Catch Up Post #6

Sarawen Ambrosia Chocolat - Chocolate, amber, honey, vanilla, patchouli. 
This smells like sweet candied flowers and chocolate, with a note of something boozy that I put down to the vanilla. The honey warms it up and stops it being too 'young'. It reminds me a lot of Molinard Fleur de Chocolat. Sillage and lasting power are medium - I reapplied after about 6 hours. I liked this, but I don't think I need a full bottle. 3/5

Villaness Xia -  Orchid, black vanilla, blackberry, black pepper, cocoa, amber, sandalwood.
This was a free sample and appears to be exclusive to The Soap Box Company. It's chocolatey in the vial, but once applied the pepper really comes out. I wanted to like it but I think the orchid actually weakens it and makes the rest of it seem watery. The notes just don't seem to mesh or something. 2/5

Villainess Dulces en Feugo - Musky bitter chocolate sweetened with vanilla and touches of citrus then positively inflamed with black pepper and nutmeg.
Again, the notes here just didn't quite go together. I got a friend who has pretty much zero interest in perfume to sniff and asked what she thought of it and she said that 'something was clashing with something else'. I could mostly smell chocolate but I got the citrus and spice as well. In theory this should work beautifully, but it doesn't. 2/5

Enchanticals Zombie Juice -  Sandalwood, coffee, cocoa, vanilla cream, whiskey, allspice, spice, sage, pumpkin liqueur.
Sadly this was an almost immediate scrubber on me. There was something in it that made my wrists itch like crazy and I had to get it off. I had the same problem with Harvesting Zombies, so it's obviously the same note. For the 15 minutes or so I had it on it smelled like chocolate, cinnamon and something like grass or hay. 1/5

Haus of Gloi White Blackberry - Cream, ripe blackberry and a touch of juniper wood.
There is a strong note of almond in this at first, both in the vial and when applied to skin. I hated it and almost washed it off, but after 10 minutes or so that note subsided. What's left is a fresh, creamy berry scent. It's pretty and girly, but I feel about 25 years too old for it. One for Noodles, I think. 2/5

Haus of Gloi Zazz - Tart cranberry, pink grapefruit, sparkling champagne all shook up with crushed ginger root.
This smells exactly like the stuff I use to clean my toilet. Blech. 1/5

Alchemic Muse Turkish Mocha - Dark chocolate ganache topped with a dollop of whipped marshmallow meringue and a smattering of roasted hazelnuts immersed in steamy Turkish Coffee spiked with cocoa absolute.
Not a lot of luck with perfumes this week. In the vial and first applied this is a coffee/chocolate scent, very reminiscent of Haus of Gloi's Vice. However, after about 15 minutes it turned dusty and it stayed that way until disappearing entirely a couple of hours later. I reapplied later in the day and the exact same thing happened. 2/5

Days 199 - 206!

Razzouli - Alchemic Muse

Details: 
Razzouli
Valentine's Day (?)
Alchemic Muse

Notes: 
An enticing mix of sweet raspberry puree, ruby red grapefruit and creamy vanilla combined with deep earthy base of dark patchouli.

In the vial, this is a tart fruity berry scent, but once applied there's a lovely creaminess there that makes this less about fruit and more about dessert. I really liked the way the tartness of the berries and the sweetness of the vanilla blended together. I had no idea there was even patchouli in it until I looked at the notes later on - it certainly never came out on me (thankfully).

There's nothing amazing going on here, but it's a cute, fun foodie perfume that I enjoyed wearing for a day. Sillage and longevity are medium - I reapplied after about 5 hours.

Rating: 
3/5

Day 151! 

Catch Up/Round Up 2

Well, dramas are still drama-ing so yet again I'm forced to do a catch up post as I'm testing but struggling to keep up with writing the actual reviews. I hope to get all this sorted and get back on track very soon - I don't want to lose my momentum entirely. :-/

Solstice Scents Violet Mallow: Dark chocolate, violet, violet leaf and vanilla absolute. 
I'm undecided on this one - I've worn it a few times but I can't work out whether I like it or not. The violet is strong at first and it smells very floral. Once applied and it starts to dry down the chocolate and vanilla come out - it's essentially a floral gourmand, but it's very rich and quite strong. Lasted quite a while - about 6 hours before I felt I had to reapply. 3/5

