Les Privés 303: Chili Pepper, Pink Pepper & Benzoin
Like a spellbinding swirl of dancing spices, 303 opens on a duet of pepper and pink berry. Initially spicy, the fragrance heats up with cardamom before revealing its warm amber floral heart. Notes of benzoin, Tolu balsam and vetiver compose a vibrant accord, scenting the skin with fiercely sensual aromas. A signature fragrance that draws on natural ingredients bursting with character.
What does chili smell like?
Legend has it that Napoleon’s troops put chili pepper in their boots to keep their feet warm during their retreat from Moscow. It is a warm and very potent spice indeed, similar to pepper, cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon. Chili lends a creation depth and adds texture to citrus and floral notes. As a fixative, it helps to make a fragrance last longer. The leaves and berries are steam-distilled to extract the essential oil. This ingredient is not commonly found in fragrances. These kinds of rare raw materials are helping to reinvent perfumery.
What is ylang-ylang?
This marvelous rich, sunny and totally hypnotic yellow flower grows in north-west Madagascar, an island in the western Indian Ocean. In Indonesia, its name means “flower of flowers”. Ylangylang is picked carefully by hand with collection beginning in the early morning between 5 a.m. and 8 a.m. After sunrise, the flowers spoil and their quality of their scent suffers as a result. These flowers are immediately steamdistilled to obtain the precious essence. The fresh flower smells different to the essence, which is a lot more powerful. In terms of its scent, it is really a cross between tuberose and jasmine. It presents the sensuality of white flowers alongside fruity, creamy and exotic facets.
What is benzoin?
Incisions are made into this wood from Laos, releasing a semi-liquid resin that quickly becomes hard and brittle. Physically, it looks like frankincense with little brown-orange lumps called “tears”. But make no mistake, their scents are very different! Benzoin reveals warm sensual vanillalike facets of toffee and honey. They enhance base notes and extend a fragrance’s wear as benzoin makes an excellent fixative. When combined with vanilla and labdanum, it creates an amber accord. Benzoin is beautifully showcased in Guerlain’s Shalimar. Its resin has been used since ancient times to cleanse the air.
Notes: chili pepper, pink pepper, cardamom, ylang-ylang, patchouli, vetiver, tolu balsam, benzoin, musk
Fulfillment & Shipping
We provide free shipping for USPS orders $75+.
Ministry of Scent offers shipping to the United States through USPS Ground Advantage and UPS. We process and ship orders within 1-4 days, major holidays excluded. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us at orders@ministryofscent.com
We do not ship on Sundays; Sundays are not included in our shipping window.
We are not responsible for lost or stolen packages. We will not provide replacements or refunds for lost or stolen packages. If you have a risk-prone address, we recommend you send to a safer locale.
First-time orders $125+ and all orders $200+ will be shipped with signature confirmation to ensure safe delivery. Customers may request "no signature confirmation" in the Order Note section of the Shopping Cart page, at their own risk. If the item is stolen after tracked delivery, the order cannot be refunded or replaced.
We cannot file claims or be held responsible for orders that have been designated as "delivered" by UPS or USPS (and/or signed for by recipient). We can file claims for orders that have be designated as "lost in transit" by UPS or USPS.
| Order type | Shipping Method |
Cost |
| Sample-only Orders (including Sample Sets) | USPS Ground Advantage* | $5 |
|
Standard Shipping (orders under $75) |
USPS Ground Advantage* or UPS Ground (depending on destination) | $10 |
| Free Shipping (orders $75 and over) |
USPS Ground Advantage* or UPS Ground (depending on destination) |
$0 |
| 3-Day Shipping | UPS 3-Day Service |
Variable |
*Ship times vary. All products ship from California, shipments can take up to 5 business days to the East Coast.
Returns
We do not accept returns of perfumes, simply because perfumes can't be resold once they've been opened and used. We encourage you to order samples before purchasing full bottles of perfume. And here's the good news — with every sample purchased, we'll send you a coupon code that allows you to redeem the cost of the sample and sample shipping if you buy a full bottle of the fragrance you tried (in other words, you get $10 off).
Please contact orders@ministryofscent.com if you have a question or issue related to your order or shipping.
Sample Orders
Samples are designed to help you evaluate scents you might want to later purchase as a full bottle. You may order one sample per fragrance, up to 15 total in a single order. Samples are non-refundable.
For sample orders, please check your packing slip for a special code that will allow you to redeem the price of samples and sample shipping when purchase full bottles of the scents you sample ($10 off full bottles).
Complimentary Samples
We provide complimentary samples with $75+ full bottle purchases. You may request up to 3 samples with any qualifying order. Please use the Order Note section on the Shopping Cart overlay to let us know which complimentary samples you would like. We'll try to provide the scents you've requested, but substitutions may occur if items are out of stock.
In love with the scent of 303, so long-lasting!
Ended up falling in love with sweet leaf