by Marla
Well, I live Way Out There, but Luckyscent has Sample Packs, and I can’t resist them. Olfactoria wrote a provocative article about the indelibility of first impressions, and I responded that over 90% of the time, my first impressions remained true over time. But, said my Inner Skeptic, is this really true?? Or just the residue of a flawed memory? So here I am, with my first impressions of Luckyscent’s Fall Preview Sample Pack. In the interest of Science, I’ll follow up in a few weeks, after several wearings, with truly profound, pithy (don’t you love that word?), and scholarly reviews of each sample vial. Then we’ll see how they match, OK?
1. Tauer Perfumes Pentachords- Auburn- OK. Neon Spice Attack! Maybe good. Maybe too synthetic. We’ll see.
2. Tauer Perfumes Pentachords- Verdant- Weird. Really out there. Scary wafts of mint. Looking forward to long test. I think….
3. Tauer Perfumes Pentachords- White- Synthetic plastic eek! Ten minutes later, maybe the best marshamallow ever…. Like those marshmallows they make in Italy in the spring. Mmmm….
4. Serge Lutens- Vitriol d’O (I can’t bother looking up the spelling)- Meh, but needs time. Family members declare it smells “like a breath mint”.
5. Illuminum Gardenia Petals- Oh Holy British Teapots, smells like a train loo air freshener gone wrong….
6. Francis Kurkdjian Aqua Universalis Forte- synthetic and off-putting, yet I keep sniffing my arm….
7. Amouage Honour Man- Mmmm….I want to smell my DH in this. Heck, I’d smell any man in this!
8. Amouage Honour Woman- What Illuminated White Plastic Garden Petals should have been. Swoon.
9. Mona Di Orio Oud- This is not oud. It’s so much more. But I have no idea what to call it. I must live with this. For a month at least….
So there we go. Nine new perfumes. Nine little reviews. Let’s see how it all adds up in a month?
What are you testing these days, and how’s it going?
I have only smelled the Vitriol so far myself, but I like your nutshell impressions! I had the feeling that the Illuminum was going to be unfortunate, and it also reinforces my belief that Amouage Honour Woman is going to be exactly what I want!
ReplyDeleteI am testing some wildly disparate perfumes - from mainstream (Badgley Mischka Fleurs de Nuit and Fendi Fan) to ultra niche (several Aftelier fragrances.) So far, niche is winning!
Lovely, lovely, lovely! I agree with your assessments in most cases. Just so much: the Illuminum WGP you smelled is NOT the same that I smelled for my review, there is huge difference, can't say more at that point, but I couldn't keep entirely mum either.
ReplyDeleteI'll be looking forward to the update in a month. I love your scientific approach! ;)
And thank you for the word pithy, something new to add to my vocabulary!
Flora,
ReplyDeleteVitriol is going to get its own review for certain, because it's Serge. And the Amouage Honour Woman is so good, it's getting its own review, too. It really knocked me off my feet.
Can't wait to hear the results of your tests!
-Marla
Olfactoria,
ReplyDeleteI was pretty shocked about the WGP, I can well believe there are different versions, or it's been reformulated, or something. Friends have tried my sample and agree it's ghastly. What happened??
Glad you like "pithy"- I'll start an English word of the week, and you do the same with Deutsch, OK?
-Marla
I am test driving Rubj and Onda. Originally I had not much cared for Onda, now, I fear I must own, preferably in EdP AND extrait. I'm doomed, I'm soooo weak. Rubj is wending it's way to me in EdP. These are so lovely and I highly recommend a try. Might as well jump all the way off the cliff and send for a sample of Kiki . . . eeeeeeeee
ReplyDeleteRubj, Onda, and Kiki...I have heard from over a dozen people now how, over a period of time, they really fell for these. They seem to require contemplation and time for full appreciation, but those are marks of true perfumes!
ReplyDelete-Marla
I love these short reviews...they are GREAT!!.. Thanks..
ReplyDeleteNatasha,
ReplyDeleteThanks, mini-reviews are fun, especially when I get to snark a bit....But we'll see how they measure up in a few weeks, will I have to eat my words??
-Marla
What olfactoriastravels said! We have been in discussions back channel about this issue, and a statement will be released by us both imminently...
ReplyDelete"Pithy" is a most useful word, and a fine goal for any writer. Would that be "kernig" or "praegnant" by any chance?
Vanessa,
ReplyDeleteOK, now I'm really curious, what is the gardenia mystery?? I looked it up on Makeup Alley and a few other sites, and opinions are deeply polarized. A mystery indeed....
-Marla
I'm always very careful with my first (perfume) impressions because they were almost always wrong sofar and later on, holding the full bottle I told to myself "what were you thinking ???!!!"...
ReplyDeleteHowever, my first impression about WGP was "a strange synthetic concoction" (a recent sample)
lady jane grey,
ReplyDeleteSo far, most of my impressions are holding true, though I'm getting more into the Pentachords. And the only good thing I can think of to say about WGP is that it only lasts a few minutes, then disappears completely! No need to scrub.
-Marla
Agree with all comments about WPG, which one me smelled more like men's deodorant (correction: CHEAP men's deodorant). Couldn't believe it, kept re-trying but it only got worse. Different versions? For anyone to actually buy and wear this, there'd have to be!
ReplyDeleteI agree, Maggiecat, and I'm waiting for Birgit and Vanessa's mystery to come out of the closet!
ReplyDelete-Marla
I'm testing the same sample pack now. I should stop buying these packs... :)
ReplyDeleteUndina,
ReplyDeleteWhich ones are you enjoying? My favorites are the Amouage Honour Woman, Pentachords White, and Mona d's Oud.
-Marla
Birgit and I will be coming out of the closet very shortly, and Lady Jane Grey's and Maggiecat's feedback lend further weight to our findings. Keywords: "recent sample". : - )
ReplyDeleteVanessa,
ReplyDeleteYes, "recent sample" can be a bad thing!
-Marla
Marla, the problem is that I'm NOT enjoying most I've tried so far - Verdant, WGP and Honour Woman (I can't complain about the last one - tuberose just isn't my thing). Honour Man is better but the time it leaves on my skin doesn't justify Amouage's price tag. I still have some hopes for the remaining samples though...
ReplyDeleteUndina,
ReplyDeleteI was initially very impressed with Honour Man, too, and some reviews have been rapsodic. But, like you, I found it fizzled away in less than an hour! As you say, not worth the price tag. Honour Woman is very much the Big White Floral, so yeah, if that's not a favorite category, you can sure give it a miss!
-Marla
That was fun! Thanks.
ReplyDeleteGlad you liked it, Dleep!
ReplyDelete-Marla