Samba Nova

This is one of the most beautiful fragrances I have ever had, and I am so sad it is discontinued!! A very very summerwindy perfume, like white and yellow flowers , so fresh but with a warm feeling too. I was so surprised when I read it has civet in it! It does not feel like that at all. But maybe that is the thing that is balancing the flowery freshness, and gives that warmth?? I wish they could start making it again. I just have a few precious drops left in my old bottle. Strange how the years pass by. I remember how I had it with me, and used it, when we were attending a big family gathering, in the summer of -95. We slept in my sisters old cottage in the woods, and it was a bit cloudy and cold summer. We made up a fire and it smelled so good. And our fourth baby was concieved that night...he is now 24 years old.

I can imagine Samba Nova can be hard to like if tested for the first time now. I had it in the 90's, in my first year in university, and I am certainly coloured by my life and memories from back then. I loved it then, and I do it now as well. It was released in the era of big hair and strong, deep, oriental perfumes, and Samba Nova came to the party as this tall, strange and short haired girl who got everyones attention, because she is so different. It's contemporary and cool, and has a bit of the same confusing and surprising feel as Contradiction by Calvin Klein. Not at all classy or feminine. A fun one to have and use if you want to surprise. Just too bad that it's so hard to find.

My sister gave me her 50 ml bottle of Samba Nova back than, later on, I gave it to my mum, and now she has given it back to me (it was stored in her cabin along with 20 other vintage perfumes!). My taste for perfumes has changed over the years, and this perfume must be at least 30 years old, and surprisingly it smells absolutely wonderful, and lucky me, there is about 1/6 perfume left in the bottle!

Well, this is totally beautiful. A perfect chypre floral, with a divine animalic undertone all the way through, and a touch of potent fruit. I agree totally with Fragrant Desert's review. It's excellent. This is a Classic, wonderful perfume - elegant, sophisticated and heavenly! I love it!!!! And I adore the bottle! Fabulous, perfect colour and shape!!!

I love this fragrance it's fruity animalic chypre.

This is a bit better than the original, but still not anything special. It's pretty green and woody. It lasts pretty well though, and it's pretty affordable.

"Lemon windex feel". Heehee. The first paragraph of Glitteralex's review is a hoot. The mini came together with one I actually wanted. Thought I should try it, so now I have, duty done. Most detergents smell better than this, it's true. Hayfever in a bottle. Undeserving of the title perfume.

I was new to perfume when I bought this, before the Internet even. I did random blind buys that I could not afford. Sad.

Samba Nova might be compared to the date that every woman of a certain age has had....pre-Internet dating, most likely. The man was recommended by a seemingly reliable aquaintance that in reality, doesn't know him very well. He arrives on time and is clean.It is the best that can be said. It is quickly apparent there is no point of reference. There seems to be a mis-match of expectations. Perhaps you are a PhD candidate, he is a Chinese restaurant delivery man without a sense of humor. Or you are a Republican,and he works fervently to save a species. Although clashing ideologies often make for interesting conversation, in this sad case, it does not. Even a few (or more) glasses of wine do not help. The hours at last crawl by and you can honestly tell your mutual friend you "got together". You may have even had sex, for all I know. What I do know is if the phone rings the next day, or anytime in the next week, do not answer it. No matter how lonely you are.

Quite possibly one of the worst fragrances I have ever smelled. The scent of a tour bus filled with ladies in polyester leisure suits, en route to a factory outlet. The top has a lemon windex feel, no flowers to be seen in the heart, and a revolting heart (this word came to mind before reading the above review!). Drydown is a dry, unavailable, cloying version of the typical 80s chypre base. Strangely enough, it reminds me in some way of one of my favorite 80s scents: "Moments" by P. Presley. If you stripped out Moments' lemon top, floral heart, and the animal base, you would be left with Samba Nova. Such a surprise, coming from the first niche group out there, Perfumer's Workshop, who brought us the wonderful Tea Rose.

Since I bought it at a low price ($100),I don't expect it would bring an extreme beautiful feeling to me, it's fresh and wonderful, just good, amazing.