The Sample Station: 7 Days of Perfume

Alba Avram Haziran 17, 2021

No Spend June is an amazing chance for me to not spend any money and to make use of the hundreds of products that reside in my make up draw. One of the most forgettable sections in my make up draw is the sample section. It grows increasingly bigger but never really gets any smaller. I always think samples are a bit of a weird thing. For the most part you get them as a marketing ploy when you purchase. Sometimes they are products you genuinely want to try so you use them; If they aren't, then quite often they sit in a draw ready to be forgotten about. I love a sample but even this happens to me. Since my last No Spend June, I haven't really touched my sample draw. It's not quite up to the amount it was at this time last year but it has certainly grown to the point where something needed to be done and this month my sample problem has been solved.

Over No Spend June, I take it as my opportunity to use some of the samples I have stashed away. For some reason I always save samples as I think they will be good for travelling but when it comes to travelling I never take them. Realistically, unless you are staying somewhere overnight, most samples are not big enough to be taken away. Plus as they are products I haven't used before I always worry that the product won't work for me or I will have a reaction to it and that will affect my time away in a negative way. So I end up sticking to what I know. One sample which is a good example of my hoarding habits is perfume samples.

Now I love perfume and I like to change mine regularly. Through this process of trial and error, I know what I like and if I don't think I will like something I don't really give it a chance. This year I have a whole range of perfume samples which I am going to test: some I've received when I've purchased something, some are from magazines and some were part of event goody bags. How it works is: I am going to give them all a go for a day, test them out and see if any take my fancy. I use 7 perfumes over the course of 7 days to find out which one is my favourite. A bit like a game show but, somehow, even more shit. Last year my favourite was Dior Miss Dior Blooming Bouquet which I already knew I loved but it remained my favourite. There were a few surprises. I really did not expect to like a Marc Jacobs fragrance but Daisy Dream was quite a pleasant surprise. This year I have quite a mix of perfumes and none of them are my usual type so we will see how I get on. By the way make yourself a brew before you settle down to read this, it is a long one.

Day One = Tom Ford Santal Blush

To ease myself into this year's perfume exploration, I thought I would go with a perfume I already know and like. Santal Blush is the only other Tom Ford scent I have considered buying other than Soleil Blanc but something has always put me off. Whenever I walk past the counter in Harvey Nichols, I always test it and luckily when I was buying some make up, I was very kindly given the option of having a sample of it, which I eagerly took. This sample has sat untouched for a while so it made sense to include it within my sample week. Before I even get into the scent, I already have a complaint and it is to do with the stupidity of the bottle the sample comes in. Very kindly Tom Ford use a pipette to put a small amount of the perfume in a tiny bottle. This means that the samples are slightly larger than your average sample and they can offer you any of the Private Blend scents. They are a decent size so it allows you to test out the perfume for a couple of days because the smallest size bottle (50ml) is around £150 which is most definitely a considered purchase. As they put the scent in a little pot, it does not have a spray lid. It is literally a tiny bottle which you have to delicately touch to your skin and you have to pray that not a lot comes out.

Well on the day I gave Santal Blush a go, I made a right mess! I'd managed to dab some onto my neck with only one drip of perfume making its way down to my cleavage. I thought I had made it to the safe zone, my wrists, but I couldn't have been more wrong. I applied it to one wrist with no trouble but the other was a disaster. The bottle slipped so I split half of the perfume down my arm. There was so much I literally had no idea how it was ever going to dry. I had to rub it all over my other arm in hope of getting rid of some but even that didn't work. Eventually it all dried but I have never smelt so strongly of perfume in my life. I smelt like that woman who walks past you and leaves a cloud of Chanel behind, but in my case it was a very strong scent of Tom Ford. Slightly more unique than Chanel but not really what I was going for. After my perfume explosion I definitely had the opportunity to test it out and to gather my thought on it.

Santal Blush is a very soft perfume but despite that softness there is a spicy essence underneath. I think it is quite a sexy scent but but not overly masculine which is the sort of scent I can get on board with. Some Tom Ford scents like Noir Pour Femme have that instinctively sexy scent but they are too rich and do not suit me but there is a softness to Santal Blush. As with all Tom Ford scents there is an unusual mix of notes:

Top note = Indian Spices, Cumin, Carrot Seed
Heart Note = Jasmine, Ylang-ylang, Rose
Base Note = Sandalwood, Cedar, Benzoin, Musk and Oud

From the notes, you can tell this is a rich scent: with ingredients like Oud, Jasmine, Sandalwood and Rose it has a strong depth to the scent. The top note gives the scent an initial spiciness, the heart note soften the scent and the base remains sweet but rich with Benzoin giving a touch of almond and a lot of woody notes. I have to say when I first apply Santal Blush, I am not sold on it. I think the spice is too much for me but as the heart note/florals come through, I start to enjoy the scent more. The notes start to mingle together and soften, providing a good balance of spice and floral. Usually I am not overly fussed on this floral/oriental type scent but in the end I do really like Santal Blush. Obviously it is hard to comment on it's longevity as I literally took a bath in it and I potentially had enough on my skin to keep me smelling good for the following week. However all of the Tom Ford perfumes I have used in the past have always been very long wearing. Despite the incident of me coating myself in it , I did really enjoy wearing this for the day and I will definitely be using the tiny bit I managed to save at a later date.

