Anyone familiar with the work of Dominique Dubrana (the passport name of perfumer Abdes Salaam) is rejoicing at the news of a new fragrance by him. The two ladies of the tried & tested decanting service Surrender to Chance commissioned two fragrances to him and the results are predictably gorgeous.
I had reviewed them both on Fragrantica, where I held a draw for 2 decants provided by Surrender to Chance (the
winners are announced at the bottom of the article).
Today it is my honor to hold another
draw for another 2 decants, 5ml of each scent that is, prepared again by the ladies of StC, for 2 readers of Perfume Shrine, sent by post by me anywhere in the world.
Please
post a comment below, (voicing an opinion, a question or commentary on the blog etc.) and you're eligible. Draw is open till Wednesday midnight and winners will be announced on Thursday.
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What can I say, I've learned so much through this blog and I'm grateful for the knowledge. I enjoy your Pinterest boards as well, especially the glory that is Greece. Thanks for the giveaway, as a jasmine lover I've been wanting to try these.
ReplyDeleteI was not a floral lover, actually quite the contrary, but recently I have a new interest for jasmine and tuberose. The quality I appreciate and seek the most in those two flowers is the intoxicating creaminess. I would love to test them, the review really intrigued me.
ReplyDeleteThank you
Like the previous commenter, I was never a floral lover, but this past year, my nose has changed, and I have bought both Carnal Flower and Amouage Honour, which I would never have thought possible a couple of years ago. Tuberose is now a note which I am fascinated and puzzled by because of its creamy properties, and having read your review, I'm even more interested.
ReplyDeleteHow generous of StC. I am very curious about both perfumes, but I am more drawn to Coldwater Canyon - if it really smells of forest and mountains, it must be good.
ReplyDeleteFrom the reviews on Fragrantica, I think that Coldwater Canyon sounds wonderful. I love scents that balance floral with green, and I love ones that make me feel like part of me is outdoors all day.
ReplyDeleteHow very generous of you, Ms Elena, and Surrender to Chance, for such an enticing give~away! Again, I am delighted to have learnt something new today from reading your blog... I never knew there was a business in decanting perfumes! That will surely have to be explored soon! Sadly, two favoured jasmine bushes that I regularly visited died off in a severe winter frost in 2010 here in Dublin. I haven't really replaced them with a jasmine fragrance, not having found one that I yet adore. So I have to admit that your generous competition piques my interest! Please may I drop my name into the hat? Thank you so much! Emma*
ReplyDeleteSomehow I missed this release... I've really enjoyed the few VdP scenes I've been able to get by hand on, so I would love to give this a try! Thanks for the draw!
ReplyDeleteI am definitely a perfume-addicted soul. What I have learned from your blog is direction to choose well my "blind-perfumery", when each time I am trilled to buy perfumes that I cannot test before.
ReplyDeleteReviews are the enjoyable stories that you are making;
Contribution of my olfactory education;
Continuous curiosity;
Thanks for the draw & opportunity
I have been thinking of your posts re: the end of niche. I hope, even though this is a tough time for we fragrance lovers, I really hope the perfume community does not become silent. I so enjoy your blog-your unique interpretations of scent, and food, and life. I hope you will continue to write and encourage responses.
ReplyDeleteSincerely,
Carole
I haven't yet tried any scents by DD, I would love to try either of these. Thanks for the draw!
ReplyDeletei have never had the chance to smell anything from abdes salaam----and would dearly love to do so! after reading your reviews of the two perfumes, i am very intrigued by both. a well-done jasmine with a subtle animal undertone sounds delightfully seductive; and i love the idea of jasmine intertwined with desert scents at night...please do enter me in the drawing. and thank you, as always, for the opportunity.
ReplyDeleteThe ladies of StC have rescued me many times with their remarkable selection of fragrance samples and decants. I am a jasmine lover and have been on the lookout for "the one" for over a year now. It is amazing how different jasmine scents are, and I am sure Surrender and Cold Water Canyon are lovely. Thank you for the draw and for all the fragrant facts and fun shared on Perfume Shrine. You are a wonderful resource for thoughtful and in-depth scent knowledge.
ReplyDeleteI have had a lot of fun ordering from STC and enjoy their blog, Perfume Posse. I hope their perfumes are a success and would love to try them. Thanks for the draw!
ReplyDeleteThanks to surrender to chance my wallet thins monthly but thanks to surrender to chance I have been able to know what I like, push my boundaries, and learn something new about my, sometimes, aloof nose.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the draw, Elena!
Stay warm! (I'm freezing. I freeze slowly and surely)
StC has helped widen my scent horizon and I have ordered both samples of niche and the limited distribution perfumes from them. So far, I am not sure I have found neither the perfect sandalwood perfume, nor the perfect amber. For now I am saving up for some other scents in FB and enjoying L'Ambre des Merveilles which I just bought for myself.
ReplyDeleteWould never turn down a chance to try the StC signature scents. I guess the jasmine one sounds most unusual, the Cold Water Canyon more like my style.
Such a great giveaway, thank you for the opportunity! I love that whenever I come here there's always something exciting happening. :)
ReplyDeleteI love re-reading your scent twin, twin peaks and best inexpensive scent articles. such great tips and insight.
