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!

Catch Up Post #5

Haus of Gloi The Brier Path - Sun drenched trail leading to a day dream of ripe berries and woods rose, rich forest loam, ozone, dark amber and cream.
Very fruity, floral, but I don't get any of the forest, woody, dark amber, etc. It's odd - it smells like an old lady floral with a potent fruity top note. Considering how fruity it is, I actually quite like it, but I don't need a full bottle. 3/5

Twyla Perfumes Migraineur - A blend of essential oils, including clary sage and cannabis flower oil. 
This is one of Twyla's aromatherapy blends and I originally got this sample not for headaches, but to see if it would do anything to help me sleep. It smells herby and mellow, very smooth and soothing. As with Solstice Scents Quiet Night, I don't think it did anything to help me get to sleep, but I do think it helped me stay asleep. 3/5

Possets Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn - Red musk, rockrose, benzoin.
Weirdly sweet and grassy smelling, slightly medicinal and went dusty quite quickly. Within a couple of hours it was gone. It didn't impress me. 2/5

Villainess Crushed - Crushed black raspberry against dark chocolate and serrated sandalwood.
In the vial this is ah-maazing. It smells like a double coated Cherry Ripe and the berry and chocolate is beautifully blended. On the skin it kind of falls over a bit - it's slightly insipid and doesn't last very long at all. Such a shame. I think this would be one that would be better in a soap form. 3/5

Arcana Puppy Kisses - A batter of rich cream, soft coconut milk, rice syrup, copaiba balsam, massoia bark and milky pearl musk is gently licked with sweet peppermint, sugared bayberry, and the tiniest smooches of Oregon lavender and Dalmatian sage.
Look, I get the futility of buying a perfume that smells like dog and then complaining that it smells like dog. But seriously, this smells like dog. The first notes are lavender and sage, then the coconut came out after about half an hour. The dry down is a sicky milk smell. Guys, it smells like dog! 1/5

Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab Snow White 2008 - Flurries of virgin snow, crisp winter wind and the faintest breath of night blooming flowers. 
This was given to me a couple of years ago by a lovely girl from Livejournal's Aussie BPAL community, and I ADORE it. It's a chilly, ever-so-slightly floral, ever-so-slightly mint perfume that doesn't change much as it dries down. It lasts for hours and a little dab is enough, which is why I still have this tiny imp going. Of course, I'm pretty stingy about how often I use it. 5/5

@CandidaVirgo Cinnamon Donuts - Notes unknown, cinnamon obviously, almond, maybe ginger as well?
In the bottle and the opening note on the skin is strongly almond, but that mellows fairly quickly. I didn't love this one as much as I did Candi's Chocolate Macaron, but to be fair I'm not a huge fan of cinnamon. I'm sure there is ginger in here too, but that might just be because I'm associating the spiciness with baking products like gingerbread. 3/5

Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab Snow White 2012 - Notes as above. 
I had to buy this given my love for the 2008 version. It came out in 2010 as well but I dithered too long about buying it and missed that one. This one is slightly heavier on the floral than 2008 and doesn't have the same depth. It makes me think of a perfume clone - "If you like Chanel No. 5, you'll love etc..." like you get in the front bins at Priceline. It could just need ageing, though. I'm putting this one away for a while. 2/5

Haus of Gloi Vice - Steam billows rolling off a vessel of fresh made Turkish coffee, marshmallow goo tainted by graham cracker crumbs, toasted hazelnuts and blanketed in black chocolate.
Heavy on the coffee, but becomes more chocolatey on me as it dries down. This is the ultimate foody scent - rich and fairly potent. One of my favourites. 5/5

Enchanticals Mermaid Cove -  Wisteria, lilac, frangipani, oakmoss, pineapple, aquatic notes.
A really pretty, slightly watery white floral. It's like a lush garden after a heavy rain. 4/5

Days 186-195!

Snake Oil Salesman - Enchanticals

Details: 
Snake Oil Salesman
Enchanticals Perfume

Notes: 

"Hurry, hurry, step right up! Find it here and here alone, the one, the original Snake Oil Liniment direct from the Santa Rosa Mountains. What does it do you ask?! It heals the sick, and grows hair on your head, rub it on your belly and watch it shrink overnight. Got a headache? Muscle aches? Just rub a bit on the affected area an VIOLA! Pain be gone! This stuff cures all that ails ya, and if you act right now, you can be the one millionth and oneth happy customer who has purchased this miracle ointment!" Ok, I'm lying but I think you might like this one! A sultry unisex fragrance created with tons of love and essential oils like this: Blended together are ancient cypher's, incense accord with frankincense, Egyptian sandalwood, a shot of whiskey, spices like ginger and cardamom, and a bunch of deep dark secrets that well, if you told you I'd have to kill ya ;)

In the vial this is a spicy incense; applied to skin I can smell ginger and what I think might be cloves. Some kind of strong spice, anyway. It's quite masculine and dark. After a couple of minutes it took a horrifying turn and became... fertiliser. I'm not kidding. You know in Spring when the council comes out and lays fertiliser in all the nature strips and it's kind of fresh and country-ish but also gross and manky at the same time? Yeah, that. I thought maybe I was imagining things at first - that I'd stepped in something and that's what I was smelling, but nope, definitely fertiliser.

