Samples R Us
I love receiving samples. Especially of perfumes I haven’t tried yet. I think perfume samples is a vital part of any self-respecting perfume aficionado’s life. If there is ever the best and most efficient way to market a fragrance (other than giving away free bottles - ha!), it’s to supply the folks with samples, *not* putting a hot (anorexic) chick on the perfume ad. Opinions may differ here, of course. There’s nothing that infuriates me the most, in relation to the fragrant part of my life, than when I’m refused a sample. That usually happens at certain department stores (hello, Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s) that seem to live by the tactic that a customer is clueless, incapable of making any perfume decisions and is there to shell dollars with no particular interest in the product itself. It’s like they go through a Soviet-inspired training with emphasis being on they as sales people know best, they have your future in their hands, and you better shut up and obey. The whole point of samples is to actually, um, sample which means try, test on your skin, experience. Stepping off the soapbox now as there’s more I want to say in this post on the subject - I want to share my impressions of what I’ve sampled this week. The samples came from the lovely Luckyscent - big applause to them for always being so generous with samples.
Eau de Cacao by Coppeneur - created by a German chocolatier, the scent is for those who prefer to apply chocolate externally as opposed to internally. I don’t fall under this category but if you do, you’ll find yourself smelling like rum, fruit, jasmine, sandalwood, chocolate, praline, tonka bean, vanilla, musk, Peru balsam. OK, perhaps not all that all at once but Eau de Cacao does indeed smell like the most luscious, creamy milk chocolate imaginable.
MoslBuddJewChristHinDao by Elternhaus - cassis, basilic, marioana base, mate, immortelle, labdanum, olibanum, rose, gaiac, black pepper, vetiver, sandalwood, cedar wood, patchouli, musk, amber. Well, what can I say. Other than being a poor 10 Corso Como copycat, ThisIsTheMostPretentiousAndRidiculouslyPricedScentEverCreatedUnderTheSun.
Kasaneka by Menard - an extremely inoffensive floral. A wallflower of a scent. Seems like all the good stuff went into the bottle design instead of the composition, although the notes might state otherwise: hamanasu (Japanese rose), basil, ginger, nutmeg, cardamom, bergamot, orange, carnation, heliotrope, jasmine, ambrette seed, sandalwood, vetiver, cedar, vanilla, musk. Extremely fleeting and understated.
Eau de Polder by L’Essence de Mastenbroek - hay, grass, earth, herbs. Most of my pleasant childhood memories revolve around summers spent in the countryside, so I love this scent for its evocative powers. I do not want to smell like that, however. Besides, I get a very distinct milky smell of cows. Yoiks!
I’m vicious today! But sampling is always fun, whether you like the scent or not. Share what you’ve sampled this week, if you feel so inclined. Happy weekend, all!
Image source: www.istockphoto.com
16 comments November 10th, 2006