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!

Rose Coloured Glasses - Twyla Perfumes

Details:
Rose Coloured Glasses
Twyla Perfumes & Apothecary

Notes:
This one is definitely for you Rose-lovers out there. Four different roses are used in this beautiful aromatherapy perfume, as well as a gorgeous vanilla, a generous dose of calming sandalwood absolute and jasmine sambac, and finally a touch of a beautiful and uplifting fresh mint absolute i've just found (and now i refuse to use anything else). I absolutely love this one, and find it especially good to wear on those days when my spirits need a bit of a lift. And if you're already feeling good, this will make you feel even better!


Super pretty rose perfume, with the roseness of the rose (heh) tempered by the sandalwood and vanilla, which adds a slightly musk candy scent. I don't really get the mint as such, but there's something there that adds a bit of a zing.I've worn this one a few times and I really like it - it's sweet and feminine and there's not a huge amount going on but that's okay. Sillage is medium - if you threw it about you'd probably announce your entrance to a room, but a bit of a dab is fine. Longevity is fairly good - I find it lasts 6-7 hours on me.

Rating: 
3/5

Day 178!

The Sacred Queen - Twyla Perfumes

Details: 
The Sacred Queen
Maia Collection
Twyla Perfumes & Apothecary

Notes:
Beautiful, ruthless and fiery - The Sacred Queen, with over 14 essential oils, is a deceptively sweet, complex and unmistakably regal blend of honey and smokey vetiver, amber and vintage patchouli, frankincense, neroli and bitter almond with smoldering spices, sacred incense and a heady blend of florals.  

I thought I would hate this at first because in the vial all I got was a big huff of patchouli. However, once applied it almost immediately sweetened and mellowed. I don't really get a distinct floral note but I think there's something flowery about it. It's very, VERY hippie-ish. Not my cup of tea, but not nearly as bad as I initially thought it would be. Oddly I can't smell the honey if I put my nose to my wrist and sniff, but I can smell it when I'm just moving my wrist around - I kept getting whiffs of it at work while I was typing.

The other day I was chatting on Twitter with some people about that fashion in the 90s for the semi-goth look, with long flowing velvet dresses, lace up boots, chokers, hair dyed black or red, etc. This perfume evokes that style for me. There's something about it that says to me: Wiccan, hippie, probably wears or carries a crystal. Sillage is medium - it packs a bit of a punch at first but settles down fairly quickly. Longevity was good - I could smell it on myself for most of the day.

Rating:
3/5

Day 177!

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!

Eve - Twyla Perfumes

Details:
Eve
Twyla Perfumes & Apothecary

Notes: 
Chrysanthemum, ginger, pomegranate, apple, fig, milk accord, carnation, ginger lily, cassia, sandalwood and amber

I am doing a few Twylas this week because I want to do an order soon and I am checking out what I want in full sizes. Now, this was a funny one because I did not pick a single one of the notes above except for the sandalwood that came out in the drydown. Not even the amber, which usually romps all over me. It also doesn't smell particularly fruity on me. This is what it smells like:

Yes, this is exactly how I imagine Sandy smells at the end of Grease. What I get from this perfume is bubblegum and tobacco. In the vial there is a citrusy liquorice, though looking at the notes now, I wonder if what I took to be liquorice isn't actually ginger... Whatever it is, it doesn't come out on my skin at all.

Sillage is lowish and longevity is medium. I applied in the morning before work and felt the need to reapply at lunchtime as it had almost disappeared. I don't know what to make of this one - the notes confused me a lot. I see no bubblegum or tobacco mentioned but that's definitely what I smell!

Rating: 
3/5

Day 175!

Santisima Muerte - Twyla Perfumes

Details: 
Santisima Muerte
Dia de los Muertos collection
Twyla Perfumes & Apothecary

Notes: 

Sandalwood absolute, golden champaca, rose absolute, blood-orange,  benzoin, sweet 

patchouli.

In the vial this smells like sweet orange - it reminded me a bit of Possets Florida, though not nearly as sickly. Once applied the sandalwood comes out and what I think is sweet patchouli. I definitely get a 'patchouli vibe' but it's not nearly as overwhelming as patch generally is for me. There's a floral note but it doesn't smell distinctly like rose to me, more like blossoms, actually. The perfume is quite faint (I don't recall whether this is one of the older, less potent formulas), and disappeared within 4 hours. 

Rating: 

3/5 Pretty, but not memorable.

