Sephora Favorites Summer Discovery Set

First Fragrance: Commodity: Ice(D) Expressive

Notes: Frozen Mango, Spearmint, Eucalyptus, Black Pepper, Ginger, Tonka Bean, Amber Second Fragrance: Jo Malone London: Beach Blossom

Notes: Lime, Coconut Water, Tonka Bean

Third Fragrance: Yves Saint Laurent: Libre L'Eau Nue Notes: Mandarin, Lemon, Orange Blossom, Lavender

Fourth Fragrance: Glossier: You Fleur

Notes: Salt, Apricot, Cashmeran, Ylang-Ylang, Asmamthus, Ambroxan

Fifth Fragrance: Dolce & Gabbana: Light Blue

Notes: Sicilian Lemon, Apple, Cedar, Bellflower, Bamboo, Jasmine, White Rose, Cedar, Musk, and Amber Sixth Fragrance: The 7 Virtues: Coconut Sun

Notes: Coconut Water, Citruses, Frangipani, Sea Salt, Egyptian Jasmin

e, Rose, Vanilla Seventh Fragrance: Kayali: Capri in a Bottle Lemon Sugar

Notes: Sugar, Lemon, Raspberry, Freesias, Vanilla, Musk

Eighth Fragrance: Maison Margiela Replica: Never Ending Summer Notes: Italian Spritz Accord, Bitter Orange, Vetiver, Pepper Duet, Earl Grey Accord, Cardamome Hear, Muscade Essence, Cedarwood, Patchouli

**Please read What is Anosmia? How do I live with it? to get a full understanding of the concept of this blog and how I go about "smelling" as an anosmic. Today, for this post, I won't be doing any wear tests, just initial smells.

Discovery sets are always a great way to dip your toes into the perfume world. You get an assortment of fragrances, either from that brand specifically or an accumulation of popular fragrances in a box. These are great for anyone who wants to try and sample fragrances on their own, for experimenting with layering, and also if you want something cost-effective. They are also good gifts to buy someone who is really into perfumes or just starting out.

Today, we are going to talk about the Sephora Favorites Perfume Sampler: Summer Edition (this is an affiliate link; I do make a commission if you purchase at no cost to you) and describe how each fragrance feels and settles into my nose and skin. This particular set is all about citrus fragrances, so if you've been reading consistently, you'll know citrus scents aren't my favorite. However, if you know the one brand I will stand behind, you know why I had to grab this! In this perfume sampler, you will receive a voucher to redeem one travel-size version of one of the perfumes inside.

Disclaimer: When it comes to Sephora's perfume samplers, some brands are stingy when it comes to loading the sampler vials, so be mindful (Replica, I'm looking at you) First Fragrance: Commodity: Ice(D) Expressive

Rate: 6.7/10 | Notes: Frozen Mango, Spearmint, Eucalyptus, Black Pepper, Ginger, Tonka Bean, Amber

Wawa Iced Tea. That's what Commodity Ice(D) Expressive first smells like when you spray it. If you are from the East Coast (U.S) or have had the pleasure to visit a Wawa and grab their iced tea, this is that! It smells so sweet and juicy at first. The mango notes begin to shine here. Like the first refreshing sip of cold, mango iced tea or a spiked mango tea (if you're into those) on a hot summer day/night. Only at first does this perfume smell like that sweet summery drink. After that sweetness settles, and it settles quickly, the black pepper immediately takes over the fragrance. Turning what was once a sweet beachy fragrance into a spicy night out in the city fragrance.

I would put this fragrance in the unisex category. It's not a girly sweet in the beginning; it's more of a summer sweet, so a man or someone who is more into masculine scents wouldn't find it too sweet. The black pepper dry-down is why I would put this in the unisex category. The black pepper spice adds a more masculine flair to the fragrance. If you're into layering, you could definitely maintain the sweetness by adding fragrances that have mango notes and sweet accords.