Rating = 9/10 - Not as floral as I usually like and that is the only reason I have no given this a 10/10. It is a bit spicy compared to the scents I usually like, plus at £158 for a 50ml bottle I don't think I would want to spend that much on this scent.

Day Two = Dior Miss Dior

Last year I tried out a Miss Dior fragrance but it was the Blooming Bouquet edition. Blooming Bouquet ended up being my favourite sample from last year and last month I actually treated myself to a bottle. This year, it is the turn of Miss Dior Eau De Parfum. I've tried Miss Dior before however it was reformulated last year. To me, the change hasn't made a massive difference but I was never an avid wearer of this perfume. I'm sure people who have worn it everyday would notice the difference more than me. My mother actually wears the Eau De Toilette so I do feel that this slightly too similar for me to be able to wear it regularly. Perfumes do smell different on everyone but I do not want to smell the same as my mum. I decided to try Miss Dior on the second day as I wanted something quite feminine and girly. After my Tom Ford explosion from the day before my jacket still smelt of Santal Blush so I didn't want anything that would clash. I also needed something that could hold it's own again a powerhouse scent like a Tom Ford perfume and Dior seemed to be a good option.

Miss Dior is much sweeter than Santal Blush and definitely has a more floral component. To the point where I am unsure if it is even too sweet for me. The notes and composition of the fragrance, in theory, should be something I like:

Top note = Bergamot, mandarin, Lemon
Heart note = a mixture of different roses. The main two being Grasse Rose which is actually from Christian Dior's home in Grasse and Damask Rose
Base Note = Rosewood, Patchouli

Realistically this has everything I like about a perfume within it but something about it just doesn't sit right on me. I mean it smells good but I think it is slightly too sweet and it is very strong. My skin makes scents sweeter so if it starts off very sweet, then I make it even worse. Typically I prefer a Eau De Toilette or a lighter scent as I can get headaches from anything too strong. A perfume that actually makes me feel ill is Dior J'Adore. I always wanted to wear it when I was younger as I loved the way it smelt bur it is just too strong. Personally I couldn't wear Miss Dior regularly but if you like a floral scent and want something that is going to last, this is a good option. For me, Blooming Bouquet is still my favourite Dior scent and so far Santal Blush is the winner of the sample war.

Rating = 7/10 - I like it but it is too strong. I much prefer Blooming Bouquet which is a bit lighter and fresher.

Day Three = Jo Malone London Red Roses

I am an avid Jo Malone London fan, I like to keep up with new launches and I know most of their range but that doesn't mean I've tried everything. At some point, I've smelt each scent but I tend to stick to what I know. Red Roses from Jo Malone is a funny scent. I have smelt the cologne before but I never really considered it as a perfume I would wear. However I always have the Red Roses Diffuser in my bedroom and I adore the Bath Oil. If you are looking for the ultimate luxury, a bath using the Jo Malone Bath Oils is the epitome of luxury.

I have to admit straight rose scents tend to be a bit much for me and there is a fine line between floral and granny. Personally I think this sits somewhere on the border of super floral and granny but at the moment I am undecided if it has crossed either line. In the Bath and Body products and the Home products Red Roses is much more mellow but there is a strength to the perfume that makes me struggle to wear it for a day. Quite like Miss Dior, Red Roses has a heady floral scent that just gives me a headache. As I was wearing the perfume, I was reminded of home and I did feel a sense of comfort through wearing the scent. This would be nice if I was travelling and missing home, it was sort of like having a piece of it with me.

The notes of this fragrance are very paired back so that the rose can shine through the scent. If you do not like Rose, you will not like this scent at all! The notes are:

Top Note = Lemon
Heart note = 7 Rose Accord
Base note = Honeycomb

The lemon gives the top note an initial sharpness and clarity which cuts through the sweetness of the Rose. The combination of 7 rose scents means that this is a very full rose scent and it is does smell like a very traditional rose but it also has a very strong green note. The base is rather unusual; usually you would have woods, spices or musk in the base notes but in Red Roses the base note is Honeycomb. This sweetens the scent, which definitely comes through the more you wear it, but also allows the rose to remain dominant. There are no deep base notes making the perfume heavy. That is the one thing I like about Red Roses, it is a true rose scent. It doesn't smell overly sweet or artificial and when you first spray it, it almost smells like freshly cut roses; there is a green note that makes it quite Earthy but as the base note of Honeycomb comes through it is sweetened. This is a difficult one for me as I do like the scent but just not as a perfume. To wear this all day was too much for me but I will continue to use this to scent my room and my baths.

