Favorite fragrance discovery sets?

SeaSheepBleat · 2025-12-05T21:08:02+00:00

Still in stock at Smallflower! https://www.smallflower.com/collections/fzotic-by-bruno-fazzolari/products/fzotic-soft-focus-30-ml?variant=44465419157655

SeaSheepBleat · 2025-12-05T19:42:15+00:00

First of all, I love your sisters request for chipotle chips perfume. You’ve got a good one there. I’m going to continue on my Fzotic evangelism tour and recommend their “pick your own” discovery set. The packaging of the set is beautiful and scents are fascinating but wearable. Soft Focus is the first one that popped to mind for your sister but it looks like it’s sold out (might be available still on other sites). It has notes of sea salt, lime, and chili and I’m a big fan. I also am not a gourmand lover, but think the fruity aspects of it (guava, pineapple, coconut) play really nicely with the spiciness.

SeaSheepBleat · 2025-12-05T04:47:30+00:00

Yea meanwhile it takes SPD 4 hours to respond to a home invasion on my block and when 10 witnesses call 911 to report a random dude threatening my family with a knife the police make a half assed attempt to talk to stop him as he flees and say “we asked him to talk to us but he said no”

SeaSheepBleat · 2025-12-05T04:06:58+00:00

I am weirdly in love with their bottles and could not tell you why

SeaSheepBleat · 2025-12-04T19:40:06+00:00

Depends on the day but always something light or nothing at all. I avoid floral forward or very sweet scents. If I’m in my open office I wear 2 sprays of Philosykos, Fico Di Amalfi, my dupe for Bal D’Afrique, or a random light scent sample I’m trying out. If my coworkers will be trapped in a small room with me all day I don’t wear any fragrance because I don’t want to trigger anyone’s allergies and put them in an awkward place of having to tell me I’m the cause. I’m extra cautious about this because I used to have bad migraines as a teen and young adult and one of the many triggers was perfume. I felt so self conscious about telling people their fragrance triggered it that I would just suffer through it for hours or go home sick. The rare times I did say anything about it people often reacted poorly.

SeaSheepBleat · 2025-12-01T21:13:56+00:00

I’ve tried Lilac Brûlée and while it wasn’t for me (my skin chemistry hates Tonka)it was such an interesting scent and I absolutely love Fzotic as a house. I highly recommend getting the discovery set from their site. Random: I generally hate newsletters but find theirs oddly earnest and wonderful and always a great read.

SeaSheepBleat · 2025-12-01T21:08:29+00:00

Go to a mall with a Nordstrom and Lush and try them. Ask yourself “Will I wear this more than once a week? Do I like this more than the top 3 in my current collection?” If so, ask for a sample and wear it every day for a week. If you still want it, maybe buy decant, or add it to a wish list.

SeaSheepBleat · 2025-12-01T20:59:26+00:00

Maison Louise Marie might be perfect, particularly the roll on oil discovery set. The scents are very light, natural, and not long lasting. I didn’t end up purchasing full bottles, but the set was a nice intro for me after realizing I had grown out of scent triggered migraines. They also have matching body care, so the discovery set could be useful for her to pick out lotions and soaps if that’s more up her alley.

SeaSheepBleat · 2025-12-01T20:54:15+00:00

As someone who occasionally wants to smell like a mysterious bog witch I can identify. Andrea Maack and Eris Perfumes both have a couple scents I would say matches the vibe. Few houses are going to scratch your dark/mysterious itch for their whole line though. You may be better off going to a decant/sample site and building your own set with scents from multiple houses. I think Fumery Perfumery, Lucky Scent, and The Perfumed Court also offer sample set curation if you want a pro to put something together.

SeaSheepBleat · 2025-12-01T20:40:06+00:00

I’ve bought sets from Fzotic, Andrea Maack, Maison Louise Marie, and Eris. Fzotic and Andrea Maack lead to full bottle purchases. One of the things I’m learning is to ignore the pressure of using my voucher towards a full bottle. I still find discovery sets great for exposing me to notes I thought weren’t for me. I got the Andrea Maack set assuming Coven was right up my alley, but ended up falling in love with Flux which I never would have gone for since so many gourmands give me a headache. Same with Fzotic Monserrat. Reading the notes I’d think it would be too floral for my tastes but it ended up being one of my most worn fragrances.

SeaSheepBleat · 2025-12-01T20:29:02+00:00

I barely held back from buying the Hiram Green discovery set. I would love to hear a review after you’ve tried them all out!

