Makeup and beauty aside, let’s talk about a very intriguing fragrance brand — The Maison Francis Kurkdjian brand of luxurious fragrances. In this review, I have a mini discovery collection set full of fragrance samplers recommended for women.

The Maison Francis Kurkdjian brand of luxe fragrances is full of exciting scents that cater to all gender and gender-neutral type. Because of that, many MFK fragrances are unique, blendable, and highly versatile.

This discovery set is geared towards women who want to discover the MFK scent or simply want to find their signature scents. Each scent in this set seems to have been carefully developed to provide a completely unforgettable olfactory experience.

Here is a quick run-through and my overall impression of the scents in this discovery set.

Aqua Universalis (Cologne forte) – This scent smells like very cool and clean water blended with pure cotton. Do water and cotton have a scent? Apparently, yes, it depends on the circumstances as to how they are washed 😊. This scent may come off as a bit masculine, but this is a very clean and pure scent that can work well with any woman’s body chemistry. This scent is meant to be woody, citrusy, and musky, yet somehow this scent seems like a very sophisticated blend of most water-inspired signature and cotton-like fragrances.

Aqua Celestia (Cologne forte) – Described as citrusy, floral, and musky. This scent will send your olfactory sense to a euphoric overload. What a unique blend of raspberry, citrus, and musk! This scent is SO good; you will need to purchase this in a large bottle. I can only describe the magical top note of this as sweet and floral. Not too heady and not too light. A perfect feminine scent.

Aqua Vitae (Cologne forte) – Sweet and floral. A light yet irresistible feminine scent that is somewhat similar to Aqua Celestia but has a bit of a woody note. This scent is also really good, but it tends to fade quickly, at least on my body chemistry. I recommend this if you are a fan of very light feminine fragrances or if your nose tends to react to strong scents.

Amyris (Femme) – Hmmm, at first spritz, I can already tell that there is so much drama going on in this scent. This scent is for complicated, mature, and elegant women because of the heavy woody iris scent. There is supposed to be something fruity in this scent, but all I could sense is the rich deep floral note, which can be heady, at least for me. The top notes of this scent remind me of Angel by Mugler or Black Opium by YSL. Overall, I think this will make for a captivating indelicate scent.

Gentle Fluidity – There is nothing quite gentle at this scent at all. I find this musky oriental scent to be somewhat masculine and heavy in alcohol. The top notes can be vanilla sweet, but there is musk and amber, making it very intense. On the contrary, the base note settles into a light powdery scent, somewhat reminiscent of the Byredo Treehouse fragrance.

Oud (Satin Mood) – Violet, Damascena Rose, Amber Vanilla, Cinnamon, Oud, and Violet make for this very sensual and provocative orient scent. This is a very intense scent. So intense that the liquid is blue-tinged. I find this scent to be intensely sweet and floral, which is not exactly my thing, but for some, this scent can be a perfect signature scent because it is so unique. It is nothing quite like I have tried before. The dry-down is a different story because it dissipates into something light and somewhat familiar, like the Byredo Bibliotheque fragrance.

Baccarat Rouge 540 (Eau de Parfum) – Ah! The famous Baccarat Rouge 540! What an interesting and mysterious scent this is. For some, this scent is an identity, a symbol, a status. For me, this scent is so intriguing. Will this be my new signature scent? The answer is probably not. While I like this scent a lot, I think this scent is not for me since this does not seem to blend well with my body chemistry. I do not know how to classify this scent. I guess that is why this scent is complicated. I sense a very faint fruity-floral note, which is a delicate blend of lemon and jasmine. There is also cedar, sage, and a saffron derivative to it, which add to the woodiness of the scent. For some reason, my nose is telling me that this scent is a familiar blend of two or three fascinating fragrances — My Burberry Blush + Viktor & Rolf Liquid Diamonds + Angel by Thierry Mugler.

Baccarat Rouge 540 (Extrait de Parfum) – This the intense version of the Baccarat Rouge 540. Personally, I kind of prefer this concentration because this is intense at first spritz, and does not fade away immediately. The complexity of the Rouge Baccarat 540 is more pronounced in this type of fragrance concentration than the Eau de parfum, even though this has a somewhat masculine note. I guess, after all, my preferences in fragrances gear towards the androgynous type.

All the scents in this mini Maison Francis Kurkdjian Discovery Collection for Her are captivating and unique in their own notes. Despite some similarities of a few scents with some known brand fragrances, still, the scents stood out on their own, giving a distinct olfactory experience that almost determines which type of personality will match each scent. As for me, my top three preferred scents in this sampler are: 1) Aqua Celestia, 2) Aqua Vitae, and 3) Amyris (femme).

Are you a fan of Maison Francis Kurkdjian fragrances? What is your favorite fragrance of all time?

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