Day 174!

Pig & Pepper - Twyla Perfumes

Details:
Pig & Pepper
Twyla Perfumes & Apothecary

Notes: 
Cyclamen, raspberry, rose, milk accord, amber, mimosa, honey and pink pepper. 

Sometimes I have a week where everything seems like a dud, and sometimes I have a week where I like pretty much everything I test. I wonder if that's just chance or if there is a body chemistry thing going on. For example, I wonder if I'm having 'lady's days', my skin chemistry changes to make everything smell either really crap or really good. Interesting. Or maybe just creepy.

Anyway, this has been a pretty decent week and this is the third one in a row that I've tested and really enjoyed. In the vial I can smell rose, mimosa and honey, it's bright and sweet and a tiny bit fruity. Once applied the pepper gives it a bit of a spicy kick, and the raspberry adds a nice tart element to balance the sweetness. The amber is there in the dry down but doesn't amp on me for once - it just makes everything else smell a bit deeper. There's a creaminess that I attribute to the milk accord, and overall this is a lovely bright perfume that I'd probably wear more in the spring and early summer.

Sillage was medium, as was lasting power. I reapplied after about 6 hours.

Rating: 
4/5

Day 158!

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!

Daydream Nation - Twyla Perfumes

Details: 
Daydream Nation
Twyla Perfumes & Apothecary

Notes: 
Musk seed, nagramotha, cardamom, dark patchouli, myrrh, clove, pomegranate accord, spice, amber and rose otto.

This is quite sweet in the vial, not in a sugary way but like the kind of spices you get in rice pudding. Applied to skin this is very heavy on the patchouli - at least for me. I'm not a patchouli fan, as you'd know if you read this blog regularly, and even though Twyla uses one of the few patchoulis I can tolerate, this one is too much for me, especially blended with amber. There's a spiciness to it and something that smells a bit like hay. It's very hippie-ish and could be worn by either men or women. I found this quite strong - the sillage is high for a Twyla perfume (it's one of the newer stronger versions), and it lasted a good 7 or 8 hours.

Rating: 
2/5

Day 131!

Swimming Horses - Twyla Perfumes

Details: 
Swimming Horses
Twyla Perfumes & Apothecary

Notes: 
Water lily accord, ginger lily, magnolia, seaweed absolute, choya nakh, white musk accord, and ozone.

I had no expectation of liking this. I bought it because it has seaweed absolute and choya nakh, which is 'the aroma of roasted seashells' and I just had to smell that. I was actually a bit scared of it at first, because I had a horrible thought that it might be fishy.

It's not fishy, thankfully. In the vial it's very fresh and light, almost nothing - ozone, I guess. Once applied it's more beachy. I hate the beach, not least the smell, but this was actually... not unpleasant. To me it smelled like fresh clean air with just a hint of something floral in the breeze. This was a sample from before Twyla increased the strength of her perfumes, and it disappeared fairly quickly on me - within a couple of hours. It's not a bad perfume if you like that sort of thing, but it's not for me.

I gave this sample to my friend Jacquie, who loves these kinds of ozone/seaside perfumes. Her reaction after applying to her wrist: "Oh, this is nice!" *sniff sniff* "Oh wow, I really like this!" *sniff sniff* "Oh my god, I LOVE this!" So there you go - if you like those kinds of perfumes, check this one out.

Rating:
Me: 2/5
Jacquie: 4.5/5

Day 128!

Lucy - Twyla Perfumes

Details:
Lucy
Literary Ingenues - Spring Collection 2013
Twyla Perfumes

Notes:
Lucy - from C.S. Lewis' "Narnia" books.  Valiant, down-to-earth and loyal - Lucy never wavers in her simple honesty and conviction, bravely facing dangers head-on with a dignity beyond her years.  Bulgarian lavender, honey, sweet vanilla, neroli, pine and oak moss.

In the vial there is a bright, green fresh note. It might be the pine, but that's a note that usually makes me feel a bit sick and this one doesn't at all. Applied it's more piney and sweet, not enough to induce nausea, but enough to know straight away I'm not going to love this. I can detect the lavender, but it's subtle. The dry down is mossy and slightly sweet, probably the honey. Ehhhhhnnn, I can think of a few people who would probably love this, but it's not for me. Longevity was good - I could still smell it 8 hours later. Sillage was quite strong when first applied, but subsided within an hour.

Rating:
2/5

Day 109!

