Friday, February 1, 2013

Banana Republic M & W: Fragrance Full Bottles Giveaway

Perfume Shrine is happy to offer another giveaway for its readers: Banana Republic is re-releasing
M & W, two legacy fragrances from their "iconic collection", scents debuting in 1995 and attracting quite a fan base which lamented their demise. So the company is catering to those fans and hoping to attract new ones in the process. I have a full new bottle of each fragrance to give away to two lucky readers. One masculine and one feminine, apart from being enjoyed by the respective sex, they'd make a great St.Valentine's Day gift for one's sweet one. So if you're interested, read on.


Designed to complement each other, M & W are the quintessential yin-yang fragrances to share with your significant other this season. W is a light, sparkling scent with citrus top notes built into amber and sexy musk. M combines sandalwood and white musk with lime and bergamot top notes. Though you've probably seen these notes mentioned numerous times before, they're both not bad at all actually! The W is a light "skin scent", i.e. giving the impression of warm clean skin with greenish, refreshing accents (some lily of the valley? plus some orange blossom for a soapy nuance?) and a good longevity thanks to the musk component. Wearers of Glow and clean floral musks might best appreciate this ambience. It embodies that feeling of just stepping out the shower, putting on fresh fluffy clothes and just having a pleasant buzz of serenity and casual cosiness around you, a smidgen of powder. I'd make a good everyday scent. The M is also fresh, though with a more pronounced citrusy tang and a more mossy background, wearers who like classic colognes in the style of Eau Sauvage and the colognes who follow this exhilarating mold would like it.
They'd both make for a shared scent; surprisingly the women's is very fit for being shared with a man, as there is no major floral component and it wears not very sweet or too powdery (which I understand most men identify as "feminine").

To enter the draw, please tell us whether you share fragrances with your lover (and if you have specific ones, do tells us about them) & why and specify if you're interested in the W (feminine) or M (masculine) fragrance. Draw is open internationally, till Sunday midnight.

In the interests of disclosure, I was sent the bottles via PR.

41 comments:

  1. Maureen14:18

    I received a sample of Chambre Noir from Olfactive Studio, and I shared that with my boyfriend...I really liked it a lot.

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  2. I never share my samples or perfume with my boyfriend. He can get his own! I am interested in the W (feminine)fragrance.
    Thank you for the giveaway!

    2dogs5catscrew@att.net

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  3. Why share, he's gonna have to get his own! Hehehe I'm interested in W, It sounds very nice, love to know what It's like :-) Thanks for the giveaway! llmiles92@hotmail.co.uk

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  4. Merlin16:00

    I love Bulgari Black on my boyfriend and so I made myself a decant and gave him the bottle. In general I love the scent but for some reason I did not wear it that often myself - getting whiffs of it off him though is wonderful.
    At first I was more interested in M because the notes sound more interesting, but actually I really dislike Eau Sauvage - which I find sour. So, because of that I would go for W!

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  5. Yes, I share perfume with him :)) Actually, couple of weeks ago he "stole" a perfume destinated for women use :))

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  6. I never share my perfumes with him. I think he's 'anosmic'. We only share the 'brume d'oreiller'. Interested on W. I+

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  7. Well, my wife only owns a couple of fragrances, and I borrow them every now and again. But she has no interest in my collection (despite some real beauties like a vintage Chanel No. 5 parfum and Patou's Joy). Nonetheless, years before we had met, we both wore M! I would love to own a new bottle! Thanks for the draw...

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  8. This is actually a really cute idea with Valentine's day on everyone's mind.

    I definitely steal my boyfriend's YSL Homme. There's something very comfortable and warm about it. Although I doubt he'd ever steal from me, lol, especially since he barely wears his..

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  9. Hannah20:02

    I'm single, but that doesn't stop me from wearing men's fragrances when I want to. Old spice is a favorite, and I'm tempted by Van Cleef and Arpels' Midnight in Paris.
    I do love skin scents, though, so I am interested in W.

    Thanks for the giveaway!

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  10. Anonymous20:17

    Yes I share!

