HelloHelen is the Best Discovery Set I have tried in a Long Time

HelloHelen's niche perfumes have got me excited!

Let me start by saying that I get excited about trying any new fragrance. When I know a new perfume is coming in the mail, it is not unusual for me to rearrange my whole schedule to be here for delivery (if possible). This discovery set though, from HelloHelen, has been an ever better than typical fragrance experience. The first perfume sample had me saying, oooh! and then that kept happening. Usually in a discovery set there will be one or two total that I like, IF I'm lucky. That was not the case with this set. After the 4th or 5th one in, I was saying out loud, "These are all bangers!" 

I tried 12 samples in the discovery set and one bonus sample that was sent as well. Out of all of those, there were only two that I would not be happy to own in a full-sized bottle. Talk about a fantastic discovery kit. I am now 100% sold on this brand! I want to shout about it from the rooftops. I want to tell influencers, so they'll shout about it from their video screens. HelloHelen is a top-notch wonderful brand that any and everyone who enjoys a good fragrance, should try.

If you like perfume, or if you know someone who does, do yourself (or them) a favor and tell them to give HelloHelen Niche Perfumes a try.

For those interested in my thoughts on the scents, or who want to hear how they sound to help you choose which ones to try, I'll give a brief description of my first impressions of each, in the order I tried them from the sampler box.

Formula 021*

I like it! It is familiar in a warm kind of way. It dries soft to the skin but is not 100% a skin scent, it still offers sillage. Very soft and pleasant. A great way to introduce yourself to the brand! 

Notes: dark chocolate, grapes, coffee, bergamot, pineapple, jasmine, green apple, cocoa, Madagascar Vanilla.

* Note: All of the others listed below are available for sale on the USA website. This one I could only find on the Canadian website.

Love Before 12

This is a bright grapefruit straight away, pink grapefruit. It's so nice. Refreshing. Then it turns into grapefruit and slight, soft florals. A lot of the citrus brightness fades away but it is still a happy scent. As it continues to morph, as niche fragrances almost always do, it become primarily floral with little peeks of citrus every now and again. When it's completely dry, about 20 minutes in, it has a delicious sweet note that stays.

Notes: floral notes, blackberry, vetiver, grapefruit, cedar, musk

Sexy Lady in Ukraine

This fragrance is bright and pretty with a great mix of notes. It's floral, tropical and a little bit sweet (probably the tiare) with just a tinge of fruit. When I say fruit, I mean the right kind of fruit (not something heavy or too ripe). It's probably the blackcurrant saying hello. I really, really enjoy this fragrance. In the middle of the perfume's transition, I smell coconut and bright fruit, again the fruit has that perfect twinge of "I'm here," and a little sandalwood. 

Notes: grapefruit, mango, coconut, blackcurrant, jasmine, tiare, sandalwood, vanilla

Pretty Woman

Are you kidding me??? That is what I said, out loud and very loudly, when I tried this one. How can so many samples in one set be so good???  Like I said, it's not common to find so many to enjoy at once, but this brand is HANDS-DOWN amazing!

This is a scent that is very slightly woody in the background with a rich cashmeran scent being more prominent and I enjoyed it start to mid, and then it dried down and I loved it. In addition to the faint woods resting in the background and the rich cashmeran, a wonderful black vanilla yummy goodness, can't-get-enough-of-it smell came through and I was in love. 

Notes: cherry, pink pepper, bergamot, black vanilla, heliotrope, neroli, coumarin, cashmeran, musk, labdanum, abmroxan. 

Formula 014

This is one of two that I didn't care for. It reminded me of Parfum de Marly's Delina (not a dupe, but definitely a relative). I am probably the only person on the planet (only a slight exaggeration) who doesn't like Delina, but I surely do not. 

Notes: lychee, pear, bergamot, rose, oud tree, wood chips, Madagascar Vanilla, amber.

Shine Bright Like a Diamond

It's so good. A sweeter, not as potent version of Hypnotic Poison (from Dior), but still so similar. It's a rich, sweet darker vanilla scent, perfect for date night. 

Notes: white flowers, hedion, mimosa, vanilla, ambergris, musks

Sexy Lady in Paris

I smell almond and iris, both are notes that I almost always enjoy, and I do with Sexy Lady in Paris as well. This is an easy reach that would be inoffensive for work or day events. I have to be very careful what I wear to work, but this would be fine. The beauty of this is that even though it would be a great scent for the a.m., it does have enough depth where you could also wear it in the p.m. It would just be a scent for yourself to enjoy or maybe someone who had you in their arms all snuggled up for a spin around the dance floor. The projection is not huge, but sometimes a scent that sits closer to the skin is just right.

