Montale & Comptour Sud Pacifique - 7 Vial Sampler Extravaganza from Europerfumes!

I've received a box of sample goodness from Europerfumes!

I've been loving samples lately, especially Montale which has lead to a few full bottle purchases. I wish I found this brand a long time ago as I'm loving the quality & longevity. You MUST sample though, they're too expensive to blind buy!

I was just about to pull the trigger on another Montale sample purchase at Luckyscent when I found Europerfume's 7 vial sample packs.

I like Luckyscent, I find their sample vials a lot easier to use than The Perfumed Court however the carded Montale sample vials are even easier to open & use and last for quite a few wears which lets you really get to know a scent. Important if you're considering a full bottle purchase. Sometimes Luckyscent will send carded Montale sample vials for one or two scents but they are usually their own vials with a wand & label.

So, when I saw that Europerfumes were offering carded Montale samples I knew I had to order from them. A 7 vial sampler pack costs $10US per pack making each sample $1.42US. Bargain!

They also offer $10 off a full bottle purchase if you buy their sample pack. They seem to have a good selection of Montale too. My full bottle Montale collection has grown over the last few months & I can see it getting even bigger

So, I decided to partake in a 7 Vial Sampler Extravaganza!

Europerfumes offer a few different sampler packs with groups of perfumes, eg the Montale samples are in groups named woods & musks, roses & flowers & aoud for example. How do you choose between the Samplers? Well, I couldn't so I got them all, even the mens pack. I also decided whilst I was at it, I may as well include the Comptour Sud Pacifique 7 vial Sampler pack too.
As I already have a few of the samples/full bottles) getting these packs means I have a few doubles (& triples) however I figured that I can just use them when travelling, or give them to friends/family to try.


I was very happy with Europerfumes customer service. They were very helpful, friendly, answered all of my questions promptly & went out of their way. The packaging & postage was reasonable & very quick too.

The only small negative about the experience was that instead of Aoud Leather, they sent Aoud Moon (in the Mens Sampler) without letting me know. I was looking forward to trying Aoud Leather after reading some reviews and already had a sample of Aoud Moon. :( Oh well.

Opening each carton I got a small whiff of the scented goodness inside. The musks smell amazing, the aouds are ever intriguing & the mens samples smell great - especially Woods + Spices. The Comptour Sud Pacifique samples smell so sweet. I have a couple of them already, so it will be great to smell more of the range.

I've already started to use them. I'm a little overwhelmed with the choice! It's like being a kid in a candy store!

Here's what I got;

Comptoir Sud Pacifique 7 Vial Sampler

Comptoir Sud Pacifique 7 Vial Sampler

Vanille Abricot
Vanille Coco
Vanille Extreme
Amour de Cacao
Coco Extreme
Aqua Motu
Aloha Tiare

Fruits & Vanillas 7 Vial Sampler

Montale - Fruits & Vanillas 7 Vial Sampler

Soleil de Capri
Blue Amber
Chocolate Greedy
Vanille Absolu
Fruits of the Musk
Mukhallat
Wild Pears

Montale - Woods & Musks 7 Vial Sampler

Montale - Woods & Musks 7 Vial Sampler


Fruits of the Musk
Musk to Musk
White Musk
Black Musk
Patchoulli Leaves
Full Incense
Roses Musk

Montale - Roses & Flowers 7 Vial Sampler

Montale - Roses & Flowers 7 Vial Sampler

Deep Rose
Louban
Roses Elixir
Intense Tiare
Velvet Flowers
Mukhallat
Roses Musk

Montale - Aoud 7 Vial Sampler

Montale - Aoud 7 Vial Sampler

Dark Aoud
Red Aoud
Aoud Velvet
Aoud Rose Petals
White Aoud
Aoud Forest
Black Aoud

Montale - Men 7 Vial Sampler

Montale - Men 7 Vial Sampler
Greyland
Red Vetiver
Woods + Spices
Embruns D'Essaquira
Aoud Moon (instead of Aoud Leather)
Aoud Forest
Fougeres Marines

Cost: $10US/per box of 7 samples.
Postage: $5/pack to Australia (I paid $20 all up as I purchased all the Montale packs), Fast international post
Customer Service: Friendly, prompt helpful
Negatives: Aoud Leather was replaced with Aoud Moon without notice.
Recommended? Yes, especially if you want to try Montale fragrances.

