Horror Night At The Movies - Violette Market

Source

First sniff: 
No idea. Something vaguely floral and a bit sour, maybe some popcorn?

First applied: 
Still no idea - this is a complete mystery. I think there's some almond in there. That sourness is more pronounced and there's a very faint note of something else I can't put my finger on... I think there's definitely popcorn in there too but it's not distinct.

After 30 minutes: 
No real change, it's still a mystery. The base is very perfume-y, like something an old lady would wear. This is weird.

After 3 hours: 
It's almost gone but once it hit that base it didn't change from the old lady floral/musk thing at all. That sour note still stuck around a bit - I was beginning to wonder if the perfume had actually turned, but I'm pretty sure that note is meant to be there.

Longevity: 
To be honest, I stopped sniffing after the 3 hour mark because I didn't like it at all - not quite a scrubber, but just a bit bleh. It had almost gone by then though so I doubt it would have stuck around much longer.

Actual notes/description: 
Popcorn coated in vanilla salt, flecks of almond bark, droplets of crimson dragon's blood resin, and salty sweat mingled with the heroine's white musk perfume as she runs to escape the on-screen vampires.

Availability:
Violette Market
Limited Edition - The 1980s Collection 2011
Apparently very limited and forever gone.

Chocolate Macaron - Candida Virgo

Details: 
Chocolate Macaron
@CandidaVirgo

Notes: 
Unknown. My guess - chocolate, coconut, almond... maybe vanilla or something else sweet. 

Well, this was a bit exciting. I had a DM from Candi a couple of weeks ago asking if I would test some perfumes for her. Never one to turn down the opportunity to try new smells, of course I said yes. And oddly enough, after being completely over foody perfumes for a while now, I've just started getting back into them now that the weather is cold and I want cosy smells. Timing!

In the vial this smells quite heavily of almond, with the chocolate there but not front and centre. There's something else there too. it's quite sharp and I can't work out if it's just the almond being potent or if it's another note entirely. Once applied the almond settles down and is almost imperceptible in minutes. The chocolate comes out, then the coconut, and soon it smells like a rich, dense, moist chocolate mud cake. I tried this out after dinner on a cold night, and as I was sitting on the couch sniffing myself compulsively I seriously considered getting up and making a chocolate self-saucing pudding or something for dessert. (Laziness won - it didn't happen.)

The dry down is still heavy on the chocolate and coconut but something sweeter as well. Maybe vanilla, though it isn't a specifically vanilla-y note, and it's not sugary either. Whatever it is, I like it - it adds a nice balance. Sillage is medium, as is longevity. I could still smell it when I went to bed 6 or so hours later. I like this one a lot, and I think the blend would be really nice in bath and body products as well.

Rating:
4/5

Day 185!

Troika - Haus of Gloi

Details: 
Troika
Haus of Gloi

Notes: 
A trinity of soft milks, almond, oat and coconut, lashed with sweet agave nectar and the ethereal scent of clean white.

Troika is my favourite Haus of Gloi scent and I haven't worn it in forever, so I hauled it out on a whim. In the bottle the almond is the dominating note, which did not bode well for me the first time I smelled it, because I really dislike marzipan and other almond-related whatnots. However, that note softens dramatically when applied and on me at least disappears almost entirely once it dries down. The result is a creamy, milky, sweet gourmand scent, comforting and warm.It's a 'snuggle' perfume for sure. Sillage and longevity are medium, but I have a tendency to slather this one in every available spot so it does hang around for a while on me. It's just beautiful.

Rating:
5/5

Day 150!

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!

Slammerkin - Twyla Perfumes

Details: 
Slammerkin
Twyla Perfumes & Apothecary

Notes: 
Golden amber, my own hand-blended, proprietary version of Egyptian Musk, vintage patchouli, pink lotus, carnation, Russian rose otto, bourbon vanilla, benzoin, immortelle and bitter almond.

