Last year, I mentioned in a post that getting through samples and discovery sets can take me a while. However, I truly appreciate what brands and perfumers share with me. I also value enjoying perfume slowly, so my annual sampling articles have become a bit of a tradition.
The samples and sets I talk about here were selected out of my discoveries at Esxence 2026 and ScentFest SF 2026, previously shared on my social media handles during Sample September.
Founded by Ruth Chao von Gehren, ODE ONA celebrates rituals and traditions from Eastern cultures, invoking peaceful locales and landscapes: the reflective moments before you start to write, hiking in the silence of a mountain, walking through a damp forest, sipping a cup of piping hot tea, enjoying the aroma exuding from a lavender bush.
I had previously talked about Carte Blanche, which smells like charred herbs, pine needle, wood chips, pencil shavings, and brand-new paper. Dawn Earth is all about dark green moss, sparkling stems, crushed autumn leaves, and addictive dry patchouli, while Teapot Sonder is reminiscent of sweet scone crumbs and roasted crisp green tea with a starchy component conveyed by orris.
The ODE ONA fragrances were created by master perfumers, Emilie Coppermann and Suzy Le Helley.
The collection by Olfiction Limited, an independent fragrance studio in the UK, has had quite an effect on me: I’ve tried every fragrance over and over again, discovering new facets and changing my mind about which one I like the most.
I purchased Iconic on the spot (read more about it in my Esxence 2020 piece) and I like it more and more with every wear. Librido is reminiscent of aged book pages—a bit thick and rough to the touch and frayed at the edges. Salmiakki, named after a salty licorice candy from Finland, is the gourmand of my dreams that brings salty, chewy, rooty, and resinous sensations together.
Thé Tea is the most refreshing jasmine tea (with hints of apricot) and Cologne: Orange is a cool, collected, and modern version of a classic fragrance style. Petrolhead scratches the itch for someone like me, who grew up finding the smell of petrol inebriating and addicting.
I first discovered Śasva, a house from India, last June at Esxence. The staff at the stand took the time to guide me and Claudia through the collections with grace and patience, despite the crowds.
Favorites from the line include Saasqi, created by Christian Carbonnel, featuring a subtle smoked wine note with floral and woody undertones, and Forbidden Words by Jordi Fernandez, including dry tobacco along with patchouli and leather, brightened by a squeeze of lime. Perfumer Luca Maffei created another version of Forbidden Words, called Gourmand Dream, which focuses more on delicacies (I think of dried dates and figs) sprinkled with warm liquor.
The Red Carpet is a collection by Sarah Baker Perfumes, a fragrance house I’ve loved for several years.
This collection includes fragrances composed around peach or vanilla, and although I tend to prefer the first to the second, I found myself liking the two vanillas more.
Va Vanilla by Margaux Le Paih Guérin is the more gourmand of the two, with distinct notes of coffee, black cherry, cinnamon, and rum, subverted by saffron, woods, and a “hot skin” accord (you can almost feel a dry sizzle).
But it’s Velvet Vendetta (also by Margaux) that impressed me the most. It’s strange and enticing with a smoky twist created by nutmeg and gunpowder. The most exciting part though is the inclusion of an olive accord that imparts a salty darkness. It has an incredibly smooth wear thanks to the vanilla and resins, which blend with the more unusual elements to create an alluring scent cloud.
Peach trilogy by perfumer Chris Maurice is a decidedly gourmand interpretation of this beloved fruity note. Of the three, my favorite is Pastel Rumors, which reimagines the sensation of cold milk poured on fruit loop and cubed peaches. My skin seems to naturally amplifies sweeter notes, and this fragrance is certainly sweet but has a lighter and more ethereal presence that better suits my taste than the other two.
As I was planning this post, I read on the brand’s page that the third vanilla will soon be released. During ScentFest, we could pick our favorite out of three mods and she recently announced the winner!
I’m ending Sample September on a high note, presenting the fragrances by Olymra, an indie house based in Switzerland but rooted in the rugged beauty of Greece.
The house was founded by Dr. Frida Michailidou, TEDx speaker, and scientist who led an expedition to study the unique scents of Mount Olympus, using technology she described as “pioneering and non-destructive”. Frida has a background as consultant for space and spa signature scents, and Olymra represents her first adventure as a perfumer.
Frida’s expedition work inspired the concept of Olymra, which honors the terrestrial and marine landscapes of Greece, along with its native plants, flowers, ecology, myths, and ancient history.
There’s a story behind this discovery set. I won it thanks to a giveaway hosted by a kind content creator in collaboration with Frida, but shipping to the US was problematic, so I asked him to ship it to Claudia in Italy instead. Claudia enjoyed it and passed it on to me when I visited her in Milan in June. I then found out a little too late that Frida was also in Milan at the same time! We missed each other, but I was also glad to finally try her work.
Back to the scents, the collection includes five charming fragrances that include unique accords built around the rare plants of Mount Olympus:
Synthesizing the contrast between light and shadow, Persephone smells like a precious and resilient wild rose growing in an arid rocky area.
Oreantheia was inspired by the Oreads (mountain nymphs), and it’s a true pastoral piece showcasing the aromatic components of the orange tree (bitter orange, neroli, and petitgrain) blended with lavender, cypress, and resins.
Thalmyron is the marine of the lot, evoking the introspective but relentless side of the sea shifting through tides, interpreted through notes of ambergris, musk, and vetiver.
And then my two favorites:
Inspired by the rare herb Achillea ambrosiaca, Achillea is initially bracing and prickly, but softens and settles onto a supple base of iridescent orris that I perceive as calm and devotional.
Kharon is the queen of this collection, with assertive notes of rose, tobacco, and smoke mingling to convey the sharp but addicting quality of wood polish and ancient stones. The opening is quite medicinal, and while I like this aspect, I love how fragrance rounds up and darkens even more, thanks to the animal (but ethically sourced) presence of beeswax and hyraceum.
I’d like to thank all the brands owners for kindly sending or gifting the discovery sets.
