hit or miss and nothing in between. I thought I'd be adding another bottle to my collection. I feel like they're marketed as fragrances, but act as body mists. Most of them really don't last long and they almost all have this sort of plasticky, almost synthetic undertone to them. Almost all of the fragrances from the discovery set share a similar theme of summer and lightness, I wish they'd branch out. Their Scent Club seems more experimental, a bit more daring. Why not retire the fragrances from this discovery set and focus instead on the perfumes from Scent Club? There's a few I'd like to try. I know there's a Vault Sale, but I'm not from the US and shipping is pretty expensive.