Alice Liddell - Twyla Perfumes

Details: 
Alice Liddell 
Literary Ingenues - Spring Collection 2013
Twyla Perfumes

Notes:
Alice Liddell - from the Wonderland/Looking Glass books by Lewis Carroll.  When i was little, these books helped to form my already rather overactive imagination.  Alice was the epitome of the Ingenue - sweet yet quick-witted, brave and with a sense of the absurd, and totally uncorrupted by the pedestrian world in which she lived...
A sweet, proper English scent with a bit of a silly twist, Alice is sweet, floral, quirky and the epitome of innocence. Apple blossom, carnation, rose alba, lilac, bergamot, and roobios tea with milk and honey. 

In the vial, this smells like sweet floral tea. Applied to my skin it goes a little soapy, which I don't think I've ever had happen with a Twyla scent. I wonder if it's the apple blossom? I get spice from the carnation, and the tea is still there, along with the honey. The honey really comes out in the dry down, but that soapiness is still there and never goes away. Although I don't hate this one, it just isn't me. It doesn't seem to work with my skin chemistry at all. Sillage and longevity were medium, it lasted about 6 or so hours.

Rating: 
2/5 Not my cup of tea. (See what I did there!)

Day 108!

Lyra - Twyla Perfumes

Details:
Lyra
Literary Ingenues - Spring Collection 2013
Twyla Perfumes

Notes: 
Lyra - from Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" series.  This one in particular is very close to my heart - it was my son Jamie's favourite book - we must have read it together 5 times in the space of 3 years.  I dedicate this one to him.  

Mandarin, jasmine, lily, cedarwood, copiaba, soft musk, madagascar vanilla and pink pepper.

 

In the vial I get a musky sweet white floral with a teensy bit of pepper that made my nose twitch. Applied to skin the pepper comes out more. At first I wasn't sure about it, I didn't want to sit here all afternoon sneezing my head off. It's not that kind of pepper though - it adds a really interesting spicy  kick to what could have just been a pretty floral musk. There's a slight woodiness too - I looked up copiaba because I'd never heard of it, and apparently that can be a bit woody, plus the cedarwood adds that sweet resiny kind of note. The vanilla didn't really come out on me at all as a distinct note - more just adding a bit of depth and sweetness in the background. It was all quite light and bright at first (I never did detect the mandarin, but I suspect that is what was making it so bright), but although the scent itself didn't change a whole lot, it deepened considerably as it dried down. Although it seems quite feminine, I think this one would actually work really nicely on a man. Sillage was medium, and it stuck around for about 6 hours or so before fading right down. I could still smell traces of it at the end of the day, but only with my nose up close. 

Rating: 

4/5 I really like this one, and yet again I'm tempted to get a full bottle, but ehhhhhn. How many full bottles of perfume can one person get through? I'm still considering whether to make a last minute dash before this collection comes down. 

Day 107!

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. 

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!

Catch Up/Round Up

I have had some family dramas going on lately - nothing major or out of control, but it's sapping a lot of my time and energy so I've fallen behind on reviews and comments (and reading other blogs!). I'll catch up with comments in the next day or so but I have decided to do a quick montage of the perfumes I've tested in the last week to get up to date. I'm just going to put a few brief words about each - really just the impressions I write down as I am testing them. Sorry to do this, but I feel like I'm just going to keep falling behind otherwise, and I'm really into this project and don't want to abandon it. Hopefully I can resume normal daily reviews in a couple of days. I'm linking to the creator's description of each scent.

Twyla Lirrit - Sweet and candyish but not sickly. A fruity floral I don't hate - a very rare thing. Doesn't last long. 

Twyla Honekakala - Honeysuckle and tropical flowers. It's very pretty, normally honeysuckle makes me think of the American south, but this one reminds of somewhere like Hawaii. I imagine this is what a lei smells like. Again, didn't last more than about 2 hours, but most of my Twylas are the old formula and these have since been strengthened so hopefully longevity is no longer an issue. 

Twyla Bohemian Baby - This is one of the new formula perfumes, and it certainly lasted a while on me. Unfortunately it's mega patchouli so not really to my taste. If you're a patchouli fan it's definitely worth checking out. 

Possets Theodora - Resin, resin, resin. Very exotic and vampy, but totally not my thing at all. I’m not a big fan of frankincense and it amps on me like crazy with this perfume. The dry down is a strong, slightly masculine musk, but there’s something vaguely cheap-smelling about it. It makes me think of a men’s musk cologne that would be in a stack near the front counter of Chemist Warehouse and cost about $15 for a 100ml bottle. Sillage and longevity are fairly low – it lasted about 3 hours and I wasn’t sorry to see the back of it.

