Tilt-a-Whirl - Darling Clandestine

Details: 
Tilt-a-Whirl
Darling Clandestine

Notes: 
Already, at dawn, you can tell it's going to be one of *those* days. Those blissfully hot, brilliantly cloudless days, when the heat creeps in gasoline hues over the empty, waiting midway, and ignites with the bustling crowd. Already you can feel the sun crackling at the back of your neck, and you know that tonight, as it sets, you'll be jumping hand-in-hand, giggling, off Wunderkammer Pier into the cool golden river. But right now, at dawn, these grounds belong to you. The yawning operator spots you and smiles, stands and lifts the gate. You scramble into your favorite car, Number Six, the one where if you lean just right you're set into startling motion, spinning and spinning, in rainbows of balloons and sliced-orange parasols and watermelon wedges and lemon shake-ups and tart cherry ice. Growing up is nice, but summer is yours forever. Fire it up. Throw your weight into it. Enjoy the ride.

This is a fizzy fruit drink of a perfume. It makes me think of orange sherbet or Fruit Tingles. Apparently there is passionfruit involved too, and though I would not have picked that, once I knew it was there, I could smell it. There's not a whole lot to say about it - it's a sweet, fizzy, fruity summer perfume - best suited to someone younger than I am. Sillage is lowish to medium, longevity was about 5 hours. I think I'll pass this one on to Noodles.

Rating: 
2/5

Day 214!

Belladonna - Twyla Perfumes

Details: 
Belladonna
Twyla Perfumes & Apothecary

Notes: 

Bright and lovely on the surface, Belladonna hides underneath her sparkling top notes a sweet and deadly poison fruit; deadly nightshade apples and ripe blood-red and purple berries with a hint of citrus, cutting sharp as a blade through the corrupt sweetness. Apple accord, raspberry (natural isolate), guava leaf, apricot, saffron, lemon myrtle and white musk.

A very wise man once said that purple is a fruit, and that's what I get when I sniff this - a big hit of fruity purpleness. It's sweet berries with a faint orange-y note and raspberry adding a tiny bit of astringency, not much. There's a creamy note in the dry down that I don't love - it almost-but-not-quite smells a bit turned. I wonder if that's the apricot - I love Twyla's apricot note in other perfumes but I know a few people really disliked it. 

Sillage was lowish on this - it's quite subtle. Longevity was medium - I applied very early in the morning and it was almost gone by lunch time.

Rating: 
2/5


Day 176!

Courtly Love - Possets

Details: 
Courtly Love
Possets Perfume

Notes: 
The slow stately thromb of courtly love as the man adores his lady and shows his love every day. Coconut (here used more as a serious element rather than a novelty) dances with apricot and a light kiss of vanilla and a very sweet, not stinky, jasmine to make a honey-ed note stand out. Swoony nice.

I wore this for three days in a row because it was so pretty. It's just a sweet, girly gourmand, but something about it just kept me gravitating back for another wear. In the vial I can smell the jasmine and vanilla - it's a prettier than usual version of any number of white floral vanilla scents. Once applied, the coconut comes out and the jasmine just kind of hovers around the edges - this is definitely  a foody perfume rather than a flowery one. The coconut is more creamy than coconut generally is in perfume, and the apricot makes it smell like a delicious dessert - it reminded me of something custardy like a pannacotta or a crème anglaise.

Sillage was medium to low - it didn't really scream its presence at all, but I could smell it when I moved my arm. It didn't last a long time though - it was virtually gone in 3 hours or so.

Rating: 
4/5

Day 157! 

Beatrix - Twyla Perfumes

Details: 
Beatrix
Twyla Perfumes & Apothecary

Notes: 
Beatrix (as in Beatrix Potter) - a scent evocative of spring blooms, warm bunnies, cotton dresses, ripe fruits and honey. Jasmine, melissa and mimosa; warm fuzzy musk, honey, grapefruit, sandalwood, clean cotton and peaches.

In the vial Beatrix smells like a fizzy floral - I realise that sounds weird but that's what comes to mind, as though there were sherbet in it. When I sniffed it my nose twitched AND WRITING THIS I JUST REALISED LIKE A RABBIT!! I have no idea whether that is deliberate but I'm delighted by it nonetheless.