I don’t know whether this has any relevance to Twyla's perfume, but there’s a book called Slammerkin by Emma Donohue, and I love it, so of course I had to try this. In the vial, Slammerkin is almost medicinal – there’s something strong and herby about it. Applied to my wrist, it’s a patchouli fiesta. For the first couple of hours that is all I can smell, and even though Twyla’s aged patchouli is pretty much the only patch I can stand, it’s still too much for me here. I don’t get the musk, the resinous amber, or the florals – just the patchouli and maybe a teeny tiny hint of bitter almond. After quite a long time it eventually fades and that’s when the amber, benzoin and vanilla come out on me, but by that time it’s quite faint. I know loads of people adore this one – Su, for example – but on me it was just a big smack in the mouth with a patchouli plant.  

Rating: 
2/5

Day 77!

Almond Milk - Firebird Bath and Body

Details: 
Almond Milk 
Firebird Bath and Body (formerly Flourish Bath and Body)

Notes: 
Soft, sensual, intoxicating: almond, vanilla, musk, a wisp of white chocolate. This fragrance manages to be both a soothing comfort scent and incredibly sexy at the same time (try it- you'll see what I mean). Sugary perfume haters need not apply, but lovers of all things sweet and gourmand- I think you'll enjoy this one quite a bit.

Oh, Almond Milk. What can I say about you that does you justice? This is pretty much my all time favourite perfume. I have also bought it for my mum, who is definitely not a perfume person (I think she might have had the same bottle of Tweed for about 15 years when I was a kid), and she loves it. It’s not a complex blend, but it’s warm, comforting, and I have never smelled anything else exactly like it.

In the bottle it smells like marzipan, not a scent I’m overly fond of. Once applied, the almond retreats – this is an almond perfume for people who don’t like almond. It’s a vanilla for people who don’t like vanilla. White chocolate for people who don’t like chocolate. Musk for people who don’t like musk. I’m not kidding. It smells of all these things, and yet it doesn’t.

I have always thought that this perfume perfectly captures the essence of ‘baby head’ smell. It doesn’t exactly smell like a baby’s head, but it’s that same perfect, compulsively sniffable feeling you get when you hold a baby. Or when I do at any rate.

I can’t rave highly enough about this perfume. If you don’t like gourmands at all, or feminine scents at all (though I think a man could easily pull this off and smell amazing), it’s not for you. But for everyone else, get in there. It’s about to be discontinued, and I’ve ordered a back up bottle and seriously considering grabbing a couple more while I can.

Rating: 
Eleventy million/5

Day 45!

Carnivale Rouge - Deep Midnight Perfumes

Details: 
Carnivale Rouge
Deep Midnight Perfumes

Notes: 
Let the red carnival sweep you away into decadence and mystery. Who is that delicious stranger behind the mask? What are you willing to give in return for brush of his lips? Will you remove your mask and bare your desires? Remember.... nothing is ever as it seems when the masquerade begins! Notes of amaretto liqueur are deepened with balanced tones of the darkest cocoa, cappuccino, rich cream, and buttery amber, while background notes of oakwood fire, and citrus deepen the intrigue. Come and play if you will!

I have all my untested samples in a glass bowl in my room (I know I should stand them upright to prevent leakage and so on but it's just not practical for me), and I reach in and pull one out at random to test. For some reason, I keep getting Deep Midnight ones! Though I do have quite a few, as I got 10 samples and was sent 4 free with my order. Anyway, Carnivale Rouge was my latest, and I chose this because it was a gourmand scent with cocoa and cream, two of my favourite notes. I'm not super keen on amaretto, but I find it's one of those notes that comes out sharp early on but never hangs around for long so I can live with it.

In the vial, the first thing I smelled was marzipan, which of course was the amaretto. Once I applied it to my wrist, it was more smokey. The almond scent was still there, but not as sharp. The cocoa isn't chocolate-y as such - it actually adds more to the smokiness and makes everything smell a little like tobacco. The dry down is a warm, fairly light amber with a touch of vanilla. The sillage is low, but once the perfume dries down it hangs around for quite a while, and it's a comforting scent. I like this one.

Rating:
3/5

Day 30!