What did you test today?

Symphony

Light Blue Eau de Parfum it's ok, prefer the original EDT. **Edit- actually, now that it's drying down, I enjoy it more. I keep getting whiffs of citrus, slightly masculine. Not bad! I should re-test.

Green Raspberry plasticky drydown

Vanilla Flowers similar to Vanilla Skin Hair & Body Mist

Tropic Trip

Daisy Wild re-test, I like it more nowadays. I wish I had a travel size of this vs. Daisy Wild Eau So Intense

Love Don't Be Shy Perfume . I thought it would be too sweet for me, and I still think it might be. The opening toned down really quickly into a gentler sweetness.

Interestingly, I have Néroli Hasbaya and it is similar. It's only been 2 hours and LDBS is continuing to tone down. I would say I prefer Neroli Hasbaya. It's not quite as sweet and the longevity is better. Having both seems redundant. Yay for that!

Continuing my PDM binge I got samples of Kalan and Castley . I know Kalan is polarizing, but I honestly ended up enjoying it, not enough to buy a bottle but still decent. Castley on the other hand I'll be wearing till I run out of the sample, fighting the urge to not buy a full sized bottle the entire way.

Mondays are complicated enough as is, so testing something simple today with Q Parfum and Dolce Magnolia.

I was rather curious about Q since I enjoyed its older sister Q Eau de Parfum a fair bit when I tested that... but this one ain't it. I could respect it if it was an Elisabeth-Arden-adjacent cheapie, but at 2/3rds of Lost Cherry Eau de Parfum's price point? One might as well budget and buy TF than spend this much on an oversimplified synthetic cherry with a rank vanilla base. A shame, especially given that the EDP version was genuinely really fun.

Magnolia is... what it is. I didn't have any expectations for it, and for now I'm neither disappointed nor impressed. We'll see how the drydown presents itself, but for now it's a soft magnolia-flavored fabric softener with a light fruity touch. Smells strong and damp at first, like taking the laundry out of the washing machine. Dries out on the clothes line and gets soft and airy as it goes. Unremarkable, a solid 5/10.

Bought a 10ml bottle of Oud Minérale, I've been trying to get a hold of a sample for a while but couldn't find it outside discovery sets (honestly I might buy one at one point). I haven't smelled anything like it, its so weird in a very good way, I find myself pausing for a second every time I catch it in the air just to enjoy it. I had a very similar experience with Ombre Leather EDP which was one of the fragrances that threw me into the rabbit hole that is this hobby.

Blamage Extrait de Parfum

Not a huge fan

Sniffed these at Sephora today:

Neroli & Basil - fav, very refreshing and spa-like

Santal & Vetiver

Cypress & Grapevine Cologne Intense

Red Hibiscus

Eden Sweet Peach | 35

Eden Plush Pear | 23

Marshmallows

Island Swim

Paradise Nectar

Sacred Santal - picked up the rollerball, it's not super strong though. I will probably use it for layering.

Yesterday: Souffle Ambré Eau de Toilette Intense A gorgeous amber.

Today: Le Rem Eau de Toilette Intense I already knew the original and this new formulation is just as lovely (very underrated in my opinion)

Should explore this brand more, they really know about 'reminiscing'

Yesterday I checked the new arrivals of a local perfume store. Both Dolce Magnolia and Pool Daze were a bit disappointing to me. Former was just an ordinary powdery floral, I couldn't detect any ice cream notes, and the latter was lovely but almost identical to Beach Vibes so I found both boring and not worth buying. However Emporio Armani - Power of You was a huge pleasant surprise! I wasn't really expecting much based on the notes but when I sprayed it on I could totally understand what the hype is about. Such a gorgeous and versatile passionfruit fragrance, simple and easy-to-wear but still unique and nice sweet gourmand without being overly foody or cloying. I could see myself wearing this all year round. This one goes definitely on the top of my wantlist! 😍

Tested Iris Malikhân and Sintra the other day (s) and didn't like both (understatement). Why does there has to be an overload of vanilla in everything?? I think I should stop searching untill this hype of 'sweet' and 'gourmand' and 'tropical' or 'rose forward' is over I'm affraid...😒

A lot of things, full immersion on Memo Paris, Jusbox, Mason Tahité and discovered an ultranice brand called Nero Speziale not even listed here on Perfumo who is collaborating with some historical italian perfumers (Bianchi, Landi). 