Review: Chloe Eau de Parfum (EDP) by Chloe

I really like the scent of Chloé Eau de Parfum. however my like turned to dislike after a few months. I still like the scent, but the sooner I finish this bottle, the better.

Why? Read on!

I was drawn into the hype of Chloé EDP just when it was released. I was wandering through David Jones & encountered eager Sales Reps holding the bottle & cards. I took a sprayed card & was intrigued by this bright rose fragrance.

The scent seemed to grow on me. During a shopping trip with a friend a few months later I took home a little bottle of Chloé.

Perfumers Description

I can't find their official description on their website. Chloé just raves about the bottle. Hmm.

Notes

Pink Peony, Freesia, Lychee, Magnolia Flower, Lily of the Valley, Rose, Cedarwood, Amber, Honey

Scent

Chloé EDP is a beautiful simple scent. Roses & peony. One thing I love about it is that it's a fragrance that's suitable for a number of occassions. Great for work, or a night out, it has an innocent yet sexy charm about it.

Whenever I wear or smell Chloé the image that comes to my mind is roses & cotton. Yes, cotton. Freshly laundered cotton bedsheets. Maybe Chloé is not so innocent after all!

It doesn't go through any development on my skin. What I get at first spray is what sticks with me. I'm happy with that. It's not cloying at all.

Chloé is definitely a crowd pleaser. People love it, and it's one perfume that even if people overspray (I knew a girl who put way too much on) it's still nice. I love smelling this on other people. Probably more than I like smelling it on myself.

Longevity & Sillage

Sillage is decent, quite good for a mainstream scent. Longevity is amazing for this scent. I know it's an EDP but I didn't expect that, simply because whenever I wear it it seems to fade after a while. I simply took it at face value, however I was so surprised one evening when I was about to go home a co-worker said I smell lovely & she asked what I was wearing. I couldn't believe she could still smell it!

Bottle

OK. Here it is. My dislike. The bottle is the reason why I don't like Chloé anymore.

Here's what Chloé says about the bottle;

"AN ICONIC BOTTLE

Just as the fragrance fuses classic elements with fresh ideas, and airy sweetness with woody strength, the flacon is a study in opposites.

Designer Patrick Veillet drew on the itricate detail of the sleeve of a Chloé blouse as the inspiration for the delicately pleated glass walls of the square flacon.

An oval cap plays off the strong lines while a silver collar adds a nostalgic feel. The metal plaque is a unique example of craftsmanship rarely seen in modern perfumeery, and graced with the finishing touch, a lously knotted petal-coloured ribbon."

Tarnished!

The bottle is a cute design, I will give them that. It reminds me of Miss Dior Cherie which also has a bow. The cuteness of the bottle faded fast just a few months after owning Chloé. Why? The metal on the bottle turned a tarnished matte black brown.

Not only that, this chemical change also turned the pretty pink bow into a dirty pink colour.

I couldn't believe this happened. It looks awful. If I had known the bottle would turn a green/brown/black there's no way I'd have bought it. Not happy Jan.

Chloé - after trying to clean the tarnished metal.
I wish I took a photo before as believe it or not,
this looks much better than it was.

I keep all my perfumes in a clean cupboard in the same conditions. I have NEVER come across anything like this with any other perfume bottles. Ever.

I probably should have taken it back and/or complained but I simply put it at the back of the cupboard (hiding it behind my other perfumes) & left it there.