I would purchase a travel or mini size of this. I would wear it on its own, but only if I was going out later in the day, closer to nighttime. I would categorize this as a sunset fragrance.

Second Fragrance: Jo Malone London: Beach Blossom

Rate: 7.9/10 | Notes: Lime, Coconut Water, Tonka Bean

Ms. Jo Malone, step to the front, PLEASE! This fragrance made me look at Jo Malone and citrus fragrances differently.

A soft, warm, clean, and citrusy fragrance, this one is. There is a powdery aspect to this fragrance when it dries down, so that's why I would say it's more of a clean citrus. Imagine washing your clothes with laundry detergent that had a light citrus scent to it. Not too strong, but also not too soft either. It's just enough citrus to know that your sheets are fresh, clean, and soft. That's what Beach Blossom is.

Of course, with the rating I gave, I would purchase a full-size AND a mini/travel version of this. It's the perfect morning and midday fragrance. You can wear this to work, to church, to brunch, honestly, anywhere; it's the perfect everyday spring/summer fragrance.

Third Fragrance: Yves Saint Laurent: Libre L'Eau Nue

Rate: 7/10 | Notes: Mandarin, Lemon, Orange Blossom, Lavender

I know that 7 is throwing some of y'all because of the orange blossom notes, but hear me out, okay. I do like this fragrance, but I don't know if I like it enough to buy it. It may just be a mini version I get for layering purposes.

Getting into the fragrance, if you like clean fragrances, this is for you. This is a citrus floral that's more on the clean and softer side of fragrances. There's a bit of a powdery finish when it settles onto the skin. Think of spring in a bottle when you hear about this fragrance. The image and scent of flowers blooming should come to your mind. It smells like what Longwood Gardens (if you've ever been) looks like if you had to package it into a bottle. Of course, not a fan of the mandarin and orange blossom notes, but she's still a cute fragrance.

I wouldn't buy this in any version. I would recommend this for the girlies who like bright and happy scents for the spring and summer. Cute for brunches and day weddings.

Fourth Fragrance: Glossier: You Fleur

Rate: 7/10 | Notes: Salt, Apricot, Dashmeran, Ylang-Ylang, Osmamthus, Ambroxan

She's clean, and she's cute. You Fleur smells like a soft, soapy, fresh linen fragrance when first sprayed on the skin. You can almost taste a bar of soap in your mouth when you go to smell it.

The clean, soft soap smell then transitions into a soft floral with hints of sweetness coming through. Both the soft floral and the sweet accords/notes are not strong enough to overpower the clean smell. The clean smell is still the most prominent. Once the fragrance fully dries down on the skin, the citrus notes and accords finally begin to shine through. It's a soft version of a citrus fragrance. It's not intense.

I don't particularly love this fragrance enough to buy it in any version. It is a good fragrance for the daytime (brunch, work, the beach, the pool). I would wear this in the late spring or early summer. You could also be daring enough to wear it during that weird seasonal in-between where the end of Summer going into Fall feels like Spring.

Fifth Fragrance: Dolce & Gabbana: Light Blue

Rate: 0/10 | Notes: Sicilian Lemon, Apple, Cedar, Bellflower, Bamboo, Jasmine, White Rose, Cedar, Musk, and Amber

CITRUS! That's what you're going to get as soon as you spray this fragrance. All of the citrusy notes and accords come hitting you all at once. And as someone who is not into citrus fragrances, I was not a fan and was not prepared. I mean, just look at the notes listed above; the citrus is citrus-ing with this one.

As soon as I smelled it, I pictured orange juice. Although there are no orange notes and accords in this fragrance, my mind usually equates citrus with oranges, so I understand why I thought of orange juice. Any overly strong citrus drink you can think of, whether it's orange juice, lemon juice, lime juice, etc this is what this fragrance smells like right away. Just one big glass of CITRUS.

