Jack and The Devil - Solstice Scents

Source

First sniff: 
Leather, chocolate... or maybe a deep vanilla?

First applied: 
Leathery tobacco and vanilla. Very masculine but smooth. There's some patchouli there too but thankfully it's not crazy.

After 30 minutes: 
The patchouli is prominent now, unfortunately. The tobacco is also stronger - this has become even more 'manly' than when I first applied it. It's probably awesome on a bloke, but not my kind of thing at all.

After 3 hours: 
The patchouli has mellowed at last and it's quite a smooth, masculine vanilla amber now. Again, I'm sure this would be amazing on a man but it's not something I would wear.

Longevity: 
About 6 hours.

Actual notes/description: 
Vanilla, tobacco, oakmoss, amber, patchouli, pumpkin and soft spice.

Availability: 
Solstice Scents
Permanent (was originally part of a limited edition Fall collection)
Full size and sample size.

Trick or Treat - Alkemia Perfumes

Details:
Trick or Treat
Alkemia Perfumes

Notes:  
A grownup confection of black licorice, mandarin orange peel, caramelized brown sugar, bourbon vanilla, candied ginger, tonka bean, blonde patchouli, cedar tips, oakmoss, and sandalwood. Utterly sexy on both men and women... While this perfume smells like a sumptuous treat, it's got a secret trick... Dr. Alan Hirsch (Director of the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation) did several studies on the effect of black licorice on the responses of men and women. He found that black licorice increased blood flow to *ahem* certain parts of both the male and female anatomy simulating sexual arousal.

I bought this sample late last year, tried it, adored it, and intended to buy a full bottle immediately, but for some reason never got around to it (too many scented distractions, too little time...). I'm moving it up the chain of full bottle priorities because I am wearing it today and I love it as much as I did the first time. In the vial it smells like orange-scented liquorice, very much a Halloween kind of scent with black and orange. It doesn't say in the seller's notes, but I am assuming this was originally a Halloween edition perfume. Once applied, the alcohol comes out - the bourbon vanilla (more bourbon than vanilla), the liquorice, the orange, that tonka warming it all.. unf! This perfume is TO DIE FOR. The tonka holds through the drydown, and there is a woody note as well that I guess must be the cedar tips (though I don't know what the difference is between that and a regular cedarwood note). Thankfully, I don't really get the sandalwood at all - I've been having a rough time with that of late. Blonde patchouli - what the heck is that? Whatever it is, I can barely, barely smell patchouli in the dry down, but again, it is thankfully in the background and not dominating. I could not detect the ginger either, though there was a tickly spicy note that popped up now and then fleetingly that might have been that.

I suspect this would be a polarising perfume - if you hate liquorice or orange, forget it. This is not for you. But if you like those notes, you must try this. It's not like anything else I own or have tried, and seriously - WHY DO I NOT HAVE A FULL BOTTLE YET?

Rating: 
5/5

Day 122!

Catch Up/Round Up 3

Yes, I have slacked off yet again and need to catch up in a job lot. I just can't seem to get much time on my laptop lately before it starts heating up dramatically so I have only been using it for downloading. Fingers crossed it behaves this morning while I do all my blog and comment catch-ups. Anyway, I decided to be lazy and put all the rest of the Solstice Scents Spring collection perfumes in one post. I'll put some links to other people's reviews at the bottom so you can get more detail if you'd like. I'm not sure how long these will be around for, but I presume at least to the end of this month. I've already done Chiffon and Dellamorte, and Garden Gate from one I bought a year or two ago.

Cascade of Gold - Sandalwood, White Sandalwood, Honeysuckle, Champa and White Lotus
Oh dear. On me this is honeysuckle-scented fly spray, which I think might be the champa, as I've had that happen before. I didn't really expect to like it anyway because I'm not a big fan of sandalwood, but it really doesn't agree with my skin chemistry. 1/5

