You change out your wardrobe in the autumn/winter months, so why not your fragrance collection? I have been wanting to try some of the most talked about niche fragrances for a while, so I decided to order a few samples. With price tags this premium, you definitely want to try before you buy the full-sized bottle.
Underneath each review, you’ll notice that I listed the actual top notes for each fragrance since I was basing the blind reactions off of the top notes. If you’d like to try any of these fragrances yourself, I ordered all of these samples from Microperfumes.com. I have ordered from this company twice now and highly recommend! Use my link to shop and receive 30% off your order.
Gentle Fluidity Gold by Maison Francis Kurkdjian
At first Gentle Fluidity Gold smells very nice, but it smells like the general perfume smell when you enter a department store. It smells very nice on the skin, very vanilla and pleasant. I can imagine you would get compliments from anyone because it’s just a general nice smell. Definitely a vanilla fragrance. The longer it wears on your skin, the prettier it develops. It’s just very nice.
Actual Top Notes: Vanilla, Amber and Musk
Gypsy Water by Byredo
The top note in Gypsy Water is very aquatic and strong, what I associate with male colognes. But I can see why it’s considered a unisex fragrance, because there is a touch of femininity to the fragrance as well. Kind of a spicy undertone when it’s on the skin, it’s nice!
Actual Top Notes: Juniper, Lemon, Bergamot and Pepper
Angels Share by Killian
Angels Share has a very pleasant top note. It smells kind of sweet yet spicy, not quite vanilla, but something sweet like maybe cinnamon or spice. It’s not your average fragrance, which is really nice. I’m not familiar with whatever note I’m smelling but it’s different in a good way and I really enjoy it.
Actual Top Note: Cognac
Santal 33 by Le Labo
Santal 33 has a very strong top note that smells like cedar or pine, some type of wood home fragrance. Like a candle or diffuser. I have definitely never worn a fragrance like this before. It reminds me of a home fragrance, so I’m interested to see how it develops on the skin. Update, not a fan.
Actual Top Notes: Sandalwood, Papyrus and Leather
Bal d’Afrique by Byredo
Bal d’Afrique smells fresh, maybe with a bit of citrus notes. Very gender neutral. Not offensive. I’m picking up orange as one of the notes. It does kind of remind me of home cleaning supplies, but there’s also a sweet note at the end. When you apply it to skin, I’m picking up more wood notes, but not as intense of a wood as Santal 33. The notes also get sweeter as it wears on the skin longer too. I really like it.
Actual Top Notes: Amalfi Lemon, Tagetes, Black Currant, Bergamot and African Orange Flower.
Santal Blush by Tom Ford
Santal Blush has a very strong top note but it’s also a bit sweet. Woodsy notes. Also, some leather notes. When applied to the skin, I think I’m pulling more leather notes than Wood on the skin. It kind of reminds me of the Crayola crayon scent dandelion, which was one of my favorite scented crayon smells, but I don’t know if I want to smell like that. Yeah it smells exactly like the dandelion Crayola crayon.
Actual Top Notes: Spices, Cinnamon, Caraway, Fenugreek and Carrot Seeds
L’eau d’Issey by Issey Miyake
The top note in L’eau d’Issey is very fresh, soapy almost. This is another new fragrance profile to me. I haven’t smelled many scents reminiscent of soap. I also smell floral notes. It’s a very nice fragrance.
Actual Top Notes: Lotus, Melon, Freesia, Rose Water, Rose, Calone and Cyclamen
Burberry Brit
Burberry Brit is warm, sweet, just really nice and pretty. Definitely a fall/winter scent. I actually purchased the full-sized bottle in the past and used to wear it in college so this is the first time I’ve smelled it in over 10 years. It’s still a really good fragrance. I love it.
Actual Top 3 Notes: Almond, Lime and Pear
What I’ve learned: I am not drawn towards Woody scents or scents that are heavy on Wood notes. I prefer vanilla, floral and gourmand scents. And some fresh scents.
*Disclaimer: If you use my provided link from Microperfumes, I will receive compensation from the company. This is no additional cost to you and does not affect how much you pay for an item. I have purchased from Microperfumes with my own money and this link was provided to me for being a previous customer.
The Emerald Glam 