Being a tall glass of citrus isn't enough for this fragrance; it immediately dries down into a super woody fragrance. Which, in my opinion, is an interesting direction to go into. You go from smelling like a bowl of lemons, apples, and all these wonderful fruits that grow on a tree; to the very tree that bore the fruit. Not really my cup of juice to drink in the summer.

Sixth Fragrance: The 7 Virtues: Coconut Sun

Rate: 8.8/10 | Notes: Coconut Water, Citruses, Frangipani, Sea Salt, Egyptian Jasmine, Rose, Vanilla

A short white silky robe and a glass of champagne are the vibes you catch with this fragrance. Think of people feeding you grapes while you're lying out in a cabana in the warm sun.

There's a silky essence to this fragrance when you first spray it. It's very smooth. There's a hint of citrus within this fragrance at first, but it's literally nothing compared to the last fragrance that had citrus. Sweetness actually overpowers the citrus fragrance in this one when it's first sprayed. You can definitely smell the coconut and vanilla blend in this fragrance. This gives it that sweet silky aura.

As it dries, you can still smell a little bit of the citrus, but the sweet notes stay on top of the citrus. It somehow creates the perfect blend of sweet, silky, and citrus without creating a mess in a bottle. I would definitely buy a full size and a mini bottle of this fragrance!

Imagine those orange cream sicles from snack time in school. It's like if you took that ice cream and put it into a bottle but made it a little more elevated and elegant. A great date night fragrance or perfect for warm weather days.

Seventh Fragrance: Kayali: Capri in a Bottle Lemon Sugar

Rate: 10/10 | Notes: Sugar, Lemon, Raspberry, Freesias, Vanilla, Musk

A lemon drop in a bottle. Rhode's Lemontini as a fragrance. If you wanna get licked like a sugar rim, baby, this is it!

You guys know this is a mini Kayali Headquarters over here, so I knew there were going to be no misses with this one. I actually was opposed to smelling this when it first launched because it was a citrus fragrance, but when I finally smelled it BAYBEEEEEE!! Yeah, everyone needs this fragrance in their collection.

The vanilla does take over with this fragrance only slightly during the initial spray and as you wear it throughout the day. The sugar pushes the vanilla to be one of the focal points and highlights the sweetness in the fragrance. However, the lemon and freesia still have a spotlight on their own with this one. At initial spray, you smell everything all at once in the best way. Once dry and throughout the day, you get the perfect blend of all the notes, but the sweetness sticks out just a little bit more. Kayali really mastered balancing this fragrance out.

This is a grown woman's summer citrus fragrance. The floral, citrus, sugar, and vanilla combination brings out a mature yet playful vibe to the fragrance. You smell sweet enough for someone to be attracted and sexy enough for someone to act on that attraction. It's for the girlies who are at the pool or beach in their bright yellow bikinis giving everybody body-ody-ody.

If you didn't guess already, yes, I used my voucher to get a mini version of the Kayali.

Eighth Fragrance: Maison Margiela Replica: Never Ending Summer

Rate: 0/10 | Notes: Italian Spritz Accord, Bitter Orange, Vetiver, Pepper Duet, Earl Grey Accord, Cardamome Hear, Muscade Essence, Cedarwood, Patchouli

I hated this one so much I took 0 notes because I didn't like the way it smelled.

Final thoughts:

The Sephora Favorites Perfume Sampler: Summer Edition is a great discovery set for anyone, as I mentioned before. I do question how some of these are best sellers in Sephora, but everyone's nose is different. I think we can all learn that here from a recovering Anosmic. Overall, this discovery set did help me discover some citrus fragrances that I do enjoy. I think having a diverse perfume collection is important, so this helps me branch out. Sephora offers a new discovery set for each season and also during the holidays. I will definitely be featuring more Sephora Perfume samplers and hopefully some from Ulta as well.

Thank you all so much for reading. I will see you in my next blog post.

Signed,

The Anosmic Alchemist.