One day I got the bottle out & decided to try & clean it up with a silver polishing cloth. The picture you see above is the result of that cleaning. It doesn't look as bad as it did but it's not back to the shiny silver it was originally. I wish I took a photo before I tried to clean it to show you what it looked like.

If the metal was completely silver (925) it should have come up sparkling - I use the same treated cloth to clean my silver jewellery - but it doesn't.

I know that this has not just happened to me, there are many complaints which you'll find if you do a Google search. It seems that the flankers in the same bottle also tarnish.

Imagine trying to swap or sell a bottle of tarnished Chloé. Imagine buying a used tarnished bottle? No one would be very impressed!

Poor manufacturing Chloé.

Conclusion

People put perfume on to add a bit of aromatic beauty to their day. Chloé IS beautiful, but who wants to put on a beautiful fragrance from an ugly looking bottle? The bottle is meant to be part of the experience. I won't be buying any more perfumes from this line.

If you're thinking of purchasing Chloé, I would say spend your hard earned money elsewhere.

•    Bottle: Not impressed at all. The metal tarnishes after a few months 0/10
•    Season: All (But perfect for Summer/Spring)
•    Cost: $90AU/30ml
•    Blind Buy Rating: N/A
•    Longevity: 7 hours
•    My overall rating: 1/10

Scent(s) Of The Day #SOTD: March 2013

Scent(s) Of The Day for March

I have set myself a goal to not wear the same perfume for a whole month. Very very hard for me, as there are definitely a few favourites in my collection.

I noticed that some of my scents had not been worn for 12 months. :/ Hence the challange.

I ALMOST reached the goal this month, but for one slip up - Fleur d'oranger!

I didn't start off well, as I got a virus at the start of the month. When I feel feverish or nauseous I generally don't feel like wearing or smelling any scent.

Scents with reviews will have their name hyperlinked.

If there are any fragrances you would like to see a review of, let me know! :)


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1st to 4th: No fragrance - I had a virus :( No scent for a few days.
5th March: Vanille Absolu by Montale
6th March: Sunset Flowers by Montale (sample)
7th March: Omnia Crystalline by Bvlgari
8th March: Sweet Oriental Dream by Montale
9th March: S de Scherrer by Jean-Louis Scherrer
10th March: Orange Blossom by Lush Cosmetics & Fleur d'oranger by Fragonard (on each arm)

11th March: Vanille Divine des Tropiques by La Maison de la Vanille - One compliment from a female colleague said "You smell nice, like vanilla". Thank you! I do smell like vanilla! :D

12th March: Pure Turquoise by Ralph Lauren - oops, I over applied but it mellowed out.

13th March: Yujin Paradise by Ella Mikao

14th March: Chloe EDP by Chloe - Forcing myself to use this one up. 1 compliment at the end of the day from a female colleague who said I smell nice - I thought it had faded. Darn you Chloe & your people pleasing scent!

15th March: Chocolate Greedy by Montale - Chocolate Greedy instigated a conversation between two male colleagues about whether I smelt like strawberry cream lollies (?) or chocolate.

16th March: Midnight Oud by Juliette Has A Gun (sample)
17th March: Fleur d'oranger by Fragonard
18th March: Serendipitous by Serendipity3
19th March: Pink Sugar by Aquolina
20th March: Little Kiss by Salvador Dali
21st March: Custo Barcelona by Custo Barcelona
22nd March: Chocolovers by Aquolina - no comments today, unusual for Chocolovers!

23rd March: Honey and The Moon by TokyoMilk - Generated a "what have you got on? Smells nice!" from the OH, unusual!

24th March: Pure Gold by Montale (sample)
26th March: Dirty by Lush Cosmetics
27th March: Lust by Lush Cosmetics
28th March: Esprit de Gingembre Pour Femme by Angel Schlesser
29th March: Cool Water Woman by Ralph Lauren
30th March: Cassis Noir by Mor Cosmetics
31st March: Black Aoud by Montale - First wear of a new bottle - a Birthday present. I might be breaking my goal with this one next month...... :) :) :) :)