ReplyDeleteI know a lot about perfume from the consumer's vantage...to actually create it from scratch I think would be a wonderful experience, but I have been submerged in another career for most of my life. My perfume addiction and love is something I have had since I was a young teenager. I am so happy to have found this blog which enhances my real love in life...perfume. And although I have rarely won anything in my life, I thank you for the opportunity to have the chance to do so. Also I am very interested in the fragrances of Dominique Dubrana.
ReplyDeleteThis site and blog has really expanded my overall understanding of the area of scent--and carried over to other parts of my life. I actually seek out new experiences and unusual scent combinations.Thanks for all the information!
ReplyDeleteI was just hiking in Coldwater Canyon this morning! I've never experienced any fragrances by Abdes Salaam, but have read a lot about him. I'm also intrigued by the meeting of these minds. What a treat it would be to experience the results.
ReplyDeleteThese sound so nice with such interesting notes. Thank you for the draw and chance to try them.
ReplyDeleteI've been seeing blog posts about these for the last little while and am very interested in trying them. The notes sound lovely and I really like the story...of course Surrender to Chance is a well known (and loved) business for any sample hungry fumer...growing to release their own brand, very cool and congrats to them!
ReplyDeleteThis is Gigi from CAN
This blog got me enthused about perfume, and then you introduced me to Surrender to Chance - & life has been a lot more interestingly scented ever since. & as a ponder - the sheer internationalism of this whole moment: Italy-America-Greece- plus where all we below the line come from - maybe a perfume inspired by the internet would be an idea...
ReplyDeleteThis sounds so interesting to try. I have always wanted to try some of his creations. Amazing draw.
ReplyDeleteI love Salaam's fragrances! I already own Mecca Balsam, Tabac, Tawaf, Ihram, and Amber Rose, and plan to get Aalacho No.2 next. I am very anxious to try the new fragrances he created for Surrender to Chance. Fingers crossed.
ReplyDeleteI've been following perfumeshrine for just under a year now and have learnt so much about scent ever since. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI would love to try these and am happy to see STC branching out into developing new scents. And I love this line's Mecca Balsam.
ReplyDeleteLove jasmine! A light whiff of it takes me back to my long gone grandma’s garden and those summer evenings sweetened by the lush aroma of her mockorange bush (we call it jazminas in my native language though), the fragrance of which is reminiscent of true jasmine. As somebody who only starts the journey of perfume I find your blog an inexhaustible source of knowledge and inspiration. Thank you for that and for this great opportunity! I surrender! :DD
ReplyDeleteThis blog is amazing and it has opened my eyes to the world of fragrance. Cant wait to try this
ReplyDeleteYes please! These fragrances have been intriguing me since their launch, but I'm scared of a blind buy.
ReplyDeleteOn the blog, I'm a longtime reader and the particular aspect that makes Perfumeshrine stand out is the great mix of current and vintage reviews, with a good dose of historical&cultural context.
" My apologies if this is a duplicate comment"
ReplyDeleteYour blog astounds me every time I read it. I love perfume and always have since the first one my dad gave me Anais Anais. I thought I knew a fair bit about perfume but I find every blog post of yours educates me, teases me and increases my knowledge and lust list. Thank you
I've read your blog for a long time, even though I am basically a lurker. I would love to try the lovelies being offered. Thank you for that and for always writing with integrity, erudition, and clarity.
ReplyDeleteYour review of both fragrances makes them sound irresistible. I've had a longing for jasmine lately in general. But Coldwater Canyon really sounds intriguing to me because I grew up in another canyon in Los Angeles, and how wonderful it would be to smell again the scent of night-blooming jasmine mixed with the natural scent of the chaparral.
ReplyDeleteAll in all, it sums up like a jasmine galore! Well, I am into jasmine - not all the time, and not every kind of jasmine, but when my cravings rise, I am like a hound after it, and nothing should stand in my way! ;) Probably due to the "subliminal eroticism"...Human nature :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for the chance, Ellena!
the blog has been such an inspiration. I have learned so much about perfume from here. thank you for this.
ReplyDeleteI have high hopes from these. Especially the animalic one. Fingers crossed... :)
ReplyDeleteI would like to try the perfume.
ReplyDeleteI'm a big fan of STC, La Via del Profumo, jasmine, and of course Perfume Shrine. Through STC I learned about La Via's Aalacho #2, a sleeper hit with me, in a category all its own, and one I keep reaching for in a wide variety of moods and situations. Elena, thanks for your lovely Fragrantica reviews of Surrender and Coldwater Canyon. This should be a good one!
ReplyDeleteI love how this blog specializes in tasteful yet NSFW artwork. You're always introducing me to artists I've never seen and I appreciate the female-body positive sensibility. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThis blog is a great pleasure--very informative, and often fanning the flames of desire!
ReplyDeleteI have been wanting to try both of these. Thanks for the opportunity! I love jasmine, and have recently maybe found "my" jasmine, SL A La Nuit. It was love at first sniff, but I would love to smell these too!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link to your Fragrantica review--I have been curious about this pair of perfumes, but there are always so many things to try, and so little time (and money). When I first discovered perfume blogs, I was hoping the reviews would help me narrow down the list of things to try, but instead my list grows and grows. I'm still glad I found you, though.
ReplyDeleteWhat great reviews! I'm often hear reading (I love the history aspect that you often add to your reviews) and rarely commenting, but what a wonderful draw! These sound lovely.
ReplyDeleteI am so loving jasmine right now --- I'd love to smell both of these! Thanks for writing a blog that is so packed full of knowledge on perfume notes, history, and everything else a perfume fanatic loves!
ReplyDelete