Brand

Mind Games samples

Mind Games takes its vocabulary from chess: every perfume is an 'aromatic movement' named after a move or an idea from the game, from French Defense to Double Attack. Creators Alex and Mariana Shalbaf work with the master perfumers of the fragrance house Symrise, and everything we decant is an Extrait de Parfum. The names give no hint of the smell, mango, cherry, chocolate, coffee, so the sensible opening move is a few 10 ml decants.

Build a set from these samples

In short

  • Chess-themed house: every perfume is an 'aromatic movement' named after the game
  • Created by Alex and Mariana Shalbaf, with master perfumers of Symrise
  • Every perfume we decant is an Extrait de Parfum
  • The brand calls its whole range unisex or genderless

32 samples

The brand

About Mind Games

Opening moves: four Mind Games samples

French Defense, by Christelle Laprade, is the black cherry: cherry, violet leaves and chamomile over rose absolute and mimosa, on amber and cedarwood. Blockade pairs mango skin, pink pepper and tomato leaf with patchouli and oud. Queening is the soft gourmand, a clean cotton accord and apple into orris, rum and saffron, ending on vanilla and coconut. The Forward sets lemon, mandarin and pomelo against jasmine sambac, a salt accord and vanilla.

The middle game

The darker pieces are gourmand or leathery. Double Attack is a chocolate perfume, orange bitters and pink pepper over dark chocolate, vanilla and vetiver. Mentor stacks salted caramel and dark plum on amber coffee, Boya oud and tonka bean. Grand Master joins rose and Kona coffee to myrrh, incense and a panettone note. J'Adoube brings pomegranate and Damascene rose to leather and patchouli, Gardez apricot, orris and cassis to black leather.

Chess pieces on the cap

The bottles are heavy glass flacons in black, silver or white, each closed with a metal cap shaped like a chess piece. The brand sorts its range into the Artisan, Soulmate and Perfumer Extraordinaire collections and calls all of it unisex. Its own images show Fragrance Foundation Awards badges, French Defense as a 2024 winner. Our decants are filled by FragranceGems from the original bottle and labelled by us; they are not official brand samples.

  • Chess-themed house: every perfume is an 'aromatic movement' named after the game
  • Created by Alex and Mariana Shalbaf, with master perfumers of Symrise
  • Every perfume we decant is an Extrait de Parfum
  • The brand calls its whole range unisex or genderless
  • French Defense: Fragrance Foundation Awards winner 2024, per the brand's badges

Mind Games samples

Frequently asked

Which Mind Games sample should I try first?

French Defense if a dark, liqueur-like cherry appeals to you, Blockade for mango over leather and oud. Queening is the gentlest, vanilla and coconut after rum and saffron, and The Forward the freshest, citrus with salt and jasmine. Four samples cover fruit, gourmand and fresh.

Which Mind Games samples are gourmand?

Double Attack is the chocolate one, with dark chocolate and vanilla over vetiver and sandalwood. Mentor is salted caramel, plum and coffee on oud; Grand Master has Kona coffee and a panettone note beside rose and incense; Queening ends in whipped vanilla bean and coconut.

Do the chess names describe the scent?

No, they describe an idea. J'Adoube is the call for adjusting a piece without moving it, Queening celebrates reaching a goal, Gardez is about protecting what you love. What a perfume is made of you find in its notes, and how it wears on you with a sample.

Reviews of FragranceGems (shop and sample reviews)

What FragranceGems customers say

DecantGems is new. These are reviews from FragranceGems customers about the shop and about the samples they ordered there. Collected by Judge.me.

4.7 out of 5

1,200+ reviews on Judge.me

4.9 out of 5 stars, 166 Google reviews of FragranceGems (opens Google) 4.7 out of 5 stars, 1,200+ Judge.me reviews of FragranceGems (opens Judge.me)

Reviews of FragranceGems, the shop behind DecantGems

  • I really appreciate that I found a shop that has a wide range of authentic perfumes,fast delivery,great communication and very good prices. Thanks for everything!

    Sevdalis Review of the FragranceGems shop

  • Timely info when item was back in stock. Some confusion with info about shipment updates on gls app but what is important: perfume came in perfect condition!

    Zrinka Review of the FragranceGems shop

  • incredible fast delivery l. the fragrance itself its magnificent, the dry down woody base, is intoxicating. it last on me 10 hours plus. great service great fragrance

    Omer Review of the FragranceGems shop

  • Good experience overall. Fast shipping without any incidents. Prices are good as well.

    Duarte Review of the FragranceGems shop

  • Really happy of my purchase. Serious seller, quality products, fast shipping, large catalog. I will order a lot of more !

    Rudy Review of the FragranceGems shop

  • Shipping was 5 days to Finland. Customer service was very good. Happy with the product also. Will shop again. Only thing I hope is that you guys would negotiate better price for GLS shipping to Finland. But I know that is not always possible. And I noticed the prices were lower than the competitors so the steep shipping price was not that big of a deal. Good job all in all.

    Henrik Review of the FragranceGems shop

A selection of recent reviews in proportion to their star ratings.

Read all reviewsFragranceGems on Judge.meFragranceGems on Google