Once applied I smell a very feminine, pretty floral, daubed with honey (which I realised later reading the notes is actually honeysuckle). I could smell something citrus and it took me a few seconds to work out it was grapefruit - one of the rare fruits I actually enjoy the smell of. The tart of the citrus early on tempers the sweetness a bit, but that disappears in the dry down, which is a honey musk, but one of those floral honeys like orange blossom or the like. Thankfully the peach never made an appearance on me, and the cotton just added a 'clean' element that wasn't so much a smell as a vibe. This perfume is gorgeously sweet but not sugary. Ultra girly but not sickly. I really like it. The sillage is fairly high for the first half hour or so - sensitive types could find this one a bit headachey. Lasting power is good - I put it on in the morning and reapplied mid-afternoon.

Rating: 
4/5

Day 136!

Les Girls: Sugar Puss - Possets

Details: 
Les Girls: Sugar Puss
Possets Perfumes

Notes: 
Sassy enough to grab all of the attention, clever enough to keep it. Sugarpuss is very very sweet but manages to maintain a sophistication and character which puts it squarely in the vanguard. Sugary, with a kiss of red jam and the smooth creamy note which Possets is so famous for.

This is a super sugary fruit cocktail of a scent - very strong and perfumey. It smells like something between jam and port wine jelly. I actually quite like it despite how sickly it is, but I feel way too old for it. Might pass this one on to Noodles. It lasted quite a long time - over 7 hours - and sillage was high at first, mellowing out a little after an hour.

That name, though. I'm not touching that.

Rating: 
2/5

Day 135!

Baneberry - Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab

Details: 
Baneberry
Rappaccini's Garden
Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab

Notes:
A poisonous fruit-bearing member of the buttercup family. The scent, like the plant, is dark green, herbal and plump with bulging black fruit. 

Erg. This is one of those BPALs that just turns into a smooshy mess on me. In the vial I can smell a herby green note and a sweet, berry-like fruitiness. Once applied it's just a giant fruit salad. Not for me at all. Sillage and longevity were medium - it lasted about 6 hours or so. We all know how I feel about fruit scents - enough said here.

Rating: 
1/5

Day 133!

Burlesque Lounge - Nevermore Body Company

Details: 
Burlesque Lounge
Nevermore Body Company

Notes: 
True to its name...this musky combination of Patchouli, black leather and tobacco with a floral hint of Frankincense, violet and amber is perfectly blended in fresh lemon, mandarin, juicy plum, red apple, cinnamon and fresh clove, dipped in vanilla and cherry cordial. Let the intoxicating scents of a 19th century Burlesque Lounge tickle your senses and take you back to another time.

In the vial this is fruity and sweet - I can smell the apple and plum, and there is a candy-ish note that might be the cherry cordial. It's basically the same on my skin but with a hint of lemon. This perfume went dusty on me within minutes and stayed that way. The sillage was low and it didn't last very long. I don't like fruit scents so even without the dustiness it wouldn't have been my cup of tea.

Rating: 
1/5

Day 130! 

Clara - Twyla Perfumes

Details: 
Clara
Literary Ingenues - Spring Collection 2013
Twyla Perfumes

Notes: 
Clara - from the Nutcracker ballet. She inspired the little aspiring ballerina in me to many hours of practicing arabesques in the basement - leaving me with visions of flowers, dolls and sugar plum fairies dancing in my head! This lovely perfume is deeply sweet, wistful and dreamy, laden with sugared plums, a faint breath of Christmas roses and the sweet scent of sandalwood. Plummy, fruity and smooth - like the Christmas dessert wine I was allowed a little glass as a child - with just a touch of sparkle and spice. 
Plum accord, gardenia, sandalwood, bourbon vanilla, apricot, grapefruit, rose absolute, pink pepper and a teensy drop of sweet patchouli. 

In the vial this is indeed a rich, fruity sweet wine - it makes me think of a particularly boozy Christmas fruit cake. Despite the fact that none of us liked fruit cake, my mum would still make one every year at Christmas, and this is what it smelled like while it was cooking. On my skin though, something very weird happened - I get a slightly orange-scented liquorice. I had not looked at the notes before testing (I rarely do, as I'm the highly suggestible type and I want to see what I can smell before being led down the path), and I just assumed there would be anise and orange in there, so I was pretty surprised to find they weren't listed. I was so confused I wrote to Twyla and asked her if they were there but not listed; she said there was a natural isolate with hawthorne that can be anise-ish, but was largely blackcurrant. Apparently not on me! Not complaining, because I love the smell of liquorice, and had I looked at the notes before trying I would have expected some sweet fruity concoction I probably wouldn't like.

The dry down is still pretty much liquorice on me for quite a long time - it never goes away, but it does retreat to the background eventually and then I mostly get the boozy vanilla and plum with a touch of the florals. There is a spicy note as well that I assume is the pepper. The patchouli is in the background, but very slight. It doesn't dominate at all and really just serves to add some depth to the base.

