Yule - Possets Perfume

Source

First sniff: 
Possets' distinctive 'vomited up caramel' cream note. Blech. I really do not want to put this one on.

First applied: 
The same vomity note but also ginger and something else that smells a bit like rancid butter. This is not good.

After 30 minutes: 
The cream and ginger are still there, and it's thankfully no longer very potent. Do not like this at all and I can't get to the 3 hour mark. I have to get it off.

After 3 hours: 
I scrubbed it off with an exfoliating facial scrub just after the 30 minute sniff and I can still smell lingering whiffs of it. Gah.

Longevity: 
20 years, apparently. I don't know - it was a total scrubber on me. I couldn't stay the distance.

Actual notes/description: 
Cream with a velvety vanilla and a bit of rummy character, this one will have you slurring and smiling before you know it. A lovely creation which showcases the good things for which Possets is known. Of course you do know that egg nog is about the last of the real possets of old to survive into the 21st century right? Mmmm.

Availability: 
Possets Perfume
Limited Edition - Yule 2009
No longer readily available.

The All Chocolate Dinner - Possets Perfume

First sniff: 
There's almost something medicinal about this at first - I think there is supposed to be mint in there? To be honest, it smells like chocolate-y bandaids.

First applied: 
That weird bandaid note is still there but it recedes into the background and the top is all chocolate and coffee. There's something slightly fruity as well - it smells a bit like... apples? Caramel apples, maybe.

After 30 minutes: 
It still smells mostly of coffee, or at least a mocha. I guess there's some chocolate there but it's really not standing out. The bandaid smell seems to have disappeared but now there's a slightly dusty note.

After 3 hours: 
Dusty coffee, fairly faint. Can't smell any chocolate.

Longevity: 
About 4-5 hours. At the 6 hour mark it was very, very faintly there - I could barely smell it even with my nose pressed right up against my wrist.

Actual notes/description: 
To round out the wicked foodies this Yule, it's time for an all chocolate dinner. Bring on the milk and dark chocolate and while you are at it, haul out the rum to wash it all down. Make that a rum toddy, with a nice fat pat of butter in it. Mmmmm. What an evil indulgence!!! Well, you only can get it once a year and this is it! Enjoy.

Availability: 
Possets Perfume
Limited Edition - Yule: Dark Revels 2012
No longer readily available. You might pick it up in private sales.

Little Flora - Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab

Details: 
Little Flora
Turn of the Screw
Yule 2012
Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab

Notes: 
Peonies and cream. 

I've tried this out a few times since I got it late last year, but I've put of including it in my daily reviews because there just isn't much to say about it. This is a highly perfumey, super creamy floral. It doesn't change on me at all from go to whoa. It lasts for hours and hours - I could still smell it when I moved my wrists around 12 hours after applying. The sillage is high-ish, and when I tried it this most recent time I actually spilled a dab on myself while applying and it smelled really strong for a long time.

Little Flora is an ultra-feminine perfume in the vein of something like Wiggle Perfume's Buxom, though without that one's complexity. I like those kinds of perfumes, which is just as well.

As an aside, I find the label on this one really creepy. There is just something about pictures of old-fashioned little girls that makes me think of dolls, and there are few things that give me the heebie jeebies as much as dolls do.

Rating: 
4/5

Day 222!

Dark Winter's Tale - Deep Midnight Perfumes

Details: 
Dark Winter's Tale
Deep Midnight Perfumes

Notes:
The winter night air freezes your breath on your scarf as you walk towards a waiting haven of light, safety and the inviting smells of a winter cottage. Hurry to get inside from this dark winter night, and an evening of warmth and joy awaits you! Inspired in part by a fantastic cookie recipe from Morgan Crone, this holiday perfume contains many wonderful scent notes, including: dark gingerbread, rich vanilla, molasses, cardamon, anise, and black pepper. A scrumptious, gourmand, rich and spicy unisex winter scent!

I've pretty much come to the conclusion that most of Deep Midnight's perfumes are sadly not for me. The vanilla note - which is in a lot of the ones I chose or were sent for free (from memory, the owner was particularly generous with free samples) has a distinct synthetic element that just bugs me. It's not that hideous toilet spray vanilla that some companies use, but it's just a bit NQR on me. Dark Winter's Tale has that note and it immediately put me off as soon as I realised. It's kind of an odd thing - it almost smells like coffee. There's a spice note in the vial as well, gingery but also probably the cardamom. Something like allspice in a Christmas cake. Once applied the ginger really comes out on me and combined with the pepper it actually made me a bit sneezy for a couple of minutes. When it settled a bit I didn't mind the ginger, if only that synthetic note would have gone away. After 20 minutes or so it started going dusty on me and stayed that way. Sillage is low and it didn't last terribly long - very, very faint by about the 3 hour mark. 