Alchemic Muse Cloud Nine:  Victorian lilac, fresh cream, white raspberry, sweet jasmine, white rose, white violet, cherry heliotrope.
This is a Spring limited edition, but mine is from last year's Spring collection. It's a gentle floral, with the rose quite dominant on the skin for a little while. There's a zingy green note in it, and once the rose settles, the lilac and jasmine come out, making it very much a 'country garden' perfume - I don't really get the food notes at all. I haven't had much luck with heliotrope in general, and particularly in Alchemic Muse perfumes, but here is doesn't seem to come out on me, thankfully. There's nothing remarkable about this perfume, but it's very pretty. Doesn't last long - it was gone in a couple of hours. 3/5

Black Baccara Carnival of Ghosts: Pumpkin, kettle corn, apple, licorice, freshly turned soil. 
Yet another in my large collection of Carnival/Fair perfumes that I buy compulsively but never wear. This one smells like Lolly Gobble Bliss Bombs - is that what kettle corn is? On the skin there is a slightly astringent sweetness, like lemon sherbet lollies. This was quite strong at first but didn't last more than a couple of hours. 2/5

Firebird Bath and Body Brown Sugar: Brown sugar, coconut, vanilla bean. 
This is just a very simple burnt sugar scent. If you like the smell of those kinds of perfumes, you'll like this one. It's not bad, but it's definitely not my cup of tea - I don't find sugar scents interesting at all. Lasted about 5 hours or so but sillage is quite low. 2/5

Enchanticals Mysteire Noir: Blood orange, raspberry, dark chocolate, black labdanum, vanilla.
Fruity top notes, once applied the chocolate comes out but the fruit stays around and it's too much for me. This perfume is similar to Alize, except that one is more chocolate and this one is more fruit. Lasted quite a long time - I put it on at night and could still smell it on my wrist the next morning. 2/5

Deep Midnight Perfumes Charis: Sandalwood, Vanilla, Musk. 
This starts off as a boozy vanilla but goes dusty on me within minutes and stays that way. It was gone entirely within a couple of hours.I don't know what happened but I tried it a couple of times and the same thing happened - something in it just doesn't work on my skin at all. 1/5

Twyla Perfumes Gun Street Girl: Bourbon vanilla, tobacco absolute, musk, leather accord, Russian rose absolute, blackcurrant, green cognac.
Another Twyla winner for me - I adored this one. It's a boozy, smokey, leathery, masculine vanilla with a dab of soft rose. This is one of her newer formulas and the lasting power has definitely improved - sillage was medium and I got about 6 hours before reapplying just because I wanted to keep smelling it. Gorgeous, definite full bottle. 5/5

Days 98-104!

Marzipan - Alchemic Muse

Details:
Marzipan
Alchemic Muse

Notes: 
A truly delicious confection of sweet almonds creamed with raw sugar and delectable notes of buttery vanilla, almond milk, shortbread and a touch of sweet cherry.

This was a freebie sample - I would never have bought it in a million years, because I detest marzipan. It's smell, its taste, its very existence is offensive to me. I am eternally grateful to the person who discovered in the 1990s that wedding cakes did not legally have to have almond icing on them. Finally, marzipan began to die the slow painful death it deserved.

In the vial and when first applied, that hideous almond stench is all it is - marzipan, marzipan and more marzipan. I stuck it out, wondering if that's all it was going to be (I hadn't looked at the notes yet), but finally it started to mellow and that sharpness faded into the background. The drydown is a sweet pastry vanilla. I like quite a few of the Alchemic Muse perfumes but they almost all have a synthetic smell about them, sometimes not an issue (for me), and sometimes kind of  "Ew, cheap scented candle!". This one is somewhere in between. It's not unbearable, but there are so many better sweet desserty vanilla scents out there. The longevity and sillage was thankfully quite low on this one.

Rating: 
2/5 Not quite a scrubber, but not impressed.

Day 84!

Snowdrift - Alchemic Muse

Details: 
Snowdrift
Winter Collection (2012)
Alchemic Muse

Notes:
White jasmine and crisp heliotrope floating over rose, carnation, gingered peach, and juniper berry in a sheer base of aged patchouli, smoky vetiver, sandalwood with a stray drop of black vanilla.

In the vial, this is sweet and lollyish - no idea what in the notes is making that happen. It smells like a candy carnival sort of perfume. Applied to my wrist it changed to a snowy white floral peach. Ugh... I think peach is pretty much my most hated of all fruit notes. The heliotrope makes it smell a bit synthetic as well, which is not always a bad thing (to me - I know it's an instant deal-breaker for many), but in this case combined with the peach it's not great. The dry down is a little nicer - it mellows to a slightly smokey vanilla blended with a light patchouli that doesn't overpower. Sillage is quite high on this - again I was wearing it when I was with Ben the perfume hater and he complained about it. It lasted about 4 hours.

