Traveling Fragrance Sample Box

Does anyone know what was in the official looking white Versace sample vial w/ golden cap (**edit-- might have been silver cap)? I really liked that one and couldn't find a name on it.

Thanks to Zombeezy for coordinating the fragrance box. A big thanks to those people who filled the box with such splendid vials. As others have said, trying all the fragrances can be daunting...truly appreciating each one is impossible. I thought I had trained well with all of my recent sample purchases. I was wrong. I may leave out quite a few of the great fragrances in the box in the list below, my apologies. I also apologize to whoever placed the Calvin Klein and 2 Versace samples into the box. I accidentily left those on my shelf this morning . They were replaced with Creed Silver Mountain Water and Parfum d'Marley Herod.


I shipped the box to eventi this morning 9/26. I already PM'd eventi about the details of shipment. I wanted to post a writeup of the fragrances I tried that stood out. I don't venture too far in the high-end fragrance world. My current favorites are Chanel Pour Monsieur, Encre Noire, and L'Occitane Baux. I have sampled some of the pricier stuff, Creed/Hermes/Tom Ford, but have yet to dive into a big purchase (+$100).


So here goes my take on some of the fragrances in the box in the order in which I tried them. These were quick notes I jotted down when a fragrance I had never tried stood out.

* Monotheme Black Label Leather. A great leather. Add a little rasberry and you have Tom Ford's kinda Tuscan Leather.

* Wm. Neumann Heartwood. At the tip top of my list to buy. Subtle ingredients that blended to perfection. Not even sure what made it stand out... just exactly what I was looking for in a fall fragrance.

* Encre Noire. What can I say... everyone should own/try this vetiver. A mainstay in my cupboard.

* m7 Oud Absolu. A great balsamic. Doubt I buy a decant because I am not an oud guy... yet. But if I did, I would buy this one. Great cedar/woody base note.

* Versace ?. Someone needs to fill me in. This is the one with the white bottle and gold cap. Great fragrance.

* Baldessarini Private Affairs. I have been looking for some summer scents and this one topped the list. Terrifc longevity. I would buy this one.

* Caron Yatagan. I heard quite a bit about this one on forums. It did not dissapoint. A bit dated with the powdery note, but I would still buy it. A great pine (?) and spicey note that I really dig.

* Kolnisch Juchten. My first thoughts were what a terrific musky, dark scent. Dark mood sort of stuff. This was the only fragrance I went back to sample a second time. I felt kind of guilty about that after I researched this one. I don't want to spoil the suprise for the other guys, let's just say this one is discontinued. There is quite the rabbit hole you can dive into on this one! Fantastic addition to the box. If someone has a line on this one, let me know

* Penguin Muskimgwear. Best overall summer/spring scent so far. Really easy, long lasting and enjoyable. I need more of this one!

* Tabac Rouge. Tobacco Vanilla without the super sweet vanilla. Very L'Occitane Baux with less woody. I am on the fence about buying this one because I enjoy Baux so much.

* Alfred Sung, Sung Homme. Terrific spring scent. REALLY digging this one. Most likely from the juniper berries I see listed on fragrantica. I love juniper berries and would like any recommendations (I have L'Occitane Cade cream) Only downside is the bright floral is a little too bright. One spray is plenty for this one.

* Versace Eros. Night on the town sort of vibe to this one. Agreeable with enough uniqueness to stand out in the "club" genre. A well banlanced dark, fruity smell.

* Ayala Espionage. Top notes, not so great (heavy musk lending to rubber) but the middle/baser notes are fantastic! Top of the list for leather accord purchase.

* Marly Lippizan. I will purchase a sample of this one. Not enough time to appreciate it. Tried to fit it in between three scents on the last day.

Pretty sure the Versace was one I threw in there. I'll see if my wife remembers which one it is.

Wow, great writeup jdawgl!! I'm putting my name on list again - I haven't tried any of those except Encre Noire which might have been my sample.

My current el-cheapo favorites are Bvlgari Black $31 for 2.5oz., and also Acca Kappa 1869 edc 3.3oz. $60.

Excellent - I'll update list after eventi receives the box. Thanks for your thoughts. We've had a few, including LBussy, who have done a fantastic job in that department.

The Versace I put in there was Eros. Not sure if it's the same one but that gives you a place to start.

I don't think it was the Eros, but I could be wrong. Thanks for adding all those fragrances to the box! Much appreciated.

LBussy said:

The Versace I put in there was Eros. Not sure if it's the same one but that gives you a place to start.

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The box has arrived and it's overwhelming!!!

