For the past few years, L’Artisan has kind of reminded me of an adorable puppy that constantly gets into sitcom-esque mischief. “L’Artisan, are you chewing on the power cords again?” “L’Artisan, did you discontinue Safran Troublant again?” But I’ve noticed some reassuring changes over at L’Artisan recently. The much-lamented 50 ml size is suddenly available for 16 of the line’s scents. Now we get this shockingly well-priced sample set ($20 for ten 2 ml samples). But is it worth your hard-earned Hamiltons? (After all, that’s 2.01 Tupac bobbleheads!) Read on for my analysis!
Pros
- Killer Price. 2 ml of the same ten L’Artisan fragrances in this set would cost more than $60 at sampling sites like Luckyscent or Parfum1. And that $60 wouldn’t include the very cute tin and packaging!
- Good Selection of Classics. Most of L’Artisan’s iconic fragrances are present and accounted for (Premier Figuier, La Chasse Aux Papillons, Mure et Musc, Timbuktu), which makes this a perfect gift for anyone new to the brand.
- Seville a L’Aube Included. Seville is one of the most interesting scents left in the L’Artisan range, so I’m thrilled to see L’Artisan actively trying to push it.
Cons
- No Safran Troublant. Booooo! Boooooooooooo!
- Several Categories Underrepresented. If you go along with L’Artisan’s classifications, this set has four florals (La Chasse Aux Papillons, Nuit de Tubereuse, Mure et Musc Extreme, and Seville a L’Aube), four “woody” fragrances (Fou d’Absinthe, Caligna, Premier Figuier, and Timbuktu), and then only one Oriental (L’Eau d’Ambre Extreme) and one citrus (Batucada).
- Relatively Safe Selection. With the exception of the previously-mentioned Seville a L’Aube, you won’t find any of L’Artisan’s stranger, braver scents in this set (think Dzing!, Traversee du Bosphore, Bois Farine).
Buy if: You’re just starting to explore L’Artisan, or want a cute, well-priced gift for someone new to the line.
Pass if: You’re a longtime L’Artisan fan- you’ve probably smelled these before.
SCENTS OF SELF 
I saw this and was tempted for a nano second. Then I realized I’ve smelled most of these and there are a few in there I don’t like. Plus, I have a few lovely SAs at Barney’s that I call on when I need to shop and they’re very willing to make me a few samples when I need them. Granted, no cute tin. But I do get to hang out, have fun and try new things when I’m in the store.
Zelda kitty!! She is soooo adorable! And all grown up. Is she still feisty? Love those blue eyes.
Zelda remains as feisty as she is beautiful! I wish I had your Barneys connections, although Eric at Twisted Lily has been a very good sample source recently.
Zelda, a beautiful grown up..
I wish I had taken more pictures of her as a kitten. I didn’t realize how quickly she would grow up!
I’ve never tried any L’Artisan, 10 2ml samples? I’m so up for it. Especially Seville L’Aube, I’ve been wanting to try that for ages.
Sounds like you’re the perfect customer for this set, Hannah! You definitely need to explore L’Artisan- it’s one of my all-time favorite lines.
50 mls are back???? Blink. Blink.
HURRAH!!!!!!
It’s so nice to finally have some good L’Artisan news!
50mls are a step in the right direction. So’s that sample set (as you say, many people have already tested a fair number of them). I will say that I have YET to buy a full bottle of anything L’Artisan. Not Nuit de Tubereuse (which was very funky jungle on me), not Dzing! (animal poo and cardboard and those dry weird styrofoamy orange peanut candies), certainly not Philosykos (i.hate.fig.hate.it.). Not even Seville a l’Aube, which I might have bought if it were in a 15ml bottle.
But. I laughed my head off at the naughty-puppy analogy – because I HAVE ONE OF THOSE in my house now. Any day now I’m going to find the, er, remains of the heel of Taz’ sock, out in the yard. It was… consumed. Holy moly. I’m still mad about the pan of cinnamon rolls he pulled off the kitchen counter and ate.
At least your naughty puppy is completely adorable! And stealing a pan of cinnamon rolls is both terrible and kind of impressive. Hopefully someday Seville will end up in a 15 ml coffret- I think it’s a really special perfume.
Hurrah for the 50mls! Boo for the omission of Safran Troublant in the sample set! Though you have reminded me it is almost the weather to bring my decant out again. I would really like to pick and mix this sample set for it to work for me, but if it has to be one fixed menu they have a job on to please everyone I guess.
September is perfect Safran Troublant weather! It just evaporates during the summer. A mix-and-match sample set would be just perfect- hint, hint, L’Artisan!
Love the pros and cons style. If I compliment the gorgeous Zelda (for behaving) does she get a treat from you like Rusty gets from Undina for compliments?
I’m so glad you liked the pro-con format, Lindaloo! It would clearly be cruel of me to deny Zelda a treat after you specifically brought them up 🙂
Almost bought this when I saw your tweet about it. Even had it in my cart but then was able to resist. I’ve been trying to cut back, moving made me realize how much perfume I have! And also the fact that it doesn’t contain Dzing and has too many florals. Whew, unnecessary purchase averted! 😉
Nicely done, TF! The enabler giveth, the enabler taketh away 😉
Heya Arielle,
I wonder if Nick had anything to do with these? L’Artisan is the best represented house in my collection if we are counting FBs and I love their whole aesthetic. Even the short life of many of their frags works in my favour so I can wear something else later, or reapply if I’m loving it still.
Woo Hoo for the 50ml return and bravo for them using Seville, one of my faves.
Portia xx
Nick did tell me a little while ago that someone new was pushing for smaller bottles at L’Artisan. L’Artisan is the best-represented brand in my collection, too- what exquisite taste we have 😉
Ari you are such an enabler! Read this and ordered right away. Justified it as expanding my horizons because I am not a floral lover and have only tried two out of ten of these.
Still have not forgiven L’Artisan for discontinuing Tea for Two but am a sucker for a cute tin.
Thank you for the best compliment a perfume blogger could get, Barbara!! I hope you love the sample set. Tea for Two was fantastic- still surprised they discontinued it.
$20 for ten 2 ml samples is a great bargain, especially compared to the Le Labo ssample pack currently on offer at LuckyScent–nine 1.5 ml samples for $108!! While, like others, I am not very interested in many of the choices in this set, I do applaud L’Artisan for making it available at such a reasonable price, especially for those of us in the vast perfume wasteland 🙂
Zelda is gorgeous, BTW.
Le Labo is so delusional about those city exclusives. That being said, I hope Gaiac 10 is still around by the time I can actually afford it…
Zelda thanks you for the lovely compliment! 🙂
This is a great opportunity for anyone who doesn’t already know the line very well!
And: I’ve just noticed that Bois Farine is “back in stock” on the L’Artisan website. Are they not discontinuing it, after all? I *hope* not. So confusing…