Rating:
2/5 - maybe 3/5 I'm not entirely decided how I feel about this. I hate the peach, don't love the heliotrope, but the dry down is pleasant. Not a full bottle, though.

Day 69!

Ostara - Alchemic Muse

Details: 
Ostara
Spring 2012
Alchemic Muse

Notes: 
The eternal embodiment of spring pays tribute to you with a mix of hyacinth blossoms, myrtle, and wild heather fused with the soft green foliage of moss and ivy, gently grounded by a warm and earthy base of clove, cinnamon, and myrrh.

Not to put too fine a point on it, in the bottle this smells very synthetic. And yet I like it. It's so old lady-ish and I have a fondness for old lady perfumes. Applied the synthetic note is still there, but not as obvious. I smell hyacinths and lots of lush, damp greenery. It makes me think of an English country garden - something like this:

 Source

Despite the apparent presence of possible amping notes like clove and cinnamon, this doesn't really change much on me as it dries down. I like it, though it’s nothing amazing – just a pretty, very old lady-ish Springtime floral. Noodles commented on this one too, just after I applied it she walked in and asked what I was wearing and said, “I like it.” High praise indeed. It’s quite strong at first, but the dry down is close to the skin. Longevity is medium – about 4 hours or so.

Rating:

3/5 As I said, it’s a very pretty floral, but it’s nothing remarkable.

Day 44!

Love Bite - Alchemic Muse

Details:
Love Bite
Valentine's Day
Alchemic Muse

Notes: 
Sugary ripe raspberries over a blanket of pink and white rose petals with hints of warm musk, sweet and creamy vanilla, and just a delicate breath of white lilies and fresh peonies.

In the vial and when first applied this is all rose - hugely so. It's quite strong and a bit on the creamy side. I love rose, but sometimes it goes crazy on me, and this seems to be one of those times. For a good 20 minutes or so that's all I could smell. When it started to dry down the rose finally subsided a fair bit and I could smell the raspberry and a sweet, slightly sugary vanilla musk. The rose is still there all the way through but not nearly as powerful as in the beginning. Once it dries down, this perfume sits quite close to the skin, but it lasted a really long time on me. I put it on about dinner time and could still smell it on my wrist the next morning. I don't know where the lilies and peonies were - I never picked those up at all.

Rating: 
3/5 Super pretty, but I'm not sure I'd get use of a full bottle. I have too many other rose scents.

Day 34!

Deadwood - Alchemic Muse

Details:
Deadwood
Alchemic Muse

Notes: 
Wild bergamot, clover honey, and a light dusting of spice leading to a heart of warm amber and barley grass grounded in a rich base of black vanilla, musk, teak, and worn brown leather.

In the vial I smell leather and something slightly sweet, which might be the honey. Once applied the sweetness comes out more, but the leather still dominates. It dries down to a vanilla musk with the amber adding a bit of depth but not really distinct from the blend, and the leather is there right to the end. Sillage is medium, as is longevity. I found it had faded quite a bit after about 5 hours and reapplied, then it lasted well the rest of the day.

I chose this perfume purely based on the name, because I love the TV show Deadwood. As it turns out it's yet another masculine scent that I find myself liking.

Rating: 
3/5 I wouldn't buy a full bottle as it's not a scent I'd wear too often, but this is a nice blend and definitely worth trying if you like leather notes.

Day 22!

Carnival - Alchemic Muse

Details:
Carnival
Alchemic Muse

Notes: 
Relive the days of swing sets and carousel rides with this fun-loving scent from childhood. Sweet pink grapefruit, cotton candy, and lemon drops afloat a heart of sticky caramel, red berries, and fig leaves in a warm, comforting base of bourbon vanilla and white musk.

Whenever I see any kind of carnival or fair scent in a perfume shop I have to buy it. I am obsessed with them, and I love to see what different interpretations perfume creators have. Sometimes they're sweet, like toffee apples and fairy floss, sometimes they're warm and salty like popcorn. I rarely wear them, as they're almost always very 'young' perfumes, but I still love them.

In the vial, this perfume is sweet and citrusy, like orange sherbet. Once applied, the citrus becomes more tangy - I assume that's the grapefruit. There is a definite lolly smell, but it's not at all sickly. Slightly lemony, but I don't get the caramel or the berries.

As it dries down, it doesn't really change all that dramatically; it morphs into a sweeter, sticky candy/vanilla smell, but one of the better ones I've come across. It has a medium amount of throw, and lasted about 4 hours before I needed to reapply. 

Rating:
4/5 I really like this one a lot. Thumbs up! I think it would be an awesome soap, too.

Day 3!