Lila - Wiggle Perfume

First sniff: 
Lilacs - very floral, very perfumey


First applied: 
Yep, still lilacs - this is a super feminine floral, quite potent. There's a green note in there too but it's delicate, the flower takes centre stage. Old ladyish but in a good way.

First 30 mins: 
Considering how potent this is when first applied it fades pretty quickly. I applied this to my wrists, behind the ears and in the cleavage (the warm spot - shut up, you know it's true) and I can only smell it now if I get close to my wrist and sniff. Not sure if it's a natural perfume - those tend to fade on me in minutes - but it's a shame that something so pretty is so fleeting.

After 3 hours: 
Almost entirely gone. If I press my nose to my wrist I can just barely catch the last remnants of it.

Longevity: 
Maybe 2-3 hours. 

Actual notes/description: 
Okay, so you may have noticed that I've been adding a bit of lilac to everything this spring. I found an amazingly true lilac scent and I've become completely obsessed. I love the summery promise of lilacs, but I wanted to give it a different twist. I read somewhere that the name Lila means "night", and combining that information with its use in a wonderfully dreamy Morphine song, I felt inspired to create a deeply dark romantic lilac scent. Lila combines a rich and retro-fabulous lilac note with an inky black musk, touches of vanilla and black tea, dusky black rose, and a healthy kick of black pepper.

Availability: 
Wiggle Perfume
Discontinued

The Piemaker - Sarawen Perfume Art

First sniff:
Fruit, but for once not gross fruit. Okay, I'm going in.

First applied:
Sort of like cherry, but this smells like actual cherry pie made with actual cherries, not that cough syrup cherry note you usually get in perfumes. I kind of like this - it's warm but light at the same time.

After 30 minutes:
Jammy fruit and something floral - it smells like one of those blossom jams you get at farmer's markets. There is a very, very slight dustiness - I hope that goes away. Sillage is not high, even after just half an hour I don't really notice the perfume unless I sniff my wrist.

After 3 hours:
Sadly this went completely dusty not long after the 30 minute mark, and pretty much disappeared within 2 hours. That first burst was pretty nice, but it didn't like me much after that.

Longevity: 
Not long - not even 2 hours. I find that with a lot of Sarawen perfumes, my skin just seems to eat them.

Actual notes/description: 
Having baked pies all morning, the piemaker opened his establishment and commenced to serve his customers. The scent of berries, baked pastry and a hint of floral wafts through, beckoning one to sit at a booth and enjoy one of the piemaker's fine treats! The piemaker is inspired by the character of Ned from Pushing Daisies, and is a balanced unisex fragrance with a floral amber background blended with gourmand notes. Main notes: berry pies, pale musk, apple spice, tuberose, amber.

Availability:
Sarawen Perfume Art
Limited Edition - Valentine's Day 2015
Available at the time of writing in sample and full size.

Philtre #5: Embrace - Arcana Soaps

Source

First sniff: 
Straight up musk, a classic oriental.

First applied: 
Musk and a looooot of amber. Bit worried this one is going to amp the amber and give me a headache but we will see what happens. It's quite potent on first application - I can smell it all around me.

After 30 minutes: 
Thankfully this has mellowed a bit - the amber is still prominent but it's not head-kicking crazy. The musk is a creamy one, very smooth and compulsively sniffable. I really like that note but I wish the amber would get out of the way.

After 3 hours: 
Vanilla! Where did that pop up from? There's a slight candy note and it seems more lollyish and less incense-y now. It obviously likes warm places - I can barely smell it on my wrist but it's wafting up still quite powerfully from my cleavage (TMI!).

Longevity: 
Wrist, maybe a couple of hours. Between the bewbs, about 7-8 hours. 

Actual notes/description: 
Then you breathed my breath and slept against my fluttering heart. This sensuous formula is believed to induce delicious caresses and kisses without end. Three ambers, French vanilla, Bourbon custard, golden musk, sweet coconut milk and a soft whiff of skin musk. 

Availability:
The Rhinestone Housewife
General Catalogue
Full size only. 

Audrey - Wiggle Perfume

First sniff: 
Grapefruit and something green and lightly floral. Very zingy and spring time-ish.