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  11. how great! Yes, i used to steal Armani White from my husband, but now i am enjoing other scents. I am interested in W. because i love to try new parfumes.
    Thanks, Radmila, rada76@mail.ru

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  12. We share Cartier Declaration. I love it on him, he loves it on me, perfect.

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  13. yes, my husband & i share fragrances all the time...i wear many scents marketed as men's fragrances, & we keep many "unisex" bottles for our mutual use: a couple of amber or sandalwood or vetiver ones, as well as many of serge lutens' line, & terre d'hermes, spicebomb, some arabian-style compositions...please do enter me in the drawing, preference being for the "M" version. i promise it will be shared if won!

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  14. I have shared Herba Fresca with my ex. When we broke up she kept the bottle. That was the worst part of that break up.
    The masculine version M sounds very interesting

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  15. I borrow his Eau Savage, love it!. For this reason I'm curious about the M version.

    Thanks!

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  16. I can't get my husband to wear any scents! I can't get enough of them! I love the sound of the M men's scent. Just my type of scent!

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  17. He only has one, Gier, of which I sneak a little once in a while especially when he's going to be away. Apart from Chloe Capucine I don't have any that would fit the unisex bill. I am intrigued by M with its hints of lime and bergamot. I wonder if this he & she can pull off a unisex scent.

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  18. palmward04:36

    Actually my wife and I share quite a few frags...I draw the line at j'adore and she doesn't tend to wear the brighter citruses I tend to like My Floris Lymes - although I've caught her up in Eau Sauvage...we both love 1000 and (oddly) Quelques Fleurs. Go figure.
    Would love to have these - I was surprised that I actually liked the M&W fragrances...be cool to see what they've come up with.

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  19. I sure share fragrances with my BF. We're both guys, and we both love perfumes. That of course, makes it easier, haha. I buy at least two new perfumes every month, and so does he. We actually have a rather big collection. We have this thing where every morning before going to work, he chooses the one I'd be wearing that day (what he'd like me to smell like), and I do the same thing with him. Needless to say, We'd be interested in the male version.

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  20. My husband and I share the Bond No. 9 New York Amber because it smells differently on each of us and we both like it. I'd love to try the W perfume because it's a classic and will be wearable for almost any day.

    tariqsaleemrana@yahoo.com

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  21. Recently I got Spicebomb, and I'm enjoying wearing it. I don't mind wearing certain male scents. If I am lucky enough to win, I would be more interested in W, but M would likely be great too. Thank you.

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  22. Miss Heliotrope06:03

    I'm not allowed to buy more prefumes for Dr Heliotrope, so he'll not want to try a sample, of course...

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  23. I don't share perfume with him because we for very different styles in scents. I would love the W fragrance. :)

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  24. I've never shared before. I've never really known any guys into fragrances. I'm interested in W.

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  25. Anonymous09:19

    Only one of us shares...me!
    I like his Eau Sauvage like many here, also sneak Creed Royal Oud when he's out. But he's a bit conservative when it comes to mine.
    We had better share M!
    Thanks for the draw,
    Jackie b

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  26. I usually have a fullbottle of perfume in my office. I let all my friends using it if they want it to.

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  27. Anonymous10:36

    I wish we shared but unfortunately we don't. He's very possessive with this stuff, if you can believe it! He's got an even bigger collection than me, so I think M would be a lovely addition to it, if I win.

