Here are some shots of the bottle and box. Simple, solid, comfortable, and well-made. If you’re new to the smell of fig, it is a perfect scent to open your mind to the fragrance. Having said that though, I’m sure you’ll find your way right back to it after exploring other fig scents and realizing it’s the best of them. It’s not just the fruit of the tree, but rather stalk to stem. If you ever douse yourself in it, you’ll understand – an overdose gives you a lusciously succulent green stalk, crushed between your fingers, only later sweetened by the tart and sweet fruit. It has fascinating development and will certainly keep your nose planted into it wondering where it will take you next. It is, without a doubt, a full-on fig tree experience.

Another fabulous one that I really enjoy is Miller Harris Figue Amere. I recommend giving them both a test. I’ve tried plenty of other fig centric scents that really play up the other notes, but these two put the most emphasis on the lead character.

Barney’s, on the other hand, knows how bag events should be. Granted, the minimum to get a bag from Barney’s is $100 more, but it’s still a pretty impressive prize. I ordered a bottle of Cereus #14 and a bottle of Diptyque L’eau de Neroli from my great SA in the Vegas Barney’s last week. She had to do a drop ship from another store for the Diptyque and claimed they were no longer offering it in 100ml (which I think is a crock), so I had to get the monolithic 200ml. I didn’t include the toiletry bag it all came in (surprisingly high quality for a promotional bag, too!), but here’s a snap of all the goodies she stuffed into it:

That’s the kind of bag event I like. I had asked for a few samples as well, so she made 4ml samples of Serge Lutens Douce Amere, Feminite de Bois, Heeley Esprit du Tigre, and Cuir Pleine Fleur. Every time I’ve ordered from her, I get those monstrous samples… THAT keeps me coming back. Occasionally, I’ll come home to find that she’s sent a few of them anyways without me asking (she sent the whole Byredo line a while back… too bad none did much for me). I guess I need to learn to keep the wallet hidden.

Here are a few shots of the Cereus and Diptyque in a bit more detail…

I know a while back and I had written L’Eau de Neroli off because it had that slightly creamy honey note in it, but at that time I was really looking for a pungent, sharp orange blossom – the L’Artisan I got then did the trick… but this one came back to haunt me. It’s fabulous – and perfect for a generous application in the heat.

There you have it. A couple of gorgeous scents, and a heap load of samples to play with. Drop me a note if you’d like that SA’s name – I’m sure you’ll be just as pleased with her as I have been.

I love photos of great bottles… the excitement of opening a box with a long anticipated bottle inside. I’ll periodically take some close-up photos of bottles, as well as occasionally do a series of unpacking photos (a la Apple fanatics).

I’ll start with Frederic Malle’s Outrageous! that I purchased last summer during a Barney’s Bag Event (thus the bag full of extras and goodies).