First applied: 
The grapefruit is the most prominent, but the green note and the floral - now a little creamy - is still there. I really like this so far - I know I will regret not having bought a full bottle while I had the chance.

After 30 minutes: 
Very potent and super pretty citrus and green with the floral now not as noticeable. I'm sure I can smell a wee bit of vanilla in there but I can only occasionally get a whiff of it. This is a very perfumey perfume - it smells expensive and classy and if someone had told me it was Chanel or Dior I'd have believed it.

After 3 hours: 
Still gently wafting around me, smelling like something Joan or Betty from Mad Men would wear. It's faded a bit but I can still smell the lovely floral note with that vanilla peeking through now and then. I am really kicking myself for not testing this before it was discontinued.

Longevity: 
Five to six hours. 

Actual notes/description: 
This is the little black dress of perfumes. It's classic and modern at the same time, goes with any outfit or occasion, and easily defies seasons. A femmed-up twist on chypre, Audrey sparkles with notes of pink grapefruit, orange blossom, and vetiver, and is beautifully grounded by a light musk with hints of saffron. A touch of bourbon vanilla adds a delicate, modest sweetness. I designed this scent with New Year's Eve in mind, but it also strikes me as a perfect bridal fragrance, or just something lovely to wear with jeans or nothing at all.

Availability: 
Wiggle Perfume
Discontinued (sob)

Dorian - Sarawen Perfume Art

First sniff: 
A very potent single floral note - not rose, maybe lotus? With a sharp green note as well.

First applied: 
Woo, this is a head kicker - I sneezed a few times immediately after applying. The floral note is still right out there but I don't think it's lotus. It's definitely not iris or violet, it's familiar but not common to me. Mystery! There's a teeny bit of something that is maybe vanilla... or possibly coconut. It's got that slightly tropical edge. I like this - it's definitely floral but not old lady-ish. Jeez, it's really strong though. Sorry in advance, office!

After 30 minutes: 
I had a doctor's appointment first thing this morning and while he was talking to me he suddenly started sniffling and then sneezed. He said, "Sorry - sensitive nose." At the time I thought he was referring to hay fever, but I realised later on it was my perfume that set him off. Oops! At the 30 minute mark it was still pretty strong, and I still can't figure out what that floral note is. 

After 3 hours: 
Almost gone. Wha' happen? It was super potent for a while and then it seemed to fade really suddenly. I can smell it if I hold my wrist up to my nose but it's definitely only got about two hours or so of real life in it. The base is more mellow, musky and less floral - I'm thinking there's coconut in there for sure. I like this one a lot so I wouldn't mind having to frequently reapply. It's probably more suited to the evening than the office though. 

Longevity: 
About two hours at full potency, then fades considerably. 

Actual notes/description: 
A beauty that never dies, which lingers in late nights with absinthe-induced fantasies as light musks permeate the air. The sweetness of his sins is covered in dark orchids and red florals, while exotic chypres and hints of coconut cream linger in his debauched luxury... main notes: musk, absinthe, orchids, (d'oh!), coconut. 

Availability: 
Sarawen Perfume Art
Fall 2014 - currently available
Sample and full size

Horror Night At The Movies - Violette Market

Source

First sniff: 
No idea. Something vaguely floral and a bit sour, maybe some popcorn?

First applied: 
Still no idea - this is a complete mystery. I think there's some almond in there. That sourness is more pronounced and there's a very faint note of something else I can't put my finger on... I think there's definitely popcorn in there too but it's not distinct.

After 30 minutes: 
No real change, it's still a mystery. The base is very perfume-y, like something an old lady would wear. This is weird.

After 3 hours: 
It's almost gone but once it hit that base it didn't change from the old lady floral/musk thing at all. That sour note still stuck around a bit - I was beginning to wonder if the perfume had actually turned, but I'm pretty sure that note is meant to be there.

Longevity: 
To be honest, I stopped sniffing after the 3 hour mark because I didn't like it at all - not quite a scrubber, but just a bit bleh. It had almost gone by then though so I doubt it would have stuck around much longer.

Actual notes/description: 
Popcorn coated in vanilla salt, flecks of almond bark, droplets of crimson dragon's blood resin, and salty sweat mingled with the heroine's white musk perfume as she runs to escape the on-screen vampires.