My nose is totally blind at this point but I regret nothing.

I placed a sample order form Overose and tested out a few this week. Hot Towel Club , Clean Matcha , Clean Vanilla , White Cashew , & Vanille Tropicale. They were ok; there was something in the base of all them that made me feel a little nauseous. Waste of $, unfortunately.

i want to test out Sublimity and the rest of the Lore line soon-ish, as well as Banana Sunmilk by Athena Club when it's released. 🍌

Up at Dawn. Rose coffee syrup with just a sprinkle of lipsticky earth. More gimmicky than anything else, as it tends to go with Margiela, but I don't expect anything else from them at this point, which helps to enjoy the experience for what it is.

Trying out For Her Pure Musc Blanc today. Likeable, but it's very much a laundry detergent type scent to me. White flowers, musks, and aldehydes. So, a little boring, but it would probably be a good daily driver / office scent for the right person.

Beaufort London Vi et armis

Emporio Armani - Power of You I thought this smelled like BO the first time I briefly tested it in a store. I tried it out again today,however, and am enjoying it more. It's weird how our brain can flip like that. It's a nice mix of tart passion fruit with vanilla.

Bal d'Afrique Body Mist This smells really nice, but I'd like to compare it to Find Comfort (Body & Hair Fragrance Mist) when I get the chance, to see if they are similar. They have about a $57 price difference.

I also tested out Burberry Her Parfum, (which I can't link to for some reason). Not a big fan, comes off pretty artificial on my skin.

Not today, but in the last few days: La Tulipe Eau de Parfum Nice scent, but short lived; Inflorescence too sharp, too LOTV foreward for my taste.

Solo Ella Eau de Parfum generic and also short lived.

Daring Vanilla

Gypsy Water Body Mist for tonight. This doesn't quite have the magic the EDP encapsulates for me and it doesn't seem to have much longevity or projection either. It's a little more woody and powdery, but it doesn't smell like that wonderful juniper note that's in the original. It's also missing the bright, creamy citrus. It's not bad, but it's also not something I would spend money on.

The Bal d'Afrique Body Mist smelled more true to its EDP to my nose.

Testing Lilyphéa today after thinking about it for quite a while. This actually reminds me a bit of Dream Angels Heavenly that was popular in the early 2000s, but a slightly fresher, niche version. Must be the cardamom, vanilla, and violet.

Arquiste Tropical

I wanted to try out a tropical scent that didn't have either pineapple, coconut or both.  All I'm getting is guava, and I don't know if I like that.  

The guava is so strong that I don't smell much of anything else.  I am not a gourmand girl.  I was expecting a fruity-floral from the notes, and the flowers aren't showing up for me at all.  I do have weird body chemistry (strange reactions to perfume always happen to me - I mean, OG Liz Claiborne literally turned my wrist turquoise when I sampled it, and hell if I know why).  

I'm glad I got a decant and didn't shell out for a bottle.  I'm letting it sit in the dark to think about how it should behave for a few weeks and then will try it again.  

Testing Bal d'Afrique Body Mist out again tonight. I really enjoy this, which I'm so surprised about, because I didn't like the edp, Bal d'Afrique Eau de Parfum enough to ever buy a bottle. This body mist smells very clean, uplifting, reminding me of someone fresh out of the shower. I remember something sort of heavy in the EDP. I really want to re-sample it now to see if my impression has changed.

Some days it's full on test mode, when I'll wear one fragrance through the day, ponder it in detail, maybe jot some thoughts down and think about reviewing it. Other days, like today, are more laid back.

This morning it was ...

B683 Extrait de Parfum

lunchtime ...

African Leather Eau de Parfum

and just now ...

Ani X

It's a very unstructured way of doing it, but I enjoy just letting the experiences wash over me and not really thinking too much about it.