Rating = 6/10 - I do like Red Roses but not as a perfume. for everyday wear this would be too strong

Day Four = Juicy Culture

I can safely say I have no idea where this sample came from. It must have been an event goody bag but Christ knows which one. The Juicy Culture brand is not for me. Growing up, I absolutely loved The Simple Life and all I wanted was to be Paris Hilton. Now a days I prefer Nicole. However back in the day they basically made the Juicy Culture tracksuit famous. I really wanted one but as a 25 year old, I can safely say I would no longer want one. I won't wear trackies out of the house so what would be the point of having one that is so expensive, just to lie around my house in it. My feelings about the tracksuits pretty much sum up my feeling about this perfume. This is not a perfume I would have picked out for myself and I wouldn't have even really wanted a sample but as I had one I thought I would give it a go.

I decided to try this one on a Saturday as I really wasn't sure I was going to like it and to be honest it was good that I did. I've never smelt this before but I had a feeling I wasn't going to like this and I was right. Before covering myself in this fragrance. I started with one spritz on my wrist and from the moment I got a smell of the perfume, I instantly turned my nose up. There is absolutely nothing I like in this scent. To me, this is the sort of scent I would have maybe liked when Simple Life was on. But to be honest even then I was into Dior so I'm not sure about that. This scent has that same injection of youth that the Marc Jacobs perfumes have. The notes in this perfume are:

Top note = Raspberry, Pomelo, Passion Fruit
Heart note = Gardenia, Heliotrope, Sweet Pea, Rose De Mal
Base note = Soft Musk, Warm woods, Amber

All of these notes combine to make it really sweet. I really bring out the Raspberry which I have to say is not my favourite scent. When I first sprayed it, it was so strong and I had only sprayed it on my wrist. As with all perfumes it did mellow but that overly sugary sweet scent never went away. I thought as some of the notes came through there might be a bit of depth but no, I was wrong. As you can probably tell I did not like this perfume one bit and I can safely say I would never buy it. I'm just glad I tried it on the weekend so no one smelt me.

Rating = 1/10 - Nothing about this perfume was for me - officially my lowest rating yet!

Day Five - Tom Ford Mandarino Di Amalfi

After a few days break due to my hayfever ruining my life and my sense of smell, I decided to go back to Tom Ford to get my back into the perfume testing mood. Mandarino Di Amalfi is very different the perfumes I usually go for. As you can probably tell from what I've already said I love a floral and this is a citrus scent. Looking at the notes, it does contain floral notes but they feature within the heart note. Much like Santal Blush, I much prefer this scent when it has been worn a little bit.

Top note = Tarragon, Mint, Blackcurrant, Grapefruit, Lemon, Basil
Heart note = Black Pepper, Coriander, Orange Blossom, Sage, Jasmine
Base note = Vetiver, Amber, Labdanum, Musk

When you first apply the scent, there is a real pepperiness which comes from the basil and tarragon, it is almost a grassy scent, as it is worn this then blends with the citrus scents more and after 15 minutes more of the heart note comes through. As the heart note blends with the top note, I began to like it even further. Orange Blossom and Jasmine are both very strong, heady florals and they balance out all of the other more herbaceous notes to soften the scent but they don't make it overly feminine. As I wore this throughout the day I realised what an incredible Summer scent this would be be for a guy. There is nothing which would distinctly make this for a man or a woman, it is the embodiment of a unisex scent. Typically I don't like these sort of scents as I tend to like scents which are sweeter but oddly I do not mind this one. Naturally I make scents sweeter than they are supposed to be but I actually love how this scent developed.

After the disaster I had with Santal Blush, I now know I need to be careful when applying these Tom Ford samples. As I wasn't quite sure about this scent when I smelt it in the bottle I did not want to cover my entire arm in it but it turns out I would have probably been quite happy if it did happen. Despite this not being my usual type of scent, I loved the way it smelt and it made a lovely change from wearing hyper-feminine fragrances. I wouldn't buy this as £153 for a 50ml bottle is more than I would want to spend on this scent, I enjoy it, but not that much. If it had been around £50 then I would potentially have given this a go. I've smelt quite a few of the citrus Private Blends and none of them really took my fancy but it just shows that if you smelt it in store for a minute, your opinion can be completely different once you've tried it for a bit longer.

Rating = 8/10 - Lovely scent, not my usual type but I liked it. I wouldn't buy it due to the price and the initial scent which is slightly too peppery for me.

