My Fragrance Samples (that's the name of the company)

You know my motto: Try before you buy!

MyFragranceSamples.com is the perfect place to find fragrances to sample!

This is a hobby that I just cannot seem to get enough of, and the good thing is, there seems to be a never ending supply of fragrances available (hurrah!). I'm not an oversprayer, and I'm considerate with the scents I wear when I'm out. I know some of the gals in my perfume groups online don't care and they will spray what they want, when they want, but that's not me. On top of that, one of my co-workers is allergic to any fragrance, and now that masks are off again, I'm super careful how much I wear when I know he's going to be around.

At home, it was determined that some of the stronger fragrances I liked, induced allergies in my son, who hadn't previously had them. So much so, that I took him to an allergist before I made the connection (that was early on in my collection). Fortunately, the resale value on fragrance is great, and I sold the ones that bothered him and replaced them with gentler scents. 

To figure out if something will bother my teenager or not, I get samples before committing to a spray. It only takes one spray of something to tell if he's adverse. He'll sneeze in another room if it's not a good one (for him). I'm getting great at predicting which fragrance notes won't bother him, and that makes me super happy. In fact, I cannot remember the last time he sneezed!!

One company I love to get my samples from is My Fragrance Samples. They have a HUGE variety, great prices, lightning fast delivery, solid-as-a-rock customer service, and I get to try before I buy.

I catalog everything I try, adding my personal thoughts next to each one so I can remember what I have and have not tried. Then I add the scent to my Pinterest Boards. I also keep track of which fragrances seem very similar to me, so I don't buy two bottles with the same scent DNA.

This time, I ordered six samples, hoping to find one I liked enough to buy a full-sized bottle of, and much to my DELIGHT, there were FOUR that I enjoyed, one so much so that I purchased it right away. The list of the ones I sampled are below, in the order that I liked them. 

1. The one I bought instantly was Holidays by Mancera. This smells so good to me! The perfect beach scent. Some might call it a beach in a bottle. It's definitely a summer smell. Almost reminiscent of a delicious suntan lotion, coconut and floral. It truly reminds me of being outside, and I love it so, so much. The only down side to this, is I think it might be discontinued? I asked on the Mancera social media page, but did not get a reply yet. This was not available for sale on their site, but they do still have it pictured (it just says 'unavailable'). I purchased it from a retail site.

Top Notes: Sparkling Bergamot, Coconut Mid: Tiare Flower, Ylang-Ylang, and Steams Marine. Base Notes: Sandalwood, Vanilla Pods and White Musk.

2. Sundazed by Byredo was my second favorite. It's a linear scent to me, which means it doesn't really change from the time you spray it to the time it wears off (a lot of fragrances go through an opening/mid/base note change, this one does not). It's a nice, clean lemon scent. It doesn't last too long, a few hours, tops. It does NOT smell like a cleaning product, which is probably what I found it so endearing. It's challenging to find a fragrance that doesn't turn into Pledge or bathroom air freshener on your skin, when lemon is involved. This was not overly sweet or tart but was rather, just straight up lemony. I liked it. Very good for summer. This is highly likely to end up in my perfume collection soon.

Top Notes: Mandarin and California Lemon  Mid: Neroli and Arabian Jasmine Base: White Musk

3. Metallique by Tom Ford. This is soft and pleasant; it is clean at the start and almost baby producty at the end, but in a nice way. It also has a teensy bit of spice, and I suppose that is the pink pepper. I like it there though, it gives it an edge and keeps it from being too soft. No surprises at all, if I purchase a bottle of this in the near future. I like it.

Top Notes: Aldehydes, Pink Pepper and Bergamot. Mid: Heliotrope, Hawthorn and Lily-of-the-Valley. Base Notes: Vanilla, Ambrette (musk mallow), Peru Balsam and Sandalwood. 

4. Sorriso by Profumum Roma. Someone described this once as a 'smooth vanilla chocolate orange snuggle.' That description stuck in my head, so I was excited to see My Fragrance Samples offered samples to try. To me, it was more cocoa butter and suntan lotion, and not really a scent I will want to buy in the future. It was very sweet. I put this on late at night and fell asleep. The next morning was where the magic occurred. The drydown smells very beachy, in a great way. There was also a slightly sweet smell that I could detect, probably the vanilla. I really liked it after it tamed down a bit. I don't think I'll purchase a full-size bottle of this, but it was so nice to finally get to try it! I can see why it is so well-loved.

The notes listed on their website for this fragrance are: bitter chocolate, bitter orange, tropical woods and Vanilla.

5. Kirke by Tiziana Terenzi. This one is popular in some of the fragrance groups I am a part of... women especially seem to love it. There is quite a bit of positive chatter about the brand too. I've never been lucky enough to try it, so I was very happy to see it among the selections My Fragrance Samples sells. 

This one was NOT for me. It's sharp. Smelled a little like Ambroxan to me, but I don't see that listed in the notes. I won't be purchasing this one, for sure. I am still excited to try more from this perfume house. Maybe a different one will have a softer landing than this one did for me.

Top Notes: Sand, Cassis, Peach, Passionfruit, Pear and Raspberry. Mid: Lily of the Valley Base: Musk, Vanilla, Heliotrope, Patchouli, and Sandalwood.

6. Whiff of a Waffle Cone by Imaginary Authors: Gourmand scents, or scents that smell edible, are my favorite, so I had high hopes for this one. The description says it smells like you've walked into an ice cream shoppe. That is not what I got at all. It was strong. Obnoxious. Made me nauseous. It's a smell I've smelled before, but definitely not in an ice cream shop. Almost a generic cheap man's fragrance smell to me. Definitely not my cup of tea (or scoop of ice cream).

I've heard people say they enjoy this one, and I've heard people say they don't. Fragrance is so subjective. What one person loves, another one certainly does not (and vice versa).

The notes on their website say: Vanilla, Heavy Cream, Salted Caramel, Amyris, Orgeat, Saigon Cinnamon, and Ice Cream Shoppe.

These are all fragrances that are hard to find in stores. I have sampled the Tom Ford before (I think at a Nieman Marcus), but it was right after Covid, so the sales assistant would only put it on a card (not my skin) and while you can get a general feel for a fragrance that way, it's just not the same as wearing it. I was very glad to try all six of these scents. So, so happy that four of them were really nice. And three of them, I have no doubt, will end up in my house at some point (one already did). :)

Perfume makes me happy. I enjoy testing it, learning about it, and sharing my thoughts on what I have tried. I'm so glad the Internet exists because I've found so many groups/people who love to chat about fragrances too.

Whether you want to 'try before you buy' or are simply a perfume junkie like I am, My Fragrance Samples is a great place to purchase samples. Fragrances are NOT cheap, so getting the vials is a great way to save money too! I told you before, no more blind buying for me (and I've stuck to that 95%). ;)

Click HERE to see what else My Fragrance Samples has to offer.

If you buy some goodies of your own, come on back and tell me how you liked them.

 I'd love to know!