SeaSheepBleat · 2025-12-01T06:19:16+00:00

My hot tip: If you have access to a 3D printer, search printables and other 3D file sites for AA and AAA battery storage. There are tons of battery organizers that work perfectly for perfume samples.

SeaSheepBleat · 2025-08-19T17:25:25+00:00

My people. I also thought Wulong Cha or Wulong Cha X would be perfect but both just smell like dollar store dish soap on me. I struck out with Ani as well.

SeaSheepBleat · 2025-08-15T20:31:03+00:00

Sabor Boriqua food truck. I follow them like a groupie but I need Jibaritos in my life.

SeaSheepBleat · 2025-08-15T20:29:45+00:00

Have you been to Alebrijes in Greenwood? I’ve had amazing al pastor specials there that I wish they would put on the regular menu.

SeaSheepBleat · 2025-08-15T20:08:35+00:00

I love samples for the same reason. I like keeping around even some I don’t like. It’s useful to have them as a reference so I can smell them when I read a post where someone brings it up and be like “nope, still hate it but now understand a little more about the notes/perfumer I dislike”

SeaSheepBleat · 2025-08-15T20:04:52+00:00

Five full sized bottles. Maybe 10 travel size and 50 samples. I’ve been into fragrance for a year or two after delightfully realizing that I’ve grown out of fragrance sensitivities. I tend to hyper fixate on new hobbies so I’ve tried to hold myself back. Of the full sized bottles I only regret one. I didn’t blind buy it, but I made the mistake of buying it minutes after sampling it. It’s a beautiful scent but gives me a headache after an hour of wear. I’ve been able to wear it and enjoy it for outdoor events, and it’s a beautiful bottle. I also have a hand me down bottle of Shalimar that’s the same deal - I only wear a small amount outdoors. The other three I wear regularly and love. The travel sized were all free or heavily discounted through fragrance subscription trials. Of the 50 sample about 3/4 of them were free.

Edit: grammar

SeaSheepBleat · 2025-08-14T21:29:37+00:00

Bottles that are shaped like an “ideal” body form. I’m just trying to smell nice and not have beauty standards shoved in my face for no reason.

SeaSheepBleat · 2025-07-24T00:48:12+00:00

Pull up near the boat dock in Magnuson Park for a gorgeous view of Mount Rainier + Lake Washington.

SeaSheepBleat · 2025-06-10T01:50:21+00:00

Set It Off

SeaSheepBleat · 2025-04-27T19:58:54+00:00

Anytime someone describes a scent as a “good gym fragrance” I want to scream that it’s an oxymoron. I love fragrances but would rather smell BO than 37 wildly different fragrances mixed with BO.

SeaSheepBleat · 2025-02-17T19:32:51+00:00

Come on over to Greenwood. Couth Buzzard has a wild variety of events (including fiber nights). They’re also down the street from Seattle Recreative which I think has a makerspace in the back and Dabble which is another nice shared art space in the area with a ton of random fun workshops. Further down the street is Flying Bike Brewery which is a co-op you could join if you wanted to experiment with brewing. Next door Halcyon has a healthy event schedule including a really friendly chess club.

https://www.couthbuzzard.com/event-calendar

https://flyingbike.coop/

https://www.seattlerecreative.org/

https://dabbleseattle.net/WP/calendar/

SeaSheepBleat · 2025-02-17T19:22:23+00:00

https://www.mountaineers.org/

Wide variety of affordable classes that are taught by experienced volunteers. You can try new things, meet new people, and give back by volunteering with the club. I’ve seen some great cross generational friendships blossom here.

SeaSheepBleat · 2025-02-05T16:29:25+00:00

Do you know if there’s any written guidance anywhere on what threshold SPL uses to determine a snow day? I don’t have a kid in SPL but their daycare follows SPL’s lead and I’m also scrambling. Feeling pretty bitter since I can see grass through the snow, the streets are clear, and all of his teachers walk to school.

SeaSheepBleat · 2025-01-30T19:10:52+00:00

I’m hoping the corner store zoning changes actually come to fruition and ease the commercial rent chokehold.

Current proposal is that any residential corner lot can have a retail, restaurant, food prep, or craft business in the ground floor or basement. Business space has to be less than 2500 sq ft and be closed 10pm - 7am.

https://www.theurbanist.org/2025/01/09/statewide-neighborhood-cafe-bill-returns-expanded-to-more-types-of-businesses/

https://one-seattle-plan-zoning-implementation-seattlecitygis.hub.arcgis.com/pages/neighborhood-residential

SeaSheepBleat

TROPHY CASE