Blossom Jam Tea Cakes -  Southern Tea Cakes, Petit Fours, Floral Infused Jams & Preserves, and a delicate aroma of Tea
Whenever I go to farmers' markets I invariably buy jam (even though I don't really eat it) and if there's some kind of weirdo jam there that I can't readily find elsewhere that's the one I go for. Hence I have in my lifetime tried a few floral jams. The jam note in this perfume is very true to those - not sweet or fruity, but a bit tart and fresh, and conjures up images of a well-used country kitchen. It smells just like a jam-filled cake you'd get out of the Country Women's Association cookbook (which I have, because my mum is a farmer's wife and sends me those kinds of things). On the skin there's something a bit smokey, which confused me. I don't know what it is, but I like it. The tartness of the jam stops this perfume from being too 'foodie' - it's one of the few cake ones I've tried recently that doesn't just smell like all the others. It's very unusual and lasts a long time. Not sure it's a full bottle, but I am enjoying the sample I have. 4/5

Chantilly Cream - Whipped Cream, Peach Nectar, Vanilla and Yellow Mandarin EO
I expected to haaaate this, as peach is one of my least favourite scent notes (remembering all my friends drowning themselves in The Body Shop Fuzzy Peach back in the late 80s/early 90s *shudder*), but surprisingly I didn't mind it. The peach nectar is a little deeper than the usual peach note, and the cream smells like it's been dowsed with a nip of brandy or rum or something. Basically, it's like an old-fashioned boozy trifle. 3/5

Devil's Millhopper - Heather, Oakmoss, Fern and Delicate Wood Notes
In the vial I get mostly heather, but once applied the fern comes out and there is a lot of greenness going on. The oakmoss and fern add something damp that smells ever-so-slightly mould-like, which I'm not keen on. This is one of those deep-in-the-forest scents that fans of 'darker' perfumes would probably love, but it's not for me. 2/5

Spirit Tree - Delicate White Flowers, Soft Vanilla and Sandalwood
This is a pretty common blend - in fact, trashy celebrities have been churning out some version of the white floral-vanilla fragrance for the last few years and they have succeeded in really giving it a bad name. However, I still love a well-blended version, and this one starts off beautifully, a lush white floral with the vanilla adding a hint of sweetness. The sandalwood behaves on me at first, just adding a bit of creaminess, but sadly it all goes south as it drys down and the sandalwood takes over. For some reason Solstice Scents' sandalwood note just amps on me, and I really wish it didn't because I loved the rest of what was going on here. Boo hoo. :-( 2/5

Spring Collection reviews from Amanda at More Tea, Wesley?
First sniff
Chiffon
Blossom Jam Tea Cakes
Chantilly Cream

From Amanda at Iris Handmade Soaps
Chantilly Cream
Chiffon

And finally here is a review of last year's Spring collection from Liber Vix, which has some of the same scents.

Day 117-121!

Dellamorte - Solstice Scents

Details: 
Dellamorte
Spring Collection 2013
Solstice Scents

Notes: 
Oak, White Carnation, Oakmoss, Egyptian Musk and Vanilla

I expected to like this one - I'm usually pretty fond of a musk/vanilla combo, I adore Solstice Scents' vanilla note, and I like carnation in perfumes a lot. But... no. There is something weirdly synthetic about this and I can't figure out what it is. The oak is overpoweringly strong when sniffing in the vial; it smells like wood polish rather than actual wood. That transfers to the skin too, which is not pleasant. The dry down is a little better, as the oak retreats to the background and the scent becomes a floral musk, but it's not distinctly carnation - there's none of that spiciness you usually get. Surprisingly, it didn't last very long either - it was gone in a couple of hours.

Rating: 
2/5 No matter what stage this was going through, that synthetic note was there to some degree all the way, and it really put me off this one.

Day 116!

Victorian Black - BoondockG

Details: 
Victorian Black 
BoondockG Soapery

Notes: 
Wickedly seductive ~ a floral blend of delicate violets, clover flower, heather ~ hints of basil and fennel ~ fine notes of oakmoss and labdanum….with just a hint of powder. 

There’s really not a lot to say about this. In the vial and on the skin it smells like an English garden – very much an old lady floral. There’s not a lot of change in the dry down, though there is a talcum powder note that comes out. I don’t get the basil or fennel at all – there is nothing about this that spices up the floral on me. It’s pretty, but there is nothing whatsoever interesting or remarkable about it. The sillage is low and longevity is medium. After about 5 hours there's just a very soft amber base left.

Rating: 
2/5

Day 52!*

Slowly catching up.