THE SAVVY SHOPPER: perfume

Showing posts with label perfume. Show all posts

Monday, October 27, 2025

Macy’s Perfume Samples

Regular readers of THE SAVVY SHOPPER know Macy’s is my favorite New York department store bar none. Once in a while Macy’s loves me back by sending me a small box of free perfume samples. The offer is open to anyone and everyone who sees it on Macy’s website and at times on Facebook. A small box of 6 samples arrived today! Below, I listed those 6 fragrances in the order of my most to least favorite scents:

1) John Varatos XX Elixir - Formulated for men, but both men and women can wear it, as it's not a musk, but just a fresh clean smell of bergamot, red ginger, davana and violet leaf essence mixed with rum, Damascus rose. black iris and geranim. There are notes of tonka bean, cistus labdanum, cedarwood, and latigo leather. It is my absolute favorite scent in the box!

2) Prada Paradidme - Ambery woods entwine with Bourbon, geranium, and Calabrian bergamot. I smell a hint of lemon, yet don’t see it listed as an ingredient. Lovely and clean smelling.

3) Dolce & Gabbana My Devotion - A pear blossom, blackcurrant, peony and vanilla blend.

4) Dolce & Gabbana Dovotion Pour Homme Parfum - A lavender, coffee, and woody-amber blend.

5) Gucci Flora Gorgeous Gardenia - Mandarin with gardenia, hedione, and sandalwood essence.

6) Narciso Rodriguez For Her Eau de Toilette spray - Notes of osmanthus, African orange flower, Bergamot, amber, musk, vanilla and vetiver. There is one note in this scent that I dislike but don’t know which ingredient it is. It reminds me of unpleasent much cheaper drugstore perfumes and it stands out.

My senior mom tested the perfume samples with me. She said she liked them. None of the 6 fragrances overwhelmed us, yet lingered for hours, and except for #6, lean towards clean scents over strong perfumes. #6 has that one unidentified note not to my liking.

Perfumes can smell differently on different people. Before buying a fragrance, spray it on, walk around the store and wait to see how it will interact with your body’s chemistry.

Thursday, May 18, 2023

Perfect Veil Eau De Parfum

Perfumer Sarah Horowitz makes perfume for people who prefer subtle clean fragrances. Her Parfums' Perfect line features 5 signature foral scents, as well as, new interpretations of vintage favorites. The most followed and popular of these is Perfect Veil Eau De Parfum which she says is formulated to smell like clean, naked skin "only better." The scent is subtle when worn alone. It can also be layered to "increase any fragrance's warm and staying power."

Perfect Veil is a unisex fragrance appealing to both men and women.

Years ago a study was conducted by Dr. Alan Hirsch to find out which scents on women are favored by men ... and the winner was vanilla. Vanilla is also said to be a favorite scent of women.

At the moment I'm into rose, a floral fragrance -- which I buy from botanical companies. I'll link the brands below.

In addition, Sarah Horowitz offers custom blended fragrances for clients and is active on social media. Based in Los Angeles, she continues to experiment with and evolve her craft, as well as, teach perfumery classes.

Thursday, July 21, 2022

Mini Refillable Perfume Atomizer Bottle

Although I lean towards botanicals and don't spray myself with perfume often, I still recognize a clever, practical innovation when I see one. The portable Mini Refillable Perfume Atomizer Bottle is a travel tool for perfume mavens. Made of an aluminum case and with a glass interior receptacle, you hook it onto the small cylinder hose under the lifted-off nozzle of your full-sized perfume bottles to fill the mini up, then carry it with you leaving your cumbersome perfume bottles at home. Without the atomizer mechanism, it would be impossible to remove the perfume from a spray bottle. The mini travel-size atomizer bottle is a durable and leak-proof slender aluminum case.

Since I don't own many bottles of perfume, perhaps I could fill it up with sanitizer or rubbing alcohol ... saving the costs of having to buy travel sizes. This slender spray cylinder will lighten your load on the road. Genius spray tool and a definite for perfumes!

THE SAVVY SHOPPER