I ordered many (many) samples from LuckyScent, and they arrived yesterday.
One is a sample of La Fille de Berlin, which I wore throughout the evening yesterday and found to be absolutely lovely in its drydown. Classic without being stuffy. Glamorous, calm, subdued. A solid contender for an everyday scent. (But obviously I’m still testing out the rest.)
I’ll be writing down my thoughts on the rest of them as I try them out.
First up: Pulp by Byredo.
One Fragrantica reviewer said that this reminded them of Anthropologie. In fact, that’s the closest thing I can compare it to: it smells like the overpowering whack of scented candles when you step foot in an Anthropologie store. It absolutely smacks you upside the head with juicy, overripe fruit, in an almost-but-not-quite elegant way. There is a trace of that unsophisticated chemical smell that’s characteristic of Yankee Candle. I have trouble picturing the person who buys a Byredo perfume and chooses this particular one. As they say, it’s a no from me, dawg.
Second up: Enchanted Forest by The Vagabond Prince.
The bottle matches the scent beautifully here. A sour, balsamic blackcurrant, with plenty of green and a touch of spice. On very first sniff it really tells a story. Finding berries in the woods, pine needles underfoot on a foggy morning, a fire somewhere nearby. As it dries down it gets much sweeter, cloying even, but keeps the pine very much going. It may be a little bit too sweet for me to wear, but I’d definitely love for my house to smell like this all winter.
Third up: 1996 by Byredo.
The product of a collaboration with the photographers Inez and Vinoodh, and loosely based on their photograph “Kirsten 1996”. Amber galore, opulent, indulgent, thick, velvety, but soft. It reminds me a lot of the oud fragrances from L’Artisan Parfumeur, and of Iris from Le Labo. I would classify this one as a special occasion perfume—it just feels like evening wear. You’d dab it on right before you put on your most glamorous earrings. And your opera coat, if you have one.
Back with more perfume-related word salad tomorrow!
