Tuesday, June 27, 2006

Samples, Samples, Samples

I’m a little behind on sharing my sampling notes. I had intended on Saturday and Sunday to complete my reviews of the samples Victoria (from Victoria’s Own) so generously sent me to try. On Saturday Bob and I were attending a housewarming party, a late-afternoon barbecue in the heat and humidity, and I thought Niki De Saint Phalle EDT would be perfect.

I had showered and done my makeup, and while I was waiting for my hair to dry I spritzed on the scent, and then threw on an old t-shirt and shorts. We had a few hours to kill before the party, so I decided to cruise around the internet and look at blogs. But my plans were foiled by the smell. No, not the smell—the stench. The overpowering stench of white-wine vinegar coming from…coming from…from me. Bob came into the bedroom and, wrinkling his nose, said “What is that smell?”

All I can say is, I don’t know. This is a very fresh fragrance. I don’t know if it reacted badly with my body lotion (plain old Nivea CoQ10…and I generally wait a good thirty minutes before applying scent over lotion), or if it simply reacted badly with my personal chemistry. But I had to wash it off, and to console myself I spritzed on Anne Pliska.
It wasn’t the fault of Niki De Saint Phalle, and I’m sure of this because I caught a whiff of it on the t-shirt I was wearing, and it smelled delicious. I wish I could give you a better sense of what it might smell like on a person, but sadly, I cannot.

I took the day off on Sunday and wore Anais Anais, but I was back to sampling yesterday, so I tried my final sample from Victoria, i Profumi di Firenze Vaniglia de Madagascar. If you like a lot of vanilla in a fragrance, this is the one. The notes are simply vanilla orchid and vanilla bean. Bob said I smelled like a cookie, and indeed, I did smell like sugary sweet goodness all day long. It’s a very cozy way to smell, and this scent has great lasting power. I enjoyed it, but I admit I prefer the Ambra del Nepal.

Thanks again to Victoria for sharing these scents with me! It’s so much fun to try things other people love and have hand-picked.

And finally, yesterday I received my Anne Pliska from LusciousCargo. If you have never ordered anything from them, I tell you, it’s a treat! They carefully wrap your order so that it feels like you’re getting a present from a loved one, and they pack it in lavender potpourri. And of course, they also wrap up samples for you to try, and I’m wearing one today: Nanadebary Pink.

The notes in Pink are lily, Calabrias jasmine, Bourbon vanilla, clove, musk, myrtle, and sandalwood.

It’s a steamy, sticky mess here in Atlanta, so I wasn’t in the mood for anything too spicy and warm, but I wasn’t really in the mood for green, either. The second I sniffed Pink in the vial, I knew it would be the perfect thing to wear today. It’s a very light, fresh floral, with a soft hint of spice underneath, just enough to be a little sexy. I would call it a “sexy girl-next-door” scent; it doesn’t overwhelm on any level.

It’s pink, and in fact I was surprised that it didn’t contain any peony, because it reminds me just a bit of Jovan Pink Musk (which I really like, so that’s a compliment). I thought for sure that peony was the floral note; jasmine, which usually stands out, doesn’t come through in this scent. But what makes Pink more sophisticated than Pink Musk is the addition of sandalwood and vanilla, which give it that spicy, slightly dusky undertone. It’s a lovely, simple fragrance.

*photos from LusciousCargo.com