Hello and welcome to my first blog post for 2019; introducing the January 2019 edition of my ‘Sampling The Scents’ series. If you’re new here, this post will feature six different fragrance samples where I will share my thoughts on each scent and provide my own personal star rating. Without furthermore, lets dive into the fourth instalment of ‘Sampling The Scents‘. Starting it off for January 2019. Allow me to introduce this month’s scents for the series, featuring; Tocca – Cleopatra, Jo Malone – Pomegranate Noir, Tory Burch – Just Like Heaven, Prada – Candy Sugar Pop, Estee Lauder – Modern Muse Nuit and last but not least, BLVGARI – OMNIA Pink Sapphire. These samples have been included in various beauty orders I’ve made throughout the last year, lets go through each one..

The Fragrances and Their Notes

– Tocca Cleopatra; starting off with top notes of cassis, grapefruit, green leaves and blackcurrant, with middle notes of peach, tuberose and jasmine, while ending with base notes of vanilla, musk, amber and patchouli. Released globally in May 2007, developed in collaboration by Tocca’s own world reknowned perfumer’s Ellen Molner, Sonia Constant and James Bell, ‘Cleopatra’ is inspired by the iconic Mediterranean seductress and reflects whats thought to be her personal favourite notes in sweet grapefruit, luxury Egyptian jasmine and rich Indian patchouli. The campaign for Cleopatra really began at the end of 2016 when Tocca announced briefly that they’ll be releasing a new in-house fragrance in 2007.. not long after it was announced with the title and debuted in May of 2007. Cleopatra went on to inspire further fragrances depicting from iconic women and other exotic locationsa from around the world.

– Tory Burch Just Like Heaven; it starts off with top notes of hyacinth, rhubarb and mandarin orange, with middle notes of heliotrope and ylang ylang, while rounding it up with base notes of spicy tonka bean. ‘Just Like Heaven’ marks Tory’s tenth fragrance launch and was released in April 2018 with a launch event held at Manhattan, New York’s Le Coucou restuarant, guests included actress Mindy Kaling, model Chanel Iman, Sofia Sanchez among others with canadian singer Jessie Reyez performing The Cure’s song ‘Just Like Heaven’. All guests were handed an orange burch gift bag when they left. ‘Just Like Heaven’ is inspired by thoughts of luxury and dreams with a touch of femininity and consists of a citrus mixture in notes.

– Jo Malone Pomegranate Noir; starts out with top notes of watermelon, plum, rhubarb, pomegranate and raspberry, with middle notes of clove, rose, pink pepper, jasmine, lily of the valley, frankincense, spicy woods, opoponax, guaiac wood and olibanum, rounding out with base notes of musk, amber, patchouli and virginia cedar. Released globally in December 2005 and was developed by perfumer Beverley Bayne. ‘Pomegranate Noir’ comes available in 30ml and 100ml size bottles.

– Estee Lauder Modern Muse Nuit; it starts off with top notes of citrus, mandarin orange and cassis, with middle notes of heliotrope, chamomile and Chinese jasmine, it settles with base notes of Madagascar vanilla, musk, amber, spicy tonka bean, sandalwood and patchouli. ‘Modern Muse Nuit’ was released globally in October 2016 and the face of the campaign is model Kendall Jenner. The bottle is a tall, slim golden tower with a navy blue ombre upper topping. It comes available in a 30ml, 50ml and 100ml size.

– BLVGARI OMNIA Pink Sapphire; top notes of pink pepper, pink grapefruit, and pink pomelo, with middle notes of peach, frangipani, rose and tiare flower, and is based with sandalwood, orris root, musk, vanilla and woody notes. ‘OMNIA Pink Sapphire’ was inspired by taking chances, spontaneity and sweetness reflecting festive floral hues. Developed by perfumer Alberto Morillas, it was released globally in April 2018 with a launch event held at the Goldstein Residence in Los Angeles, CA. Guests included Amanda Cerny and Gala Gonzalez. The multiple faces of the fragrances campaign were Amanda Steele, Madison Beer and Margaret Zhang. The bottle design is the iconic BLVGARI ‘B’ with hot pink edges and chrome detailing. The fragrance comes available in a 25ml, 40ml and 65ml size.

