Sample Sets
I added the boxed, carded sample set option to the Gifts page of the website over the weekend, but I still need to add the gift box option for wrapping any sets you want of 2-3 items (perfume, body lotion, body cream). I’m in the midst of taking photos for the boxed gift set options and will try to finish that this week. If you need a gift box and/or card in the meantime just send me an email and we can work out what you’d like.
I apologize to those waiting for the Encens Tranquille reformulation; I’m very close and have been checking all my options before sending out any testers. It’s best if I try all my ideas first, and my list keeps growing as I work on it. As I sniff my latest favorite mod I always wonder if this or that might improve some aspect of it, so then I need to give it a quick try. I have a few more things to try today but need to finish the day’s orders first, which won’t happen before this evening.
I’m sniffing the new Francis Kurkdjian fragrance Lumière Noire pour Femme this morning as I pack orders, and I’m very much enjoying it. Rose lovers might want to check this out because the rose accord is beautiful, the patchouli is smooth, and the fragrance is done in a gorgeous classical style. It’s nothing like the raw patchouli and sweet plum with rose in L’Artisan’s Voleur de Roses, which can be fun to sniff sometimes but is extremely earthy and not for those timid about patchouli. Lumière Noire is a much more elegant approach to the rose/patch genre. You can read an enthusiastic review of this scent on Octavian’s blog. I also admire Divine’s classical approach to rose with patchouli in their scent called L’Inspiratrice, but it looks like Lumière Noire will easily take the number one spot on my list for rose/patch fragrances. (For a great dark rose with less prominent patchouli I love the sadly discontinued L’Arte di Gucci.)
Hi Laurie!
Your packaging is beautiful! This will make such a great gift. I think you do some of the prettiest packaging in the industry! Brava!
Donna
Hi Donna,
Thanks so much! The regular uncarded samples offer a quick and economical option, especially when people just need a few samples of the newest scents, but for a gift it’s fun to dress them up. Glad this looks like a good thing to offer. 🙂
I’ve received a couple emails today too with positive comments about the sample set packaging and appreciate the feedback!
One person had trouble leaving a comment here on the blog today, so if anyone else has trouble let me know via email and I can look into it. This is a WordPress blog rather than a blogger sponsored blog, but if you don’t have an account on WordPress you should still be able to leave a comment. Sometimes the security checks are a pain though (typing in those distorted letters always makes me cross my fingers that I get them right). Sometimes people may have firewall settings that can be a problem too. I’m hoping all is ok though.
Hi Laurie,
Trying again, this time from home. Just making sure it’s a firewall issue!
a:)
Yep… looks like that’s it. I know they’re constantly working on strengthening the security. So I will just have to wait till I get home to submit my replies.
Hi Ann! Thanks for letting me know! That’s good to hear. Actually that’s a good tip for others too — if you have trouble posting from one computer, like at work, you might try from another computer with a different firewall situation and see if that fixes the problem. Don’t know if there’s anything I can do on my end about that. I’ve not seen any settings in my blog that would affect that sort of thing, but I can poke around more…
Beautiful!!!
I love this look. Very classy. Especially the white ribbon over black (better than the other way around IMHO).
Thanks Ayala! Your presentations are always beautiful, so it’s great to hear you like it.
Hi, Laurie – I really should check your blog more often (there’s not enough time in the day, sadly…).
Your mention Lumiere Noire caught my eye – I bought, *unsniffed*, a small decant of the stuff and I absolutely love it. Patchouli is difficult for me, but it’s very nice in this; I think it’s largely about rose and narcissus, two favorite notes.
L’Arte di Gucci is another beloved of mine – and there, too, I find the patchouli very green and pleasant, instead of the musty-dusty version that bothers me so much.
I’m making myself wait until my birthday next week to open and wear my bottle of 50% patch Tabac Aurea. My fingers are getting itchy! Thanks again! (I did get the lovely, ambery Teo Cabanel Alahine for Christmas; it’s beautiful.)
Congratulations on getting the Alahine, Mals! It really is gorgeous.
Laurie, I’d be curious in trying the TA variation sometime. Do you have enough left to make samples, or do you only make enough to fill a special order? I love the original, just curious to see how they differ.
a:)
Hi Ann,
I just made enough for the special order. It probably wouldn’t make as big a difference to you since you don’t mind patchouli and the level of patch even in the standard Tabac formula is very low. Tabac just has a touch of patch in the base to help counter the sweet notes, and the patch combines with two other ingredients that are also in that family to make an earthy accord. If someone is sensitive to patch at low levels then it’s not hard to do a little batch with half patch, but I fit those requests in as I can rather than treating them as standard orders since I have to make it specially for them.
Hi Mals,
Isn’t Lumiere Noire lovely! The patch is nicely done and more subtle than it can often be, and the rose note in it is very pretty to me too.
I adore L’Arte di Gucci! I have a treasured little bit but would love to find a bottle someday. The rose note is incredibly rich and smells like it has far more damascones than would be allowed by IFRA today.
Aack, you are being good on the Tabac. 🙂 Hope it works out ok for you with half patch. And happy bday when the day arrives!
Thanks for stopping by! I love to hear about people’s favorite rose scents.