Thanks for the update eventi, glad it arrived safely.

Please reach out to dangerousdon early to make sure the way going forward is smooth.

Interested in hearing your strategy on how to tackle an overwhelming box
~Z


42 eventi (11/23/14) - "9/28/15 - The box has arrived and it's overwhelming!!!"
43 dangerousdon (2/22/15) - I am sure the list is closed
44 Tarquinius (3/6/15) - I'd love to chock the box
45 lfs70 (3/17/15) - ".. nice selection of frag samples that I would gladly add to the box"
46 AndroiDad75 (3/27/15)
47 preston1000 (4/10/15)
48 chef8489 (5/08/15)
49 BJ Rose (6/03/15) "hoping I could jump"
50 PGHChris (11/19/14) - bumped from top to bottom - needs to contact me to get bumped back higher
51 pdfde (9/23/15) - looking for special literary professorial scent
52 Zombeezy (9/27/15)
:::List currently maintained by Zombeezy:::

Well I spent the last 90 minutes sorting, and I still have about 30 I want to try... I started with things I've heard good things about (Curve, GIT...) and some things I have clones of (Silver Mountain Water) and then I just opened bottles and started sniffing until I went through the whole box. I plan on wearing one a day, starting with Penhalligon's English Fern which I tried and loved in Vegas last year but never bought.

Tip: Keep some coffee beans handy and use them to refresh your nose in between samples. It helps, no idea why.

I do love the first few hours of English Fern. Pure Lavender with a hint of Geranium. Sadly gone from my skin after about 3 hours. It worked really well in Vegas maybe due to the zero humidity.

I tried Dirty English on the back of my hand before tucking the kids in last night and wasn't impressed - not unpleasant, but it barely projects and by the time I went to bed an hour or so later it was only a skin scent.

jdawgl - I'm with you on the Lippizan & Sung Homme - both fantastic scents.

I've decided to start up my Journal again, and put my reviews on there, so you can follow along if you want spoilers.

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/432007-Banner-Shaving-Day/page7

One a day was taking too long for me, so I would do one arm, then scrub it off half an hour later and do the other arm, scrub it off etc.. I'd do that several times each day, but still didn't have time to try them all so had to be selective about which ones actually to try on vs. just sniff and close, sniff and close.

The coffee bean trick is what I saw being used at the department stores like Nordstom's, but it never seemed to help as I tried multiple sample strips or sprays. When researching it online later, a US Berkeley scientist (Noam Sobel) explained that while the pleasantness of the smell was the same whether you sniff air or coffee beans in between samples, the intensity of the smell stayed the same between samples if you sniff coffee beans in between, but decreased if you sniffed air in between.

Can't wait! I thought my turn would never be up. Actually my name came up a lot quicker than I expected. Eventi, I sent you a PM a while back...did you get it?

Hi dangerousdon, thanks for checking in.

I doubt eventi has OD'd from too many samples to try out, lol, but it can be overwhelming.

I am glad he is enjoying it!

I am really interested in hearing techniques on how to "try" these all in case anyone comes up with something different than apply each arm, leave for an hour or two, wash off, try again.

Would be nice if you could use coffee beans to roll thru them faster and maybe some can, but when I've done that at Nordstroms, my nose shuts down after two or three scents.

dangerousdon said:

I am glad he is enjoying it!

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Sorry Don, I got your message!

Not dead yet, but I'm definitely feeling like there's no way to try all these... I wake up sometimes two hours before I need to get ready for the day, so I've been trying 2-4 fragrances each day before anyone else is awake. Yesterday I was wearing Eau Sauvage on one arm and ADP Colonia on another and when it was time to wake my wife before I jumped in the shower she said the scent woke her up as I came into the room.

I set some aside so I can wear them all day, and I just resign myself to the fact that there are too many to try them all.

Thanks to the person who put the empty sprayers in, btw. I'll fill them with scents I own which are not yet in there.

Zombeezy said:

Hi dangerousdon, thanks for checking in.

I doubt eventi has OD'd from too many samples to try out, lol, but it can be overwhelming.

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Just wanted to say I love this idea, but unfortunately I'm in South Korea

checkett said:

Just wanted to say I love this idea, but unfortunately I'm in South Korea

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I'm sorry to hear that. Moving boxes across international boudaries introduces many potential and real problems.

I wonder how many B&B members are in South Korea?

Yeah, sorry checkett. Possibly another shaving site might have a fragrance forum where the idea can put forward, or maybe on basenotes. Look for an international site, then check for fragrance sub-forum or consider setting one up. After awhile, there might be enough interest for a traveling box