Notes: almond milk, iris, freesia, vanilla, tonka bean, musk

Sexy Lady in Monaco

When you first put this on on your skin, it smells a lot like Baccarat Rouge 540 (as so many fragrances these days do). It is 100% unisex, and has a very sweet burnt sugary smell that is a real crowd-pleaser. This is the fragrance to wear if you want to get compliments. It does smell slightly woody on the skin, in addition to the B540 type of scent, which makes it feel lighter...not as thick, but it's still very rich. While I'm not a a huge fan of Baccarat (my oldest son surely is though), I do enjoy the Sexy Lady in Monaco. I guess taking out the thickness made it a winner for me. This is a big surprise for me because I thought that type of scent was just a scent profile I didn't enjoy. Turns out, with this one I do.

Notes: Egyptian Jasmine, cedar, ambergris, woody notes

True, Confident, Successful

In my fragrance groups, women are always asking about tea fragrances, now I have another great one to recommend (good tea fragrances are hard to find, and this is the second one I have found out of many that I have tried, that I would be comfortable to recommend). THIS is a tea fragrance, through and through. Though I do detect a little wood in here somewhere, what I primarily smell is a nice green tea. It is a light fragrance, day wear, for sure. It sits close to the skin. It's easy to enjoy it.

Notes: Bergamot, mandarin, blackcurrant, green tea, musk, petitgrain, sandalwood, galbanum

You Belong to Me 

This is a traditional perfumy (not headache-inducing perfumy) and flowery fragrance that I would expect not to appreciate because I'm not usually a fan of too many white flowers. This fragrance defies logic however, and does not have the traditional white flower overload one would expect while wearing gardenia, jasmine, AND honeysuckle. In fact, though I can detect floral, there is not one of those flowers I can identify specifically and that is amazing. It also has caramel listed as a note, which is something I typically enjoy, but I can't smell that either. This is a light, happy, pleasant scent that makes me want to reach for a sundress and head outside to take a walk near a field full of flowers. It smells good from the first spray, but by the time it settles, this is just so very pretty. 

Notes: Gardenia, jasmine, honeysuckle, vanilla, amber, caramel

Formula 05

Formula 05 is stronger to me. Definitely not a kick off your shoes and get on the dance floor kind of scent, but more of an I'm wearing pearls today kind of fragrance. It smells classic and classy but it has a bit of citrus cutting through to keep things from getting overly serious. This is like your most competent, beautiful boss babe who occasionally shares a wink or a slight smirk, that you are certain you have just seen...but can you be sure? The amber is what stays most prominent until the end, and it lasts for a very long time on your skin, even longer on your clothing.

Notes: Sicilian Orange, Calabrian Bergamot, grapes, white musk, amber, Madagascar Vanilla

Formula 015

This one was too pungently earthy for me. I'm not sure what throws it for me, perhaps the musk? I don't smell any powder or iris, but If I did, I think it might save it. This was the second one that I did not care for at all.

Notes: Spanish Jasmine, Iris, wood shavings, powder, musk

Too Many Berries

If done right, can you ever have too many berries? I do smell sweet, juicy berries in the opening notes, but there is also a surprise clean smell. It's not soapy, but close enough to make you think of an upscale lemon and berry scented soap. This is also creamy and wears well. This fragrance gives me a little pep in my step. As it starts to dry down more, it almost reminds me of a lemon/berry drink. So much so, that it could easily have led to me making one if I'd have had the ingredients in the house today (power of suggestion, and all of that) but it still maintained that slightly clean smell in the background. I like it. It's great for summer and I don't have anything like it already in my perfume selections. This is a great scent for keeping spirits high, or providing an instant burst of pick-me-up. 

Notes: Black Currant, lemon, red berries, bergamot, vanilla, musk, sandalwood, amber

My Top 5

I was going to pick my top 3 but that was too difficult to try and manage. I'm not kidding when I say there are just too many good ones in here. So... I selected my top 5. Believe me when I say though, I'd be so happy to own a full-sized bottle of almost any one of these, and I will be recommending this brand left and right to anyone who cares to hear about it.

1. Pretty Woman - This was the hardest spot to choose, but I think if I could only purchase one full-sized bottle, it would have to be this one. It's just a lovely, wonderful scent.

2. Too Many Berries - It was so difficult to choose between this and the one I picked for number 1. This delightful berry lemonade type of scent feels happy, but I put it in second place because this one is well suited for warm weather, but the Pretty Woman can be worn any time (in my opinion).

3. Shine Bright Like a Diamond - I could never go wrong choosing this one. It's one of my favorite type of scents.

4. Sexy Lady in Ukraine - it’s the summer! How could I not choose this tropical, floral beauty for my Top 5?!

5. Formula 021 - The nostalgic familiarity (thought it is still very modern) is what sold me on this one. I would be very happy to own a full-sized bottle of Formula 021.

My Overall Thoughts 

This is a most excellent fragrance sampler to purchase. It comes with 12 scents (remember the first one was an added bonus kindly offered as a bonus and is not yet available in the USA). There were only two scents that I wouldn't enjoy owning, and if you are familiar with discovery sets, you know that is a crazy good amount of scents to like from one kit. In fact, I cannot ever remember that happening before, which makes HelloHelen now one of my absolute favorite nich perfume brands. I highly recommend this set to anyone who loves fragrance.

If you're interested in learning more, you can 

find the HelloHelen Discovery Set HERE.