Possets Gingerbread Whorehouse -  In the vial, this smells like sweet cake with a dab of ginger. AGAIN WITH THE CAKE SCENTS. In my defence, this was a freebie – not one I chose even though I already have eleventy million cake scents. The ginger comes out a lot more when it’s applied to skin – I like the smell of ginger, but there’s something else in here that’s not very nice, a note of something that smells like turned cream. Thankfully, about 20 minutes later at the point where I was seriously considering scrubbing this off, that note disappeared and the perfume dried to a cakey, sweet vanilla. Oddly, given the name, the ginger doesn’t hang around. Sillage is medium, as is longevity.

BoondockG Vanilla Vanilla - Really strong, sickly vanilla toilet spray.

Delightful Rot Ravenclaw - One for the Harry Potter fans (I'm not). I like this but I don't love it. The pear is vaguely alcoholic - as pear always is to me, and the amberwood is soft and doesn't dominate. I don't get more than a flash of tea every now and then. It works well. It's just... not my thing. 

Black Baccara Old Fashioned Holiday Candy - I asked Noodles what this smelled like to her and she said pineapple and pina coladas. To me it smells exactly like Wonka Nerds, so I guess it lives up to its name.

Again, apologies for the half-arse catch ups, and if you want more information about any of these, please feel free to ask and I'll say more in comments.

Days 89 - 96!

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!

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!

Breathless - Twyla Perfumes

Details:
Breathless
Twyla Perfumes & Apothecary

Notes: 

A scent inspired by the Jean-Luc Godard movie; a little romantic, a little smutty, a little noir and very very French. Red and white rose, vintage patchouli, myrrh, cacao absolute, bourbon vanilla, and sandalwood. This scent is absolutely beautiful, with neither the rose nor the patchouli overwhelming, balanced by a healthy dose of deep, dark chocolate.  The rose is steam-distilled and very smooth, the patchouli vintage and ultra-dark, complex and wine-like in its scent and body. The myrrh adds depth while and the cacao is rich and bittersweet.  Bourbon vanilla adds a lovely non-cloying and richness only real vanilla can achieve while sandalwood rounds it out with a lovely woody creaminess. You don't want to skip this one, even if you think you don't like patchouli!

In the vial I smell bitter dark chocolate and patchouli. It’s very dark and somewhat masculine. Once applied, the rose is detectable, but the patchouli really amps on my skin, and it almost gets to the point where it’s too much for me. As it dries down, the chocolate comes out again, but it’s smoother this time, still dark but not bitter, warmed and softened by the vanilla and sandalwood. Like the majority of Twyla’s scents, this one sits close to the skin, but the lasting power was pretty good – I could still smell it 6 hours later. I liked this quite a lot, but probably not enough for a full bottle, as that patchouli would no doubt get to me after a while. I think this would be an amazing scent for a man, and once again I must lament that I don’t have one to test these kinds of things on. SAD FACE. 

Rating: 

3/5

Day 38!

Angelita - Twyla Perfumes

Details:
Angelita
Dia de los Muertos 2012
Twyla Perfumes & Apothecary

Notes: 
Opening up spicy sweet and a little green, with a whisper of gentle musk, this lovely scent dries down with a creamy, almost candy-like softness - like rose-carnation cream. Rose Otto, Carnation Absolute, Honey Absolute, Massoia Bark, pink musk and Vanilla extrait.

I am beginning to think that Twyla has cornered the market on creamy florals. In the bottle, I smell soft, creamy carnation - not loud as carnation often is, but gentle and almost a little vanilla-ish. There's a touch of spice there, but it doesn't jump out. Applied the spice is more noticable, but it's sort of sweet, not one that makes you reel back in surprise but one you want to stick your nose into and sniff sniff sniff. When it dries down it's a creamy, vanilla-ish, sweet carnation scent. Dreamy and gorgeous. Love, love, love.

The first couple of times I wore this it disappeared fairly quickly, but I've been more conscious about moisturising lately and I've found it is helping considerably with the lasting power of my perfumes. This one gets a good few hours now. 

By the way, if this sounds like your cup of tea, you might just be able to snatch one up if you're quick - there are a handful still on the site.

Rating: 
5/5 Perfect. 

Day 16!