Availability:
Violette Market
Limited Edition - The 1980s Collection 2011
Apparently very limited and forever gone.

Luxuria - Arcana Soaps

First sniff: 
Vanilla musk. It reminds me a bit of Ava Luxe Love's True Bluish Light.

First applied: 
Still vanilla musk, lovely and smooth but with a light watery element - not sure what that note is but it's familiar. I don't love it there but it does do a nice job of making the vanilla musk a little cooler and more summery. There's a resin note too, making this perfume weirdly dark and light at the same time.

After 30 minutes: 
The resin has receded and the vanilla musk has warmed up now, really reminding me a lot of LTBL. The watery note is still there but barely - what the heck is that?

After 3 hours: 
It hasn't changed much from the 30 minute mark, just faded some. I can't smell the resin at all really anymore, and the watery note comes and goes but only barely. I'm undecided about whether I need a full bottle of this but I do really like it.

Longevity: 
About 6 hours or so.

Actual notes/description: 
Lust. Wild, carnal musk with blond tobacco, vanilla, dark resins and sugared peach.

Peach! That's what the watery note was! That's weird, because normally I really hate peach. I did not hate it here.

Availability: 
Arcana Soaps
Limited Edition - The Hieronymous Bosch Collection 2014
Note: As of this writing, still available at Arcana's eBay store (link above - email directly for international shipping) and The Soap Box Co. Not sure how long it is sticking around for, as Arcana limiteds vary from blink-and-they're-gone to still kicking several years later.
Full size, sample size only available from The Soap Box Co as of this writing.

Field of Reeds - Possets Perfumes

Details: 
Field of Reeds
Possets Perfume

Notes: 
Relief and relaxation, paradise Egyptian style. Sweet sandalwood and two ambers, a touch of wood for reeds, and a kiss of golden musk, black pepper married with a drop of labdanum and this conjures the eternal happy golden light in which the elect must have bathed every day. A smooth and resinous sweet blend but with enough of the spice kick of a modern perfume to escape being downright primitive.

I was expecting this to smell more 'green' so I was a bit surprised to find it was nothing like that at all. In the vial it's musk, with what I thought was some kind of incense, though now I think that might be the pepper. The woody notes are quite sweet, and keep it on the feminine side of unisex. The amber comes out in the dry down but is not too overpowering - it makes it deeper and warmer. Sillage is quite high at first but it settles after half an hour or so. Lasting power is very good - I could still smell it just before I had a shower 7 or 8 hours later so who knows how long it would have gone on for. I liked this, but I didn't love it and I don't feel the need to buy a full size. It was just a nice perfume, nothing amazing.

Rating: 
3/5

Day 197!

Blood Kiss - Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab

Details: 
Blood Kiss
Bewitching Brews
Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab

Notes: 
Lush, creamy vanilla and the honey of the sweetest kiss smeared with the vital throb of husky clove, swollen red cherries, but darkened with the vampiric sensuality of vetiver soporific poppy and blood red wine, and a skin-light pulse of feral musk. 

This is a spicy vanilla with a sour note that is probably the clove. Not quite a scrubber but not pleasant. The dry down is slightly sweeter but that clove still comes through enough to be irritating. And of course, because I don't really like it the sillage is fairly high and it lasted 8+ hours on me. *sigh*

Rating: 
1/5

Day 181!

Genteel - Arcana Soaps

Details:
Genteel
Arcana Soaps (from The Rhinestone Housewife)

Notes: 
Made exclusively for The Rhinestone Housewife by Arcana, Genteel is the well-bred housewife who pens perfect thank you notes and always matches her carpet to her drapes. Aniseed, 2 vanillas, dry amber, sugar and cashmere musk with wisps of fine sandalwood and cedarwood. 

Oh my. You know I love a liquorice scent, and this is one gorgeous example. The vanilla and sugar sweeten the aniseed, the woody notes deepen the dry down and whatever the heck cashmere musk is it's awesome and should be in everything because I'm assuming it's the amazing musk note hovering around poking everything else. Oh my. I don't know what else to say. Full bottle, stat.