Day Six - Derek Lam 10 Crosby - Drunk on Youth

Randomly I received this perfume sample with a Sephora order. I didn't think I could receive perfume samples from Sephora as they ship the package but when I opened my order, this sample was sat right in the middle of the box. I have to say I had never heard of this brand before. Having looked into it, it is a fashion brand who also make fragrances. They have quite a few different scents but this particular one is called Drunk on Youth. I have to say I was worried about liking this perfume as I knew there would be no way I could but it unless I, or someone else I know, is heading to the states. Turns out I do like it but not enough to buy it.

As the name suggests this is a very youthful scent. When I first tried this it distinctly reminded me of something I had smelt before and I think I may have nailed it. To me, this smells like a combination of Marc Jacobs Daisy Dream crossed with Dior Pure Poison. It has that light fruitiness that Daisy Dream has but it has a depth, much like Pure Poison. Anywhere I have read about this fragrance, it claims that it only has two notes: Honeysuckle and Apple. I'm not sure, I feel like there must be something else in there which provides a more woody note. The Apple is definitely a dominant top note as it is very crisp and sweet as you initially spray the perfume. As it sits more, the Honeysuckle comes out. I actually like the scent of Honeysuckle, we have some in our garden but typically I do not like it in a perfume. I have to say I do like that this perfume is very light and simplistic. In a way this sort of reminds me of the clarity and ease of a Jo Malone London scent, just without the expensive price tag or the luxury scent.

One problem I did note, especially in comparison to the others, is that this does not last very long on me. I did have to keep topping it up throughout the day. Typically a floral perfume/sweet perfume radiates from my skin but I didn't find that happened with this scent. If Apple/Honeysuckle are the only notes, there is nothing within the scent to give it longevity, usually a deep base note would do that. However that is the only negative about this scent.

Rating = 7/10 - Not my favourite, certainly not the worst. A pleasant, simple scent but it will not last all day.

Day Seven - Jo Malone London Wild Bluebell

I have to say Wild Bluebell is not too dissimilar to yesterdays perfume. They are both very light, floral, crisp scents. Obviously with different notes but the vibe is sort of the same. Despite having used the vast majority of Jo Malone London scents, Wild Bluebell has evaded me. The whole light floral family doesn't house any of my favourite Jo Malone London scents and actually contains the two I like the least. I didn't realise Red Roses was actually classed as a light floral, but it is, and Wild Bluebell sits alongside it. I have to say I was intrigued as to what this would smell like as Wild Bluebells do not have a very strong scent; unless you are in an entire meadow of them. I was given the sample when I recently bought Plum Blossom and I thought it would be perfect to test this week. The notes of this fragrance are:

Top note = Wild Bluebell
Heart note = Persimmon
Base note = White Musk

I believe this is probably why the sales assistant thought I would like Wild Bluebell, because it also contains White Musk, similar to Plum Blossom.

I thought this was going to be a really light fragrance that I had to keep topping up throughout the day but that was not the case. I don't know whether or not it is because this isn't my usual sort of perfume but it seemed to be radiating from my skin. On me, it does come across quite fresh and very floral. I thought it smelt a bit like a good washing powder, it has that almost powdery quality to it. The floral element in the top note is lovely, it isn't overly sweet like some of the other scents I have tried. This has an almost peachy quality to the scent which I believe comes from the Persimmon. For Spring, I think this would be a beautiful scent but the current climate just doesn't fit with this perfume. I can see why this wasn't my favourite but there are certainly other scents Jo Malone London that I dislike more *cough* French Lime Blossom *cough*. I did try pairing Wild Bluebell with my ultimate favourite Jo Malone scent which is Peony and Blush Suede but Peony overpowered the Wild Bluebell.

Rating = 7/10 - Nothing outstanding, also nothing to hate. I would recommend this scent if you like a light floral scent which is not going to be too overpowering.

Compared to last year, I don't feel like any of the fragrances really stood out for me. Don't get me wrong there were plenty I liked but I don't think I liked any enough to actually buy them. I would say all of the Tom Ford scents were on the hit list and if they were cheaper I would have bought Santal Blush. The Jo Malone London scents were nice but I will stick to what I know, plus I wouldn't like these enough to replace my current collection. Juicy Culture possibly takes the title of the worst perfume I have tried over the past two years, it really was not for me at all! I potentially liked the bottle for the Derek Lam 10 Crosby scent more than I liked the actual scent but I would be intrigued to find out more as I did love the simplicity of the fragrance. I always love changing my perfume and taking the time to use testers/samples is a great way of finding a new one. Unfortunately this time, none of them took my fancy.

This is actually my final post for No Spend June so I hope you enjoyed this month of finding ways not to spend money on beauty.