    Tati @gmail.com

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  28. Vragrance12:41

    It’s long but here goes…In the mid-1990s I dated an exotic looking guy into heavy metal with an enviable mop of thick straight hair down to his waist. Angel was extremely hard to find in Australia at the time but I managed to find a bottle in an expensive obscure boutique in the city. I can still picture him on the afternoon I took that bottle of Angel to his house. He splashed it on his chest, sprayed it all through his hair, flicked his hair around as if he was in a shampoo commercial and declared the scent was now ‘his’…thus rendering ‘Sun, Moon and Stars’ obsolete. That was also a perfume which he’d previously stolen from me. We’re no longer a couple but we’re still friends and to this day, he still wears Angel as part of his ‘secret recipe’. If he ever reads this, I’m in trouble because his secret recipe is a liberal splash of Angel EDP with a light spritz of Calvin Klein ‘CK’ on top. I’m interested in either of the feminine or masculine Banana Republic scents because:
    1. I’m am olfactory addict who’s always looking for new smells; and
    2. My current boyfriend is another long haired musician who also steals my Angel perfume, wears my clothes (we’re conveniently the same size and height) and he never owns a bottle of fragrance unless his mother or I buy some for him. He’d wear either the feminine or the masculine version.
    What is it with these musicians and Angel?! They seem to love it! Neither my ex or my current boyfriend like any of the versions of Amen nor any other Mugler fragrance. One has to draw the line somewhere though – a couple of years ago my boyfriend and I were getting ready to go out one night and he grabbed my bottle of Guet Apens…need I say any more? One should NEVER grab anybody’s bottle of Guet Apens…

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  29. Anonymous19:38

    It's been ages since I posted a comment, but checking out your blogs regularly, hope you don't mind and haven't forgotten me. The feminine one sounds like the thing I need as I want something to wear in bed which wouldn't bother my boyfriend and was thinking of making it something neutral enough so that we can share it, makes sense? So, yeah, include my name in the draw for the W, thanks!
    Aline

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  30. Ellen19:54

    I like his colognes, especially Eau Sauvage, so The 'M' sounds interesting. I'm more likely to "borrow" his than he is to borrow mine.

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  31. My husband and I both wear 4711.

    One of the first things which attracted me to my husband was the way he smelled, although at the time he was not wearing 4711. We met in 1985 and have been together ever since. I would love to try this and would look forward to receiving the W or the M, although the W is my preference, because I AM a W ! Thank you! jean

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  32. Anonymous07:19

    Great draw!I like sharing fragrances with my love...doesn't matter if it's a feminine or masculine fragrance.The W one sounds very, very interesting!Please,enter me in the draw..
    Aglaia

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  33. Well, I usually don't share my fragrante with my boyfriend because we have different taste, except Bvlgari Aqua Marine, wich we absolutelly love because of the amazing summer holiday scent. This perfume is simply beautiful! I am intersted in the W fragrance.
    Thank you!

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  34. We share some of our bottles, particularly the unisex fragrances.
    Would take either W or M but would prefer W

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  35. I always borrow his - some interesting layering effects with my own - but he never uses mine. I'd love to try the W.

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  36. VeniH17:28

    I don´t share fragrances with my husband - he is not very enthusiastic about them in general. But my 14 y.o. son is really fragrance fanatics :-)) I have to bring him samples for his own purposes, otherwise he grabs mine :-( Some of the male frangrances do smell good to me, though.

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  37. I have never personally tried any of the Banana Rep's scents but have enjoyed them on others.
    My husband prefers no scents except what I wear or what some other women wear...If it is a particularly compelling scent on another lady he will ask her if she minds revealing it so perhaps I may give it a go.
    Thanks for the contest.

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  38. MariaA20:40

    I love masculine scents and I steal them from my husband (I buy them for him anyway!)Occasionally I also spray him with mine to see how they develop on him. I love Banana Republic perfumes they are somewhat different from the other mainstream. Thank you for the contest!

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  39. My sweetie and I share Diptyque's Philosykos, though I swear it smells better on him than me. Out jealousy of this fact, I would prefer the feminine bottle, thank you very much.

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  40. We don't share a lot, but some. Mostly colognes. Because everyone loves a good cologne! Or they should.

    I'd like the W, I think, as I like Glow and soapy florals. Yeah, I know.

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  41. ... In fact it was my ex boyfriend who pushed me to explore the world of scents and shared with me his perfumes, always carefully chosen by himself or as a present by friends or by me. We used to share his BVLGARI Eau de The Blanc, also the Extreme, and my favorite BLV. He was a "BVLGARI" type, but I also loved some Armani scents on him. I must say that many many times we discussed about smelling woman perfumes in the air or talking about a friend's perfume that we liked or not... His favorite woman scent was SICILY by D&G.
    I am interested in the W of Banana Republic, but even I am not so lucky, I will look for a sample!!!
    Have a nice day, greetings from Athens/Greece//immortelle

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