Like the trooper I am, I stuck it out and thankfully after 20 minutes or so when it had dried down, the fertiliser smell faded and it morphed into a spicy resin, very masculine and not too bad but definitely not my thing. Longevity was low-ish to medium - it had gone completely in 4 hours. Sillage was high at first but didn't last long.

Rating: 
2/5

Day 154!

White Rabbit - Enchanticals

Details: 
White Rabbit
Enchanticals Perfume

Notes: 
The frantic little fur ball...always running around with that over sized pocket watch. What was he in such a hurry for down in Wonderland? This perfume is in homage to that cute little fella with a blend of white things like white gardenia, a hint of fluffy coconut, then I added some fresh orange essential oil, dark juicy berries, tree barks & mosses and ancient ambers. Subtle, fresh and super alluring while being completely enchanting and fit to be adored by all on both sides of the Rabbit hole. Fragrance Family: Modern/Floral, Feminine.

In the vial White Rabbit smells foody - I can smell the orange and the berries, but applied to the skin the white floral comes out and it's quite potent.  It's sweetened by the coconut, which I took for vanilla until I read the notes and then realised immediately I was going up the wrong path there. This is a heady, 'perfumey' perfume - I was right on the edge of a headache with it for the first half hour or so. Once it dries down it softens to a smooth, foody floral, but it still has a fair bit of throw. Longevity is medium - I reapplied after about 5 hours. The moss and amber were lost on me - this was straight up floral gourmand. 

Rating: 
2/5 Meh. Didn't love it, didn't hate it. 

Day 138! 

Chocolate - Enchanticals

Details:
Chocolate 
Enchanticals Perfume

Notes:

Chocolate perfume?...yes you bet! I can find few things in life more fabulous than Chocolate, and smelling like Chocolate all day? What could be nicer! You'll find I do quite a bit of Chocolate blends in my perfumes, and that's because it makes a truly excellent base. This one really smells so much like a fudgey milk chocolate bar that it just might ward off the munchies! Scrumptious!

 

Well, sometimes things just are what they say they are. This smells like chocolate. In the vial, on the skin, 6 hours later, 12 hours later. It's chocolate. I love the smell of chocolate, so I am not objecting, but because I love it so much I have way too many chocolate perfumes already. If I didn't, I'd buy a full bottle of this - it's a pretty true chocolate scent. And it REALLY made me want to eat chocolate. Sillage was medium, longevity was excellent - lasted all day after applying at about 6am, and I could still smell traces of it the next morning.

Rating: 

4/5

Day 110! 

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!

Lucretia - Enchanticals Perfume

Details: 
Lucretia
Enchanticals Perfume

Notes: 
A Victorian, Gothic Mourning fragrance straight from the halls of the finest Funeral Parlors draped in velvet curtains, lace doilies under fine crystal vases of floral arrangements, and perfumed handkerchiefs dampened by tears of love lost. Soft powdery vanillas, a bouquet of funeral wreaths with Attar of Rose, Lilies, and Jasmine, with black Amber and a few other dark secrets.

In the vial Lucretia is a sweet vanilla floral, the kind of perfume I am always guaranteed to like - it's my jam. Application to my wrist brings out a pastry/cake note and a very faint hint of something lemony. The amber is present right from the beginning but it's quite soft. I can smell the jasmine and lilies in a beautiful blend of white floral, but the rose is not distinct - that's a good thing in this kind of perfume, it could easily take over. There's nothing much unique going on here - I've smelled many versions of this kind of perfume, but this is a particularly lovely blend. The dry down is a really pretty floral musk. Sillage was medium for a couple of hours, but even when it faded, the scent itself lasted for ages. I applied it early evening and I could still smell it on my wrist the following afternoon (for the record, I would normally have had a shower in that time but I'm on holidays so I'm skanking around the house).

Rating: 
5/5 Loved it, couldn't stop sniffing it. Definitely going on the full bottle list for my next Enchanticals purchase.

Day 87!

I Tricked Your Treat - Enchanticals Perfume

Details: 
I Tricked Your Treat
Halloween 2012
Enchanticals Perfume

Notes:
A bag full of goodies with candy corn, butterscotch, chocolate, a hint of fall apples & oranges, spiked with buttered rum and a few other cauldron filled secrets ;) Super yum!