Rating: 
2/5 

Day 143!

Lovechild Meltbaby - Possets Perfume

Details: 
Lovechild - Meltbaby
Yule: Dark Revels (2012)
Possets Perfume

Notes: 
Cherry, coconut, and rose. What a wonderful combination to which I add a bit of extra secret wonderfulness. I think you will find this to be a perfume you will have a hard time putting down. It's very sexy and feminine.

Oh, good lord. First of all - it is not a good idea to try out a very sweet, rich perfume on a day that is 38 degrees celsius and in the middle of a two week heatwave. This was so revoltingly cloying I had to wash it off, and I could still smell the ghost of it all day.

A few days later I tried again with a bit better luck. At first I thought I smelled marzipan in the bottle, but once I applied it, I realised it was the cherry. It doesn't really change at all from the first sniff in the bottle to the dry down - it's a pretty even blend of the cherry, coconut and rose, and it is suuuuuuuuuuper sweet. It smells like sweet, floral coconut and cherry advokaat. Another one of those perfumes I feel like I am 30 years too old for. I might just pass it on to Noodles, as it's more up her alley. And that's pretty much all I have to say about it.

Rating: 
2/5 If you're 14 you will probably love this.

Day 71!

Pink Snowballs 2012 - Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab

Honestly, it's late at night, I've had a few wines, and I can't be arsed getting up and taking a picture - here's a Google image of 'pink snowballs'. 

Details: 
Pink Snowballs
Yule 2012
Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab

Notes: 
A lighthearted winter scent: chilly vanilla rose snowballs! Dainty, soft, and certainly unfit for flinging!

In the vial this is vanilla with a chilly, sort of mint note. Wet on skin the rose comes out as well, and it’s a bright, cold girly scent. I’d say this is quite young – I could see Noodles pulling this off nicely. The rose goes powdery fairly quickly and stays that way for quite a while, but it mellows nicely eventually with a lovely musk note. The sillage is fairly low but it has really good longevity – I could still smell it on my wrist at the end of the work day. 

Rating: 
2/5 I think I’ll put this one away and age it for a while. I like the opening quite a bit, but I’m not keen on the powdery dry down bit in the middle before it finally goes to a musky rose. BPALs generally age well, so hopefully it will improve if it’s tucked away for a few months.

Day  50!

Luminaria - Possets Perfume

Details: 
Luminaria 
Yule 2012 - Dark Revels
Possets Perfume

Notes: 
No idea. I can't find the original description. Mint, vanilla, something-something...

On the first sniff of this on skin there’s a rush of cold air, like that iciness you get in extra strong mints. It’s odd and a bit startling. It’s very fleeting – I could almost convince myself I imagined it – and then I’m left with a creamy, cakey scent with a touch of mint. The dry down is a slightly smokey vanilla, like buttercream icing that’s heavy on good vanilla extract. The kind of vanilla that Ina Garten would use. This perfume didn’t have much throw on me, and faded a lot within a couple of hours. I’m undecided about whether or not I like it. I certainly don’t hate it, and it’s interesting enough that I kept sniffing my wrist all the time, but it wasn’t what I expected. For some reason I imagined in my head that this would be more like BPAL’s Snow White and it’s not at all. I remember snow was mentioned in the description, but I don't get anything like that other than that weird cold rush at the very beginning, just a warm gourmand perfume. Oh well, I have a full bottle so I can keep trying it to my heart’s content until I make a decision one way or the other. 

Rating: 
Undecided.

Day 39!

Parkin - Haus of Gloi

Details:
Parkin
Yule 2010
Haus of Gloi

Notes: 

Glorious ginger cakes celebrating Guy Fawkes Day! Brown sugar, black treacle, oats, a peculiar blend of white spices tossed with chopped roasted chestnuts and coated with the lightest of icings.  

Ginger! This is gingery and sugary and rich. Although it's very foodie, the ginger and spiciness keep it in the realm of something more interesting than the usual vanilla or chocolate gourmand scent. In the dry down, it becomes more creamy and less sugary as the treacly porridge makes an appearance. It's definitely a winter scent, so probably not the best for an Australian summer. I would pull this out again in the colder months and wear it - it's kind of an Aran jumper perfume.

Rating:
3/5 I don't love it enough to buy a full bottle, but I do like it.

Day 9!