Perfume Discovery Sets

[HolidayHattie]

Yet another "I'm looking for my new signature scent" thread, I'm afraid. I love perfumes but I struggle to distinguish different notes and can't describe them. A lot of the perfume threads on here are like a foreign language to me.

If anyone can help / recommend something, Flower by Kenzo has been my everyday scent for years, but I feel I've outgrown it and would like something a bit more sophisticated. I liked Encens Lumière by Kenzo when I tried a tester but, when I got it home, it doesn't seem as nice, but I find it hard to say why. I also have Givenchy Ange ou Demon Le Secret as a summer scent, (nice enough but don't love it,) and Ministry of Oud: Greatest for winter. Love, love, love this latter one but it's too heavy for year round wear. Recently got Vinegia 21 by Merchant of Venice and I do like this.

When i was younger i liked Rive Gauche, Sun Moon Stars, Chloe. Hated L'Eau d'Issey - it smells really astringent and unpleasant on my skin.

I live rurally so dont have access to stores with good ranges so I thought I would try some Discovery Sets. I've seen Floral Street recommended on here. What a disappointment! Only liked two of the 12 and not enoughto buy them. The rest smelled cheap and very unsophisticated and faded extremely quickly. They must have promoters posting on Mumsnet because I can't believe anyone impartial would ever recommend them.

I've just got a Saltworks set and it's too early to be sure but they seem much better.

Can anyone recommend either something I might like, or other discovery sets to try, e.g. Jo Malone perhaps? I'm happy to pay top dollar for the right scent but don't want to commit without trying.

I buy the Escentric Molecules discovery sets. I’m currently using a 10 pack of 2ml phials which contain both the Escentric and Molecule scents for £25 but I can’t see that anywhere now. Harvey Nicks do separate packs of 5, Escentric 01 - 05 and Molecule 01 - 05 for £15. I love all the scents, and have just been using the Discovery sets for years now. The phials are dotted everywhere, handbag, car, bathroom, kitchen drawer, anywhere any time I fancy a spritz!

@whatsappdoc The Perfume Society have a couple of their Discovery sets, though they are more expensive (bigger samples):

https://perfumesociety.org/product/escentric-molecules-escentric-discovery-set/

https://perfumesociety.org/product/escentric-molecules-molecule-discovery-set/

I got a sample of the 01+ Black Tea which was divine, in a sample box, but it’s hideously expensive to buy by the bottle.

Jo Malone do miniature sizes and discovery sets. I find their Intense range has better longevity. I’m loving Scarlet Poppy at the moment, which appears to have some similar notes to Flower by Kenzo. Velvet Rose & Oud is lovely too. You can often pick up samples and miniatures on Ebay & Vinted for good prices.

www.jomalone.co.uk/colognes/mini-perfume

Yes @CaveMum I might end up having to buy the bigger samples which is annoying. Agree that the single scents are expensive.

I said I wasn't going to buy any more perfumes until I've tried all the ones I've got, but I just looked at these and got too tempted. Some might have slipped into my basket. Oops!

Well, you're right that I am really getting into the Discovery Sets and probably already have enough enough small vials to keep me in perfume for at least the rest of this year. It's great fun and I am really enjoying trying them all out, although I don't think my nose is sensitive enough as yet. I don't know a fruity floral from a gourmand or a chypre from a fougere.

I still haven't given up hope of finding "the one" (or maybe two or three) though. Not got there yet.

My Discovery Set addiction is showing no sign of abating. Managed to make it into town today. First stop TKMaxx, which didn't have a lot, apart from an Acqua Di Parma Discovery set, which is something that I wanted to try, so I was very happy to find it. It looks the same as this one but cost £34.99. Only eau de toilette, though.

www.acquadiparma.com/en/gb/miniature-set/BMMINSET.html?srsltid=AfmBOorcQqNHwoEMEDsf8KcuFI9RZf03gtcbswHIFgLxSdI_Cu2di01o

The second (and final) stop was M&S, where I bought not one, not two but three Discovery Sets. They have a discount on beauty products at the moment so it's a good time to buy.

Both 8 x 10ml Discover EDT sets and a 5 x 9ml EDP set.

The Perfume Society Discovery sets haven't arrived yet. They took so long to dispatch that I was on holiday when they first attempted delivery, then failed to deliver to a neighbour as directed, then it was Bank Hol weekend, so hopefully they will arrive tomorrow.

Despite not having yet tried all the above-mentioned sets and having the Perfume Society ones on the way, I've also ordered a couple of Discovery sets from Next, because I'm interested to try some of their dupes of high end fragrances (and I had a £20 voucher.) I opted for collect in store in the hope I can hide them from DH.

Then to compound the madness, I've just ordered Vyrao and Sana Jardin sets from Space NK, again using vouchers to bring the price down.

In a mere six weeks I have gone from total ignorance of this world to semi-ignorance but total addiction. It's a kind of madness.

I love it @HolidayHattie 😂 Discovering new fragrances is so much fun. Have you considered doing a perfume making workshop? I did one in Grasse and really enjoyed it.

You enabler, you! No, I'm still trying to educate my nose and I've a long way to go before I would trust myself to make my own blend.

Thought I would update this post, some months (and dozens of perfume samples) later.

I have found my 2025 summer scents, which are Penhaligon's Luna and Tom Ford Neroli Portofino.

I still have lots more samples and discovery sets to try, but I have established 100% that Kayali is definitely not the house for me. Too sickly sweet and many of them smell synthetic. Maybe I'm just too old for them.

Sana Jardin is more to my taste but my favourites from them will be better in the cooler months, so I haven't bought them yet.

Others are more hit and miss. I'll keep trying.

You might want to try under the stars too. I have that, autumn vibes and jazz club and they are all beautiful. I also have beach walk which is gorgeous in summer but lasts about 5 mins.

If you like woodier scents then try Mumbai noise from byredo, that one ans black saffron are the on,y two byredo perfumes I’ve found that actually last.

Love a bit of mumbai noise

Wood fans should try matiere premiere santal austral or bois debene.. heavenly

I've recently acquired a tiny sample of Under the Stars in a Cult Beauty kit, but haven't had chance to try it yet.

@stclementine
Under the Palms by Marks and Sparks is an extremely good dupe of Beach Walk. I wore them together and couldn't tell much difference.

Oooh I will 😁 thank you. I love Mumbai noise can really smell the davana.

I’ll definitely try that. As much as I love beach walk it’s too expensive for something that doesn’t last very long.