Sillage is medium, longevity also medium. I reapplied after about 6 hours, but I could still smell it. I just wanted to smell more of it.

Rating:
5/5

Day 159!

Florida - Possets Perfume

Details:
Florida
Possets Perfume

Notes: 
Florida, is there a place which is more closely tied to oranges? Several different natural orange essences from a variety of different sources giving different nuances to the idea of orange. Then we have barded it over with an intense and wild musk for staying power, spices to keep it interesting and a strong a bitter sort of musk which mimics the bitterness of the peel if you put your tongue to it. Bracing but sexy, not for the faint of heart, and real alluring. This is as interesting as a weekend in South Beach!

Well, this is definitely orange, but it's a sickly sweet orange that frankly makes me feel a bit nauseous. It's like an 'orange fruit drink' - the kind that pretends to be juice but isn't. After about 20 minutes this was literally making me feel sick and I had to get it off, so I can't tell you anything more about it. Definitely not for me!

Rating:
1/5

Day 152!

Lady Nightingale - Sarawen Perfume Art

Details:
Lady Nightingale 
Dragon Age Set
Sarawen Perfume Art

Notes: 
Fragrant white flowers of ginger blossom, jasmine, and gardenia over a sensuous base of light musk. Topped off with a single note of sweet vanilla. Delicate and innocent, yet charmingly sexy. This scent is an ultra-feminine floral musk inspired by Lelianna.

In the bottle there's something that smells almost fruity, but once applied this is definitely a white floral - the jasmine in particular is prevalent. It's quite strong at first, with a medium to high sillage, but after 20 minutes or so it dries down and softens a bit. The vanilla and musk base sweeten the floral. It lasted about 6 hours on me before I felt I had to reapply.

There is nothing unique about this perfume - it's a pretty standard white floral musk, but if you like that sort of thing, it's a very pretty version. I found myself sniffing my wrist a lot when I was wearing it.

As a side note, I can't believe this is the first Sarawen perfume I've tested for this blog! I just got a haul of samples the other day so there will be more. I love the packaging - the little bottles with screw top lids instead of vials with wands are a great idea.

Rating: 
3/5

Day 148!

Chapiteau - Nevermore Body Company

Details: 
Chapiteau
Nevermore Body Company

Notes: 
The wild, musky scents of the Big Top Circus are combined in Chapiteau as you take in Patchouli and musk accented with hints of violet and sandalwood.

In the vial this is sweet and candyish - it reminds me a lot of the carnival scents I have. There's violet, but it smells more like sugared violets like you'd put on a cake than the flower just growing in a garden - there's not that tart green note. I never did get patchouli in this, thankfully as it's not a note I enjoy. I did get musk in the dry down but again it was a sweet candy musk, and the sandalwood gave it a bit of depth so it wasn't just a straight up lolly scent. This is a very pretty, foody perfume but it's far too young for me - I think Noodles might like it. 

Sillage was medium and it lasted about 6 hours or so. 
 
Rating: 
3/5  

Day 140!

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!

Isabella - Possets

Details: 
Isabella
Possets Perfume

Notes: 
So very ladylike but so very seductive. Notes of rose are combined with a light resin, white tea leaf and a rare honey/milky-musk. This one starts off as demure and gradually becomes more and more seductive as it warms on your skin. Finally the musk comes out, and it is the sort I call "cream musk" as it becomes very brightly smoothly sweet as the mixture matures. A light dusting of familiar spices round out the mixture and make it the perfect portrait of Isabella and what she must have left behind after she lingered in a room. Enchanting and uplifting perfume. 

I got a Possets order the other day and the entire package smelled like this perfume, to the point where I thought it must have leaked. It hadn't though - it's just incredibly strong. In the vial it's a creamy scent, distinctly musk but quite unusual, and the rose is there but that musk is running the show. There's a faint candy note - it's not like those pink musk lollies, though. More like the milk bottles you get in the Allen's Retro Party Mix.

This perfume doesn't change all that much as it dries down, but the musk deepens a little and the honey adds a sweetness. The sillage is really high - you definitely need to have a light hand with it. It also lasted a really long time - well over 12 hours and then I had a shower. It's really pretty and quite old-fashioned, but I'm not sure I could tolerate wearing it too often. It's the very definition of a head kicker.