– Prada Candy Sugar Pop; top notes of bergamot leaf, citruses, red apple and bergamot, with middle notes of white peach and florals, and based with caramel and vanilla notes. ‘Candy Sugar Pop’ released globally in February 2018 and was developed by perfumer Daniela Andrier, the launch campaign was lead by model Lexi Bolling. It was inspired by original signature caramel fragrance ‘Candy’ from Prada, however this time with a fun ironic twist into youthfulness. The bottle is inspired by Prada’s own three-layered Saffiano bag with being a tall slim pastel pink with baby blue spin top lid, yellow bottom, white rim around the top and gold detailing in font and the trims. It is available in the 30ml, 50ml and 80ml sizes.

My Thoughts & Ratings
Some of these I have already bought as I loved them, others I have tested out over the last few months and have gathered my thoughts on each one, so lets head right into the ratings and break it down:

Tocca Cleopatra; this has easily became one of my favourite scents to date! It’s soft, light, feminine and floral.. just how I like my fragrances. I first tried this in-store at Mecca Maxima and I have loved it ever since. In Christmas 2017, I purchased a gift set from Tocca that included a rollerball size sample and then just last Christmas of 2019, I again purchased another Tocca gift set that was solely ‘Cleopatra’ and came with a rollerball sample and a mini deluxe size bottle. My mother was visiting for Christmas holidays recently and I introduced it to her, after showing her she loved it just as much so I do, so I gifted her one of the miniature bottles from the gift set. It is such a terrific scent and perfect for any occasion, even on a casual day. Rating: I will definitely give this one a 5/5 ★★★★★.

Tory Burch Just Like Heaven; …. Rating: I will give this one a 4/5 ★★★★☆.

Jo Malone Pomegranate Noir; I instantly notice the raspberry in this one, even over the pomegranate. It doesn’t necessarily open strong but it has a strength within it, there is a real sweet softness to it. Rating: I will give this one a 3/5 ★★★☆☆.

Estee Lauder Modern Muse Nuit; … Rating: I will give this one a 5/5 ★★★★★.

BLVGARI OMNIA Pink Sapphire; … Rating: I will give this one a 3/5 ★★★☆☆.

Prada Candy Sugar Pop; …. Rating: I will give this one a 3/5 ★★★☆☆.

Where To Buy & Availability
Liked the sounds of one of the fragrances you saw on this post? Want to purchase it? I’ve got you covered! Please find below all the info you need on availability, pricing, locations, etc.

Tocca Cleopatra – the 50ml for $105 AUD at Mecca and the 50ml is also available for $138.95 AUD at Cosmetics Now Australia.

Tory Burch Just Like Heaven – the 50ml for $185.95 AUD at Cosmetics Now Australia.

Jo Malone Pomegranate Noir – the 30ml is $98 AUD at Myer and the 100ml is $198 AUD at Myer. The 30ml is $98 AUD at Jo Malone Australia and the 100ml is $198 AUD at Jo Malone Australia as well.

Estee Lauder Modern Muse Nuit – the 50ml is $65 AUD at Priceline Australia, the 50ml is also available at Adore Beauty Official.

BLVGARI OMNIA Pink Sapphire – the 65ml is available for $102 AUD at Straberry.Net and the 40ml is also available for $84.50 AUD at Strawberry.Net.

Prada Candy Sugar Pop – the 50ml is available for $142 AUD at Myer and the 80ml is also available for $179 AUD at Myer as well.

Would I Purchase the Full Sizes?
With a couple of them, yes. I’ve already purchased Tocca ‘Cleopatra’ a number of times from <b>Mecca Maxima</b> and once my gift sets have ran out, I’ll purchase the full size bottle because I really LOVE it THAT much! I would also definitely purchase the full size of the Estee Lauder ‘Modern Muse Nuit’, it is a lovely fragrance. I tend to love soft floral hued scents and these two aforementioned are right up there! In terms of the Tory Burch ‘Just Like Heaven’, I feel its nice but not one I love enough to purchase a full bottle of. The same goes with BLVGARI ‘OMNIA Pink Sapphire’, it is a tad too sweet for me to want to fork out money on it, the Jo Malone ‘Pomegranate Noir’ isn’t a typical scent I would wear but I do love this one, so I think I would say yes I would purchase a bottle of that one, perhaps just a small size bottle. And lastly but not least, Prada’s ‘Candy Sugar Pop’ is another one I WOULD purchase a small size bottle of, it is a delectable scent that I cannot go past. Much like the original but a bit softer in a sense, at least for my personal taste it’s a ‘yes’. That concludes the first instalment to my ‘Sampling The Scents’ series for 2019, I hope you have enjoyed learning more about these popular fragrances. xo.