The sillage on Clara is medium, and lasting power is excellent (yay for the new strength blend!) - I could still smell it at the end of the day, though on a non-testing day I'd have reapplied in the middle of the day just to zing it up.

Rating: 
4/5 I don't know if the anise would come out on anyone else but it's something to be aware of if you're interested in this perfume but really hate that note, as many do. I'm undecided about whether to get a full bottle of this - I'm really tempted and it's only around for another week or two (until May 1**), but I'm trying to be restrained. *sigh*

Day 106!

**I'm going to review all the Twyla Spring perfumes consecutively as there are only 4 of them and they're not around for much longer. However, if any grab your attention and you try a sample and like it, she does have some dealio where you can buy a bottle up to a month (I think) after it comes down. You'd have to ask her for the actual details as I can't recall, but she's lovely and very approachable. 

Euphrosyne - Deep Midnight Perfumes

Details: 
Euphrosyne
Fantasy, Legends, Lore
Deep Midnight Perfumes

Notes: 
The Three Graces, or Three Charities, of Greek mythology were Charis, also known as Aglaia, Euphrosyne, and Thalia. They were the goddesses of joy, pleasure, grace, beauty, festivity, adornment, dance, and song. Daughters of Zeus and the sea-nymph Eurynome, they were also the attendants, or handmaidens, of Aphrodite and Hera and protectors of vegetation. Euphrosyne, (yoo-FROS-uh-nee), comes from the Greek and Latin, meaning “mirth,” “merriment.” Her scent is a myriad blend of tropical fruits, fresh pears, red berries, cream, figs, Sicilian orange, pummelo, caramel, lily of the valley, and a barely hidden note of red licorice. 

In Greek mythology, Euphrosyne didn't do much except dance around with her sisters having a good time. She was kind of frivolous and a teensy bit pointless - an early Kardashian, I guess.  This perfume is also kind of frivolous. In the vial I can smell fig, orange and a faint alcohol scent I attribute to pear. I thought I caught some marzipan too, but I think maybe there's a dab of cherry in there - I often confuse those two in the first seconds of smelling them. Once applied it's a bit of a messy fruity blend, with a strong note of berries. It's very strong and the sillage is high. The caramel comes out in the dry down, but it's that kind of caramel note that borders on smelling like vomit. If someone took a younger Kardashian into a lab and said, "Blend together the things you like the smell of and make a perfume", this is exactly what I would expect them to come up with. It smells like a cheap, trashy celebrity perfume. Gross.

Rating:
1/5

Day 82!

Mad as Birds - Darling Clandestine

Details: 
Mad as Birds (prototype)
Darling Clandestine

Notes: 
Mad as Birds is a sweet, cool, garden-dew fragrance with notes of pear and mint and amber and marigolds. A multitude of different scent elements and weeks (months!) of methodical alchemy make Mad as Birds no ordinary scented oil mix—it's a truly inimitable fragrance. 

A few weeks ago in the middle of the really hot spell towards the end of summer, I was stuck in the house and bored and read a Facebook post on Darling Clandestine's page offering a special deal of 3 full size (specific) bottles and a 'bitsy' (Evonne's version of a sample - though really it's not that much shy of a full size bottle of, say, BPAL) of a prototype of Mad as Birds, a perfume that had been available in the past but was now reformulated. I had no idea what the notes were in any of the perfumes in the deal, and I'd never bought anything from Darling Clandestine, but I decided on a whim to grab it anyway. White wine spritzers may or may not have been involved.

In the bottle, Mad as Birds smells green and fresh, with a tiny hint of the mint discernible and a slight wine-ish note. This might just be me - when I was little my grandpa was always making wine out of weird things like bananas and pears, and since then I've always thought pears smelled slightly alcoholic.

Once I applied to my skin the pear was more distinct and true to its fruitiness, and I have to say, I really liked it. Am I actually coming around to fruit? Noooooo! The green note (is that marigold? I don't know what marigold smells like), still with that little dab of mint, keeps this perfume light and bright; I would have liked to have had this in the above-mentioned heatwave. The fragrance doesn't change all that much throughout, though the dry down is a bit deeper, with the amber darkening it all just a touch (not too much, though - it certainly doesn't scream "Hey, I'm amber!" as many others do). Sillage was medium, as was longevity. I had this on from early evening and could still smell it when I went to bed. In the morning there was just a tiny faint hint of it left.

