Last fall, I wrote about my experience with the Musk Discovery Set from the new fragrance brand, Sylvaine Delacourte Paris.
As I mentioned previously, Sylvaine Delacourte was the longtime creative director of Guerlain before striking out on her own. I love getting to know new fragrance brands via discovery sets. Having a decent amount of each fragrance to try out at home is the best way for me to determine if a scent suits me or not.
From the Musk Discovery Set, I found two scents that I love:
- Fiorentina: a powdery musk featuring the note sweet iris from Florence that combines so well with musk to create a cashmere-like scent
- Lilylang: a solar musk (think a “warm and radiant” effect like a sun shining on summer flowers) created with jasmine and ylang-ylang, two of the key “solar” notes in perfumery. Lilylang means “flower of flowers” in Indonesian. Though I am not usually a fan of jasmine, the combination of the two warm exotic flowers with musk is delectable.
During the holidays, I took advantage of a sale on the Sylvaine Delacourte Paris website to order a Custom Box. With the traditional Custom Box, you receive four 0.25 fl. oz. spray vials (1 fl. oz. total) that you customize by selecting any 4 of the 10 Sylvaine Delacourte Paris scents. The Custom Box arrives in a beautiful copper metal box with the contents wrapped in black tissue paper. Included with the glass perfume spray vials, there is a gorgeous super-premium, heavy copper-colored metal purse spray. The vials fit snuggly into the purse spray, and the top with the SDP logo snaps securely shut.
When I ordered, there was a special promotion with 2 additional complimentary vials for a total of 1.5 fl. oz. of perfume. I chose 3 vials each of my two favorite fragrances, Fiorentina and Lilylang. Making that purchase enabled me to become a member of the SDP VIP club and get a 30% discount on all purchases going forward as well as advance notice of new products. I’m hoping that the purse spray vials in Fiorentina and Lilylang will help me decide which of the two scents I might buy in the full 3.3 fl. oz. size.
While I was at it, I also purchased the Vanilla Discovery Set that was on sale for $4 during the holidays.
Though the price of the two Discovery Sets has gone up to $15 for 5 sample vials right now (I’m guessing there could be sales again around holidays throughout the year), I still think it is well worth the price. Most perfume houses charge much more for their discovery sets. And the cost of the Discovery Set is credited to your first order. If you are a fan or even a collector of vanilla fragrances, I strongly recommend trying this set.
The Madagascar vanilla-based fragrances are more complex and sophisticated than many vanilla fragrances I tend to come across, and they are divine. I still have a way to go in trying these out since I have been so captivated by the musks, Fiorentina and Lilylang, but I do have a few faves among the vanillas already:
- Valkyrie: described as Fresh Vanilla, it is a combination of fresh, bright notes mellowed with vanilla.
- Vanori: another solar scent, it combines the warmth of vanilla with ylang-ylang sunniness. I adore the warm dry down.
There are 3 more vanilla note scents that I haven’t had a chance to get enough experience with, but this is a quick intro to them.
- Vahina: Floral Vanilla. Vahina means partner in Tahitian, and this sensual scent was inspired by Gaugin and the passion of the flora of the islands. Notes include: vanilla, orchid, orange, and exotic flowers.
- Vangelis: Spicy Vanilla: woody notes, spices from India and vanilla. I need to spend more time with this one!
- Virgile: Aromatic Vanilla: vanilla and calming aromatic notes yet with liveliness.
From my experience with the fragrances from Sylvaine Delacourte Paris, the scents wear close to the skin. They don’t shout. I think they’re perfect to wear to work, for date night or any time you are feeling that you want to wear scents that enhance who you are rather than take over.
In addition to the 10 musk and vanilla fragrances, there are seasonally-scented premium candles.
Check out the Sylvaine Delacourte story and scents on the SDP website. Who knows, they may suit you too!
Fiorentina and Lilylang sound utterly delectable based upon your descriptions alone! This is such a great way to try fragrances, but the key is definitely to provide enough of each so that you can really get a sense of how they work with one’s personal chemistry!
I love to find indie fragrances, but since most aren’t sold in stores, a discovery set is the only way. Plus trying it at home is the only way for me to know if ti’ll work on me.
I love vanilla scent so much, but for some reason it always smells weird when it mixes with my body’s chemistry!
I have fragrance notes that I love but that don’t smell great on me. Disappointing
My brain has a hard time decifering scents, but i do know I like jasmine and LOVE most things that are scented vanilla. I think I would like that vanilla discovery set
I think Discovery Sets are the way to go – trying fragrances at home are the only way for me
This is a great concept to play with! I think it’s a great stocking stuffer gift.
Vanilla-scented perfumes tend to be too heady for me, but some of the other scents sound so divine! What a great sale you caught!!
Usually I wait and wait and miss out, but this time I waited and lucked out with a great sale and promotion, yay!
The company is smart selling their products this way. You’ll become a much more loyal customer when you know you are choosing the best fragrance for your chemistry. Enjoy!!
I like the idea of this mini purse samples and so useful.
I love vanilla based scents! Valkyrie & Lilylang sound delightful!
I think you’d like them because they’re florals
I freaking loooove vanilla scents!
You should try the Sylvaine Delacourte Paris vanilla Discovery Set!
I love all things vanilla scented and Valkyrie sounds amazing!!! I have got to check these out!
Keep an eye on the price of the Vanilla Discovery Set, and if it goes back to $5 pounce 😉
Love being able to try samples for a few days to ensure it wears well!
I like that these fragrances sit close to the skin. We have enough loud scents on the market already.
true enough
Lilylang sounds wonderful, even if musk turns me off (I’m not experienced with perfumes and scents as I tend to get hellacious migraines, so I may not know what musk is in this case). I love that they have these as samples, too! Such a clever idea.