In the vial this is sweet, slightly lemony vanilla pudding. It smells so delicious I want to eat it. Once applied, it's sweet lemon pastry. It's super foody, but in a way I really like. It reminds me a lot of BPAL's Eat Me and The Garden Bath's Lemon Chiffon. I am a sucker for a perfume that smells like dessert!

This goes a bit dusty on me after about 20 minutes, something about the heart of it doesn't work on me very well. Thankfully that doesn't last long - just when I was beginning to get disappointed and think it was going to turn out to be a scrubber after such a promising start, it mellowed to a warm, caramel vanilla scent. The specific notes listed don't really come out on me - I don't know what actual candy corn smells like anyway. I don't get apple or orange, though I do get that slight lemony citrus. Buttered rum and butterscotch could be that caramel vanilla, I guess. Basically, it starts off on me as crème anglaise and on the dry down it turns into sticky date pudding. Either way, I want dessert now. Sillage and longevity are both medium - it stuck around for about 4-5 hours.

Rating:
3/5

Day 76!

Alize - Enchanticals Perfume

Details:
Alize
Enchanticals Perfume

Notes:
White Chocolate covered Raspberries and Cream!

In the vial this smells of milk chocolate, which is slightly odd as the notes state that it's white chocolate. On the skin it's chocolate and raspberry, with the berry dominating and making it more tart and fruity than other chocolate berry perfumes I have. There's a 'perfumy' note in there too, something I can't quite put my finger on, but it makes this scent not quite as foodie as I'd expect. Several hours later it's mostly chocolate, with the berry dying down a bit. Sillage is low to medium, but the longevity is good - I could still smell it after 6 hours.

Rating: 
3/5

Day 60!

Harvesting Zombies - Enchanticals

Details: 
Harvesting Zombies
Enchanticals Perfume

Notes: 
Harvesting Zombies is an incredibly lavish, diverse & harmonious fragrance for the senses made with the finest extractions and oils available, with earthy, aged patchouli essential oil, moody black amber essential oil, sassy cinnamon, and a harvest of amazing, fresh Autumn fruits and spices so yummy no human or Zombie could ever resist.

In the vial this smells like spicy autumn fruits - apple, pear, the kind of things you make cold weather puddings out of. On my wrist it's mostly apple and cinnamon at first, and it's obviously real cinnamon oil because it itched like hell almost immediately. I was tempted to scrub it off but I let it go for a while to see how it would go, and it did subside after about 20 or 30 minutes. The dry down is a warm spicy scent – the cinnamon is not prevalent here, it’s more a mixed spice blend with the patchouli there but not taking over. The sillage is fairly low, but it lasted a really long time - at the end of the day I could still faintly smell it on my wrist and it had faded to something familiar I couldn't quite put my finger on. I asked Noodles what it smelled like to her at that point and she said, "Old people. No, old hippies." Right. Patchouli, then.  As fruit scents go, this is more on the warm side, and therefore more palatable to me than the light, bright young ones that I hate so much, but it’s still not really my cup of tea.

Rating: 
3/5

Day 57!

Serendipity - Enchanticals

Details:
Serendipity
Enchanticals Perfume

Notes: 
Serendipity is a simple, calming, earthy blend of both light and dark patchouli essential oil, and Attar of Rose, coming together in perfect harmony.

In the vial and when first applied this is a very herbal, grassy patchouli, quite dark. It stays that way for about 20 minutes or so and then morphs into a powdery rose, with the patchouli retreating very much into the background. I’m not a fan of patchouli and this perfume – while not terrible – doesn’t appeal to me either. I think fans of patch/rose scents would like it, though. The sillage is medium and it lasted a really long time – I put this on early evening and I could still smell it on my wrist the next morning.

 
Rating: 
2/5 Nothing wrong with it, just not my cup of tea.

Day 49! 

The Fat Lady - Enchanticals Perfume

Details: 
The Fat Lady
KrAzy KaRnIvAle Side Show Freaks Collection
Enchanticals Perfume

Notes: 
Of all the Side Show Freaks, I think I envy the Fat Lady the most. I mean after all, she not only get’s to eat everything at the concession stand, she encouraged to do so! What does the Fat Lady smell like? Like caramel apples, cotton candy, vanilla ice cream, funnel cakes, buttered popcorn and those sweet things one may find at the Carnival.

Well, you know me and carny scents. I can't resist. This smells super sweet and cakey. It's like a rich lemon cream cake.There is a biscuit/pastry note similar to the one in BPAL's Eat Me, but unlike that, this one doesn't go dusty on me. The Fat Lady doesn't change much, but it's delicious, like a slightly lemony confectioner's custard. Or a proper fancy vanilla slice - the kind you pay through the nose for at a patisserie. The kind I went and paid through the nose for after wearing this perfume all day. AND IT WAS WORTH IT. The sillage is medium, and longevity is good - I could still smell it on my wrist 8 hours later. I really like this one, and it's going on the full bottle list.

Rating: 
4/5

Day 29!