Note: As this is a prototype, it may or may not be the same version as the one currently available on the website.

Rating: 
4/5 I don't feel like I need a bigger bottle of this at the moment, but I am glad I have more than a standard size sample. I have hardly any 'summery' perfumes, so this is something a bit different for me.

Day 78!

The Golden Lilies - Twyla Perfumes

Details: 
The Golden Lilies
Maia Collection
Twyla Perfumes & Apothecary

Notes: 

This scent starts off strong on the Lily-of-the-Valley,  tiare and apricot, with a beautiful and golden, earthy base of resinous amber to anchor the sweet, almost candy-like tonka bean.  Davana is said to have the unique property of smelling differently on every person's skin. I find it to be rather woodsy, with a hint of herbal-vanilla.  The smooth, deep sandalwood and unusual, almost musky floral of the fire tree - which smells a bit like a musky lilac with a hint of apricot, round out this unique and lovely blend.  

I know I bang on endlessly about how much I hate fruit scents, but one note that can always reel me in is apricot. In the early 1990s I went through many bottles of a much adored apricot vanilla fragrance oil from my local hippie shop. In the bottle this is all apricot to me, the lily of the valley and tiare comes out wet on skin, and it’s a phenomenal combination – a sweet, lush, tropical scent. The dry down is mostly white floral with a lovely vanilla-ish sweetness from the tonka. As with most Twyla scents, the sillage is quite low and it doesn’t last long – it had more or less disappeared within 3 hours. (On that note, Twyla stated on her Facebook page recently that based on feedback regarding longevity and sillage of her otherwise gorgeous scents, she has strengthened the fragrance, so hopefully that is less of an issue now. For now I’m happy to just frequently slather this one and enjoy it immensely while it’s there.)

Rating: 
4/5 It would be a 5 if it lasted longer.  

Day 67!

Puce! - Possets Perfume

Details: 
Puce! 
Possets Perfume

Notes: 
THE popular color in the 18th century. No self respecting dandy would dream of having a waistcoat of another color, no lady would think of ordering a moire silk dress in any other hue. Reviled and lauded, snickered at and loved, puce is the color of controversy. A moderate value bluish red at a low intensity. Slight spice and a hint of raspberry cozy up to a distant and ditsy pressed floral whiff. Captivating and romantic as only puce could possibly be. Live the legend of PUCE! Sweet, foody, gourmand, fruity.

In the vial this is spicy and fizzy, and reminds me of sherbet. Once applied it’s very sweet and lollyish, with a bit of light bright fruitiness (the kind I hate). The dry down smells exactly like Fruit Tingles. I haven’t eaten those for years, but after smelling this perfume I wanted to go out and buy some. Overall though, this was definitely not me. Maybe I would have liked it if I were 12 years old – I feel like even Noodles is too old for it. Sillage was fairly low, but lasting power was good (or bad, depending on how you look at it) – it stuck around for about 5 hours or so. 

Rating: 
2/5 Not quite a scrubber, but a little on the sickly side.

Day 64!

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!

Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster - Delightful Rot

Details: 
Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster
Delightful Rot

Notes:
Invented by Zaphod Beeblebrox, the Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster is described as "the alcoholic equivalent of a mugging - expensive and bad for the head" and drinking one "is like having your brain smashed out by a slice of lemon wrapped round a large gold brick". With a bright lemon top note backed by a tropical, fruity scent, Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster is reminiscent of a posh, pricey cocktail. 

I'm not a big fan of science fiction, and I've never read The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, so I don't have any affinity with this name or anything. It was a freebie I received with an order I did recently from Delightful Rot. In the vial this is a sickly sweet lemon sherbet. Once applied it's super fruity and sweet - it makes me think of those really cheap imported lollies you can buy in junk shops like The Reject Shop. The dry down is... fly spray. Well, it is on me anyway. I really hated this. I resisted the urge to scrub it off because I wanted to see if it would improve but it didn't. Thankfully the sillage and lasting power was lowish - it was gone in about 3 hours.

Rating: 
1/5

Day 36!

Pomona - Possets Perfume

Details:
Pomona
Possets Perfumes

Notes: 
A really special blend, Pomona is the essence of many fall harvest fruits of the earth playing on each others charms. I was amazed at how good this particular mixture of flora smelled! One clue, all of the ingredients start with a "p". Named for the goddess of the earth's fruiting. Unisex, for the patchouli lover, but patchouli haters have love it, too! Characteristics: fruity, patchouli, spicy, autumn, long lasting, home scent.

