The Perfume Society started just around the time I started blogging. They grew bigger than me, but we’re still firm friends. I have long been an advocate of their Perfume Society Discovery Boxes and have discovered many new favourites from them. Nowadays, you’ll find occasional specials such as the Scented Showcase Box or the Luxurious Fragrances Discovery Box, where even us modest earners can spray some Creed and Parfums de Marly and still pay the bills. I’ve subscribed to this year’s Seasonal Scents Subscription Box and have just received my summer box. As usual, there is a decent range of interesting scents from niche to mainstream and a full-size product, in this case a generous tube of Weleda Vitality body wash which is accompanying me on holiday this year. I’m going to tell you what’s in it and what I think of it. If you like the sound of it after that, join in. It’s £21 a box plus P+P.
What’s in the box.
- Adscenture Secret Garden Extrait de Parfum – 2ml boxed sample spray.
- Atkinsons Mint & Tonic miniature- 7ml boxed EDP sample splash
- Floris Purple Mémoire – 2ml boxed EDP boxed sample spray
- Molton Brown Coastal Cypress and Sea Fennel EDP 1.5ml boxed sample
- Parfums de Marly Delina Exclusif 1.5ml sample spray Parfum strength
- Shay & Blue Cedarwood and Grapefruit EDP sample spray 2ml
- Sarah Baker Peach’s Revenge Extrait 2ml sample spray
- Superdry Real O2 for Women 1.8ml sample spray EDT
- Thomas de Monaco Ultima Storia Extrait de Parfum 2ml spray
- Weleda body wash, “Fresh”, 200ml
My Verdict
There isn’t room here to write long individual reviews of each fragrance, so these are my impressions.
Sarah Baker Peach’s Revenge has a hint of the rebel about it. The peach bites back, and it does indeed feel like a peach has bitten you, but not hard enough to break skin. This one may be divisive. It gets bigger the longer you wear it. This is one of Sarah Baker’s Peach trilogy. It smells liked roasted peaches drizzled in vanilla and almond syrup. I’m not normally one for gourmands, but this made me want to gobble myself up and burp afterwards. The perfumer is Chris Maurice.
Parfums de Marly Delina Exclusif is a super strength version of the beautiful Delina – a rose and rhubarb symphony that rightly has developed a cult following. However, Delina Exclusif leaves the rhubarb and embraces fruity succulents, succumbing to satiny roses and a sophisticated oud-y/woody finale. It smells expensive and it is expensive but that doesn’t stop me falling in love with it. It was WOW at first sniff. The perfumer is the legendary Quentin Bisch.
Molton Brown Coastal Cypress and Sea Fennel EDP is a beautiful botanical aquatic with notes of see, citrus and cypress. I have a full bottle of the EDT version, and I always get compliments when I wear it. The perfumer is Carla Chabert.
Thomas de Monaco Ultima Storia is a new one to me, and I like what I smell so far. I love the talc notes that nestle in when the citrussy, nutty notes settle down. This reminds me of clean linen, and reams of unused paper. Maybe that’s the iris, maybe it’s the leather, but this is the luxurious scent of a very traditional study.
Floris Purple Mémoire was created for Floris by Penny Ellis and Nicola Pozzani. It showcases lavender in a way that will convert any lavender dodger. Personally, I welcome this. I am often defending lavender, vociferously so if I hear it called “old lady” – a phrase banned on this blog, Lavender is at the core of many of the Greats and we owe it respect. In this case, it falls in a drifty sort of way through different ingredients. You have citrussy fruity lavender, green lavender and finally pillowy musky, powdery lavender. Every phase is beautiful, and this is one of my favourites from the box.
Now we arrive at Adscenture Secret Garden. It delivers beautifully, smelling grassy, verdant and floral in a lyrically chaotic way that is typical of a British Garden. This is a slightly overgrown patch where flowers return every year, more rampant than the last. Add a rain shower and some herby grass and there! There it is. This is extrait de parfum strength, so it should scent you for at least a day.
Shay & Blue Cedarwood and Grapefruit was a direct hit to my nose. Possibly a little heavy handed on the cedarwood if I’m honest, but cedarwood fans will find much to enjoy.
Superdry has thrown its hat into the ring and come out with a male and female fragrance (although I eschew such labels). I have here a sample of Real Superdry 02 EDT and I can report that it is fresh, uplifting and smells like you just stepped out of the shower. It has a mineral, open-air nuance and is certain to be a hit.
That’s my verdict, I hope you’ll take something useful from it and find a scent you love. Thanks for joining me as I rifle though my box of samples.
Where to Buy it
You can buy The Perfume Society Discovery Boxes exclusively from their website. Subscribing to the Seasonal Scent Boxes costs £21 per quarter and you can pause or cancel anytime. The Summer Seasonal Box is available until the end of August.
Disclosure
I paid for this myself and opinions are my own.
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