Dries van Noten discovery set review

After a few weeks of skin testing, here is my review of this wonderful discovery set. Overall, this set is worth it. Most aren’t winners, but they’re very fun and some of them are surprising stars. The purchase of the box is discounted towards the price of a full bottle as well. This was super fun to experience.

Note: i ran out of room in the images to include the notes of all of these, sorry about that! Also I’m bad at spelling (and lazy) so bear with me!

SANTAL GREENERY DVN 3/5 Lush! Fresh! Fig! reminds me of grove by the sea by Arquiste. Maybe more fig than that perfume because it’s slightly sweeter. I wish i got more violet from this. Really beautiful lovely green scent. 4 hours in and the sandalwood and white musk kick in. Kind of mid. It’s nice but like whatever. Final notes after first wear: it’s very nice! Lasts about 6-7 hours. I think there are other green scents that do what this is trying to do better at a lower price point (hint Arquiste grove by the sea, my favorite green scent of all time)

ROSA CARNIVORA 2.5/5 strong photorealistic rose scene. Smells like the real flower. Initial skin test it warms up considerably but feels one dimensional. Starts to get more woody after a few minutes but still smells like 1100 other rose scents. Compare this to portrait of a lady and portrait wins the woody Rose contest. Even my favorite good old reliable Rose 31 from le Labo feels more dimensional. After about 20 min, I’m starting to get the patchouli, starting to get slightly acidic? Hour 2-3 VERY floral. The rose fades away and you are left with a floral vetiver mix. Starting to get the labdinum. Hour 4: it’s almost gone :/ barely anything left but a light floral woody scent. Overall, good for rose lovers but not worth the price tag.

RAVING ROSE: 2/5 Opening is an explosion of soft pepper scents, which always make me sneeze. After about minute it develops into a more floral scent with pepper top notes still strong. Boring. Rose. Pretty. Musky rose scent. Photorealistic and pretty but this is very expensive for a peppered rose scent. Between these two roses, they smell very similar and it seems strange to make two peppery rose scents,

FLEUR DU MAL 4/5 Ambery and peach! Initial spray is very bland and hard to tell what you are smelling. After about 15 min you start to get the peach coming through 12 hours later it’s faded but present. Kind of nice but somewhat mid Second wear: it’s a very nice scent, very unique but somehow i don’t love it. I can’t nail exactly what it is. It’s just missing something i love, maybe a citrus note, or something more floral? Great longevity.

JARDIN DE LORANGIE 4/5 wow! I LOVE the initial spray. Incredible orange blossom, like your walking through a garden in the spring. Dry down it fades a lot. Strong citrus and neroli. I’m a sucker for a good citrus white floral. Second wear: wow, she’s so lovely. You close your eyes and you are nose deep in orange blossoms outside in the spring. Beautiful pairing! This is my second favorite

ROCK THE MHYR 3/5 This is a POWERHOUSE scent. Very strong amber, bold spices and huge projection! great on my boyfriend, warm, spicy, mhyrr. Very sexy on him, warm and oriental. First test on me was not great. Itfirst time i used it, it was so strong i had to rub it off after an hour. I was in a weird mood so it hit my nose wrong. Second wear, the amber was beautiful but the dry down was sickly on me. Wish i loved this on myself but something disagreed with my chemistry.

VODOO CHILE 1/5 Spicy. Metallic? Light? Initial test (on boyfriend skin) is really nice. He doesn’t like it. Definitely rosemary? Dry down leads STRONG with chile. Like you rubbed chile on you. Interesting, but not a winner.

SOEI MALAQUIS 5/5 what to even say besides well deserved hype. Sexy! Beautiful! Initial spray is warm and silky, i didn’t think silk had a distinct smell but i compared it to a kimono i have and it’s definitely a note that’s in this fragrance. Gorgeous scent. Smells like a silky chestnut upon its opening, which after a few hours moves into a rich cocoa which is not gourmand. Soothing, subtle and powerful. Unique in a way I’ve never smelled a sophisticated cocoa note before. This is mature, classy and sexy. Something a billionaires mistress wears. Towards the end of it’s wear, it smells calmer. Dry down leans more chestnut than cocoa which is ideal. Hour 8 - still beautiful and strong.

NEON GARDEN 4/5 beautiful opening. I’m a sucker for iris. I really do not get the powdery iris from this, the mint really evens it out. Very beautiful perfect for spring. Wow initial dry down, carrots actually come through!!!!! Impressive! Second wear: very unique iris scent that’s unexpected. This is not grandma or old fashioned. It’s young, pretty and the carrot note is awesome. This is under hyped.

CANNABIS PATCHOULI 3/5 very cannabis and patchouli as an opening, shocking i know. Slight hint of wood and citrus, and the whole thing rounds out at about min 5 to a very soothing green woody scent. You can get the sage and incense peaking through around 30 min in. Slightly sweet as it mellows out. Shortest lasting of the bunch. Very beautiful green wood scent, but this smell can be accomplished at a much lower price point.

CHAMOMILE SATIN 3.5/5 soothing, rich, wonderful. Initial smell is very chamomile forward and feels like a bed time fragrance to me. After a couple hours, the vanilla pops in lavender. This is truly the sleepy time tea of lux fragrance. 5 hours in and it’s mostly just vanilla. A nice vanilla, but this can be accomplished cheaper. I would have loved a more herbal note leftover

VANILLA CAMOUFLAGE 4/5 I am not usually huge on vanilla. It’s fine, i like it in fragrance but im not a vanilla chaser. BUT i would be if this is what most would smell like. The opening is soft, aromatic and herbal, garden scent. The galbanum reminds me a bit of a flower shop with babies breath around. Soft is the main description. Evens out around 15 min with the wood and vanilla making its way to the front of the line, which is so beautiful. This is sophisticated spring time. Beautiful, almost full bottle worthy. Lasts around 6-7 hours.