The only reason I bought this to try is because every time I see any discussion of Possets, someone always brings up Pomona and then a bunch of people chime in to bang on about how awesome it is. I didn't expect to like it much - the description mentions fruit, after all. But it really grew on me after a while. 

In the vial there's a sort of toasty sweetish smell, like maybe popcorn? Or pecans? It reminds me a lot of carnival scents so it's something related to that. Once applied there's a fruit note at first, which I think is peach, and maybe pear. Yeah, there's definitely pear in there. Surprisingly, it's not awful on me. I don't love it, but I don't hate it either. It's very perfumey, but not quite like any other perfume I've ever smelled before. I can't smell any patchouli at all, which is odd as that's a note that tends to dominate on me (annoyingly).The dry down is kind of a bakery scent, biscuit or pastry, and the pear comes out more. It's like a pear tart.

The sillage is medium, as is longevity. I needed to reapply about 5 hours after the first application. I don't know if I'd wear this, but it's definitely interesting, and not really like anything else I have. 

Rating:
3.5/5 Not quite a 4 - I doubt I'd ever buy a full bottle, but a cut above the rabble. 

Day 32!

Children Of The Night - Deep Midnight

Details:
Children of the Night
Deep Midnight Perfumes

Notes: 
Children of the Night: What sweet music they make! A nice Gothic blend of dragon’s blood, silky champas, deep vanilla, dark black fig, and the haunting faint breath of heliotrope. This unisex scent will them howling for more.

There is a note in a few of the Deep Midnight perfumes I have sampled that has that synthetic, plasticky smell that's kind of like bandaids. This one has it too, and it's quite strong both in the vial and when first applied. I feel like it might be the heliotrope, which can sometimes smell a bit weird on me. I'm not overly keen on this - it's not quite a scrubber, but that synthetic note distracts me. When it dries down it smells like vanilla and incense. The sillage is not strong, and the lasting power is medium. I don't have much else to say about this one, but I'm definitely not howling for more...

Rating: 
2/5

Day 26!

Madame - Nevermore Body Company

Details:
Madame
Nevermore Body Company

Notes: 
Madame’s golden days of Cabaret brings back the warm and sophisticated, yet subtle blend of apple and oak, with a spice mahogany bouquet, soothing hints of vanilla, cinnamon and dark wood, ripe tones of sweet figs and infused with a blend of tobacco, black tea and fruit spices.

 In the vial this is fruity and sweet, exactly the kind of thing I don't like. Once I applied it, it smelled sour - the apple, I assume. I'm not sure what fig smells like exactly, but I was testing another perfume with a fig note the day before and there was a similar sour note in that one, so I'm guessing that's adding to it. To be perfectly honest, this smells a bit like cat pee on me. I almost scrubbed it off, but it was quite close to the skin and didn't have much sillage at all, so I left it on for a while to see if it would change. It does eventually, and dries down to a fairly pleasant, mildly spicy vanilla base. It's quite a significant morphing, actually. The longevity is medium - I could faintly smell it after 6 hours, but only if I had my nose right up to my wrist. I wouldn't wear this purely because I really dislike the opening notes of it, and the vanilla base is nice, but nothing unique.

Rating: 
2/5

Day 25!

Alice's Tea Party - Black Baccara

Details:
Alice's Tea Party
Black Baccara

Notes:
A peculiar and curious scent; sweet but hinting at something surreal. The atmosphere and magic of tea time with Alice is captured in an apothecary bottle. Hints of freshly brewed green tea mix with tart wild cherries, oranges, pomegranates, honey, marshmallows, whispers of vanilla and the faintest hint of baking bread. Comforting and delicious with the perfect dose of strangeness.

I recently received an order of 10 samples from this shop, and this is the first one I've had a chance to try. As I mentioned in my last past, with the last few sample orders I've done I've tried to branch out to things I would not normally try, and this is one of them. I don't like fruit scents generally, but I figured I could at least test this out and then pass it on to Noodles, who loves them. And that's exactly what I've done.

In the vial this smells like cherry advokaat - that cherry smell that is almost like children's cough medicine. I can also smell the honey and a hint of orange. Once applied it smells pretty much the same for a few minutes, until it begins to dry down, when it becomes a fruit cocktail - very sweet and syrupy. I can't smell marshmallow or vanilla (and definitely not bread) but there is a sugariness there. Once it dries down the tea comes out, but it still smells like fruit tea. This is definitely not for me, but Noodles likes it.

Rating:
2/5 Not awful, but not at all my cup of tea.

Day 18!