If you’re a big fan of fine fragrance, then today’s blog post is going to be right up your street as I’m going to be sharing my thoughts on the summer edition of The Fragrance Shops Discovery Club box.
Now, if you haven’t come across the Discovery Club before then I definitely recommend looking into it, as it’s basically a subscription box that you get once a quarter instead of once a month, and instead of receiving a variety of different makeup, skincare and scented products, you only get perfume samples. It’s the perfect box for those of us who don’t want to spend a lot of money but would love to try out a few new fragrances now and then.
The box costs just £5.00 per quarter, and contains a fabulous selection of the best and latest fragrances for both men and women. I had a quick peek at some past boxes and it seems that you get a different amount of samples each time, but for the price of this particular subscription box I don’t think that’s going to be an issue.
When the ‘Summer 2015’ edition landed on my door mat last week I was thrilled to see that it came packaged in a beautiful gift box in summery colours, and when I opened it up the first thing I came across was a set of money off vouchers which could be used to buy full-sized versions of the fragrances found in this months box.
I’m pretty sure I would have used at least one of them as well, but unfortunately my box had originally been delivered to the wrong address and the vouchers had expired by the time it got to me. I was absolutely gutted, but I know that it couldn’t be helped.
The ‘Summer 2015’ Discovery Club box contained 8 different fragrance samples, which I was pleasantly surprised about. And there was an equal split between male and female scents. I’d noticed in other bloggers past reviews that there were usually more fragrances for her than there were for him so I was really pleased that these were split equally. It meant that I could pass on the male scents to my other half and he wouldn’t feel hard done by because I had more than him to try out!!
For Her
The first of the 4 female fragrances I tried out was Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue. It has a lovely, fresh fruity floral scent that definitely makes me think of those long summer days. Light Blue has top notes of bergamot, cedar wood, bellflower and lemon, heart notes of rose, bamboo and lily, and base notes of amber and musk. I found that although Light Blue has a very subtle scent to it, I could still smell it on my skin at the end of the day. It gets a big thumbs up from me!
Next up I tried 007 for Women. It has a beautiful oriental scent to it and is inspired by the iconic women found in Bond’s seductive and daring world. 007 for Women has top notes of black pepper, rose and bergamot, heart notes of jasmine, blackberry and gardenia, and base notes of black vanilla husk, white musk and cedar wood. This particular scent is a lot different to what I would usually go for, but I really like it. It has a sort of ‘air of mystery’ to it. It also has amazing staying power, and lasts the longest of all the female perfumes I received in the Discovery Club box. It’s truly gorgeous though and I’m definitely considering purchasing a full sized bottle.
My favourite of all the female fragrances in this particular box just has to be Givenchy Dahlia Divin. This is the sort of fragrance I usually go for – something beautifully floral and woody. Dahlia Divin has top notes of mirabelle plum, heart notes of jasmine sambac and white flowers, and base notes of patchouli, sandalwood and vetiver. I’d never given Givenchy perfumes a second glance before trying this, but now I’m excited to see what else they have to offer, and have already treated myself to a 30ml bottle of this! It’s just what a designer fragrance should be like – great smelling, beautifully packaged and long lasting. Absolutely fantastic.
And the fourth and final female fragrance in this quarters Discovery Club box was Ma Vie from Hugo Boss. This has a beautiful, sophisticated scent to it. It’s very fruity floral so right up my street, with top notes of cactus blossom, heart notes of pink freesia, jasmine and rose bud and base notes of cedar wood. It’s so light and summery and I would most definitely repurchase it.
For Him
The first of the men’s fragrances that Nathan tried out is his current favourite – Paco Rabanne 1 Million. It has quite an intense, masculine scent to it, but it’s really lovely. When Nathan comes home from work at the end of the day I can still smell it on him. It has top notes of grapefruit, mint and mandarin orange, heart notes of cinnamon and rose, and base notes of leather, woods, patchouli and amber. Since Nathan was really impressed with this (and he’s a hard man to please) I’m going to pick up a full sized version of it for his Christmas stocking!
The next fragrance he tried out was one that neither of us had heard of before: Loewe Solo Loewe Cedro. Despite us not having heard of them before we both thought the scent was absolutely gorgeous. It’s quite cirtrusy and has top notes of mandarin orange and pink pepper, heart notes of lavender and nutmeg and base notes of benzoin and cedar wood. It’s the perfect male fragrance for summer!
Next came another scent from Dolce & Gabbana. This one is called Intenso, and it has a very woody, aromatic fragrance to it. Intenso has top notes of basil, aquatic notes, marigold and geranium, heart notes of lavender, clary sage, hay, bran and cypress, and base notes of sandalwood, musk, amber, moepel accord and labdanu. This is very much like most of the other scents that Nathan has in his collection, so it came as no surprise that we both really liked it. I think it’s safe to say that he will definitely repurchase this fragrance in the future.
And last but certainly not least, Nathan tried out Prada Luna Rossa Sport. This is said to be inspired by the world of extreme sailing and Prada’s Luna Rossa Challenge for the America’s Cup. It has top notes of juniper berries and ginger, heart notes of lavender, and base notes of vanilla and tonka beans. It has a really lovely, masculine scent to it, and Nathan has really enjoyed using it.
Overall I think the Summer Edition of The Fragrance Shop’s Discovery Club Box is absolutely fantastic, and I would most definitely consider buying all 8 scents again in the future. I also think the Discovery Club is a fantastic idea and I would recommend signing up if you enjoy trying out new scents but don’t want to spend a fortune buying the full sized versions straight away.
The Fragrance Shop Discovery Club – £5.00 per quarter ||link||
Have you tried any of the scents from the Summer Discovery Club box?
Why not let me know in the comments below?
Thanks for reading.
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*Box kindly sent for review consideration
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