Rating: 
4/5

Day 129!

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!

Buxom - Wiggle Perfume

Details: 
Buxom 
Wiggle Perfume

Notes: 
This is a very full bodied perfume! If you don't like sweet creamy scents or strong florals then please run, don't walk away from this scent. If you do, prepare to be eveloped in the richest, most femininely decadent fragrance you've ever come across. This perfume is not for little girls, it's sensual and sumptuous and not the least bit shy about it. A blend of buttery rich bourbon vanilla and redolent English rose, this fragrance smells like a posh patisserie and florist smooshed together. I've grounded this fragrance with a lavish red musk, and embellished it with a flirty hint of powder. This oil will warm with your body heat, adding to the freshly-made-dessert effect. Be careful someone doesn't try to take a bite out of you (unless you're into that)! ;-)

The other day I was poking around in a handbag I hadn't used for a really long time when I felt something in the lining, and after investigating found Noodles' lost house keys and this bottle of Buxom perfume, both of which have been missing for well over a year. As it was always one of my favourites, the first thing I did was slather it all over myself.

Nani isn't exaggerating when she calls this 'sweet creamy... strong floral'. Oh man, this is not for the faint-hearted. In the bottle it smells heavily of a sweet, powdery rose. Once applied the powdery note subsides, which is good as 'powder' is not something I'm overly fond of. The vanilla is there, and adds a sweetness and creaminess to the musk that stops it from going too crazy (though it's borderline). The dry down is a strong floral musk, very deep and potent. This perfume lasts FOREVER. I applied it about 2ish in the afternoon, and the next day at around the same time of day I could still smell it on myself. The sillage is high too - I wore this to work once and the lady next to me complained that it gave her a headache. I love it, but it's definitely not for everyone. This is very much in the realm of 'head kicker'.

Rating:
4/5

Day 115!

Chiffon - Solstice Scents

Details: 
Chiffon
Spring Collection 2013
Solstice Scents

Notes: 
Vanilla, White Amber, White Musk & Lemon Myrtle EO

I almost bought a full size of this unsniffed, and I'm glad I didn't because I don't like it nearly as much as I thought I would. I've come to realise that I have pretty much outgrown gourmand perfumes, which I'm slightly devo about because a) I so want to love them, and b) I have a million of the damn things.

In the vial and when first applied this smells like a delicious sweet lemon custard - the kind of scent I like a lot, but also the kind of scent I have several more of stashed around somewhere. It's when it begins to dry on my skin that the trouble starts - the amber and musk come out and just party like it's 1999. The amber in particular is SO strong on me that it gave me a bit of a headache. I could still smell the sweet lemon fluffiness in there and I was clinging to that, but in the end I had to concede that this perfume was not for me. The headache went away just before I got to the point where I was about to scrub it off, and the scent hung around forever (of course). 12 hours at least - with reasonably high sillage. This is not one for the faint-hearted.

Let me say up front this is not a bad perfume by any means - I just did not react well to it. If you like lemony gourmands and amber doesn't tend to amp on you, you will probably love this. I think it would also be much better as a body lotion or a shower gel than as a perfume.

Rating: 
2/5

Day 113!

Blood Bath - Delightful Rot

Details: 
Blood Bath
Delightful Rot

Notes: 
A sexy, romantic bath with a vampire. Crisp water soaked with rose petals and a trickle of blood and musk. NOTE: No actual blood was used in the creation of this perfume, I promise.

In the vial and when first applied this is mega rose, and that's ALL it is. It's not a bad perfume, but man am I over rose - I seem to have acquired eleventy million rose perfumes lately. After a few minutes it did seem to smell a bit watery, which was quite an odd combination as rose is usually more of a creamy floral - on me, at least. It was kind of interesting, but watery florals don't do it for me. The musk did come out a little in the dry down, but mostly this is just a honking big slap in the face with R.O.S.E. Sillage was pretty high at first, but calmed down after the watery element came out. It lasted a good 7 hours or so and then I had a shower, so who knows how long it might have gone on for? 

Rating: 
2/5 Sorry rose, welcome to Dumpville. Population: you.

Day 112!