This is my first time ever reviewing perfumes! I am not knowledgeable in the least about different notes and picking them apart from the overall scent, so please bear with me. Also please excuse the state of my blog-- I haven't yet had time to tinker with the layout (and probably won't until after summer finals).
I purchased this set of 11 scents from /user/hannahpancakes on reddit during her destash on the day of my first discrete mathematics midterm about 2 weeks ago, and she sent it over immediately with some Jolly Ranchers included! Indie community best community. Anyways, I've been trying on one a day and writing down my thoughts. It was a pretty varied group of scents, so it's been good for narrowing down my preferences and seeing how different types react on my skin/to my olfactory system. All notes were done without looking at the actual descriptions. Oh, and, my boyfriend (and occasionally some other friends) also weighed in. I'll say straight up that my boyfriend usually has only a few choice words to offer.
Each company and scent names are linked to their respective pages unless unavailable. I decided to split the Alchimia and the Solstice reviews because 11 smells is a lotta smells.
Lilacs, ferns, English Ivy, Arabian Sandalwood and... are those grass stains?
My boyfriend wanted me to try this one on first of course =__=.
Me: In the bottle, it smelled like some sort of floral shampoo, and on my skin once dry it reminded me strongly of the floral hand soap that was stocked in my middle school bathrooms (olfactory scents are notorious memory markers I guess!) I don't hate it, but I'll have to give it a couple weeks before I try it on again and see if I like it. Lasted 6+ hours, including shower.
BF: It smells like old people and that dried... flower... stuff. Pot pourri. Pot pourri without the pourri.
Based on the warrior woman herself, this dark sexy scent is pure sophistication. Oozing with thick ribbons of benzoin and labdanum, sweet notes of chocolate wrapped in spicy worn leather bubble to the surface. Combined with black agar, there are hints of what can only be described as pure animal musk. This fragrance is completely feral.
Me: From the bottle it smelled intensely of incense and rubbing alcohol... and this is the point where I realized that I probably won't like any sort of incense-y scent. On me wet, it smelled sharp and leathery, with more of that rubbing alcohol. After a while, the alcohol went away and it smelled smoky and a little sweet, but still with all that leather and some incense. It wasn't until after I showered that I felt like it smelled masculine and even sexy, but I still didn't like it all that much. I guess this kind of scent just isn't my thing. Lasted 6+ hours, including shower.
BF: Heads up, this one smells like sharpies.
Ambassador
This scent is based on Inara Serra.
Fresh from the Companion Tea ceremony, this scent is the combination of thick oud and Arabian Sandalwood, incense and the thick bubbling black tea she serves with delicate bergamot, honey and sweet hot cream.
Me: Now that I'm reading the description, I'm wondering, "Where is my black tea and sweet cream???" Those sound absolutely lovely, but I don't remember getting any of those notes at all. I guess they just die on my skin. Or in my nose. I took too big a whiff from the sample bottle and had to cough a bit-- this ish is spicy. On my skin it was incense and spice for a long long while. Maybe 4 or 5 hours later, the spice was gone and I was left with a gentler, creamier (sweet cream?) incense that lasted through and after my shower. Nope, I am not fond of incense. The smell that came later was okay, but I don't want to sit through hours of spicy spice first. Lasted 6+ hours, including shower.
BF: Old soap from an abandoned bathroom.
Abandon Mint
The scents of lavender, spearmint and a hint of chamomile blend together to the perfect air of calm. To be discontinued on June 20, 2014.
Me: In the bottle it was pretty minty. On my skin, it was a lovely citrusy mint, didn't really notice the lavender at all. I probably mistook the chamomile for citrus. How? Beats me. I liked this one, but it was gone in about 15 minutes! Even the bf conceded that it was an alright scent, but it didn't stick around long enough. I reapplied it, and it disappeared again. Sadness and despair.
BF: [in a snooty voice] Fresh leaf of mint with early morning dew from the tip of Southeastern France.
Poorest Florist
Man...It can be tough to make money as a florist when it's not Valentine's or Mother's Day. How does this poor girl make her ends meet? Rose otto and carnations, amber, vetiver, peppermint, and spicy herbs. Wait a minute! Is that marijuana drifting in from the back?
BF: Minty.
Juju Monster
This fragrance is packed with a monster amount of fruit and berries. Sharp and bold scents of black current weave around the juicy trickles of mulberries, strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, and rich, wonderful cherries. This is a must in the fragrance collection of any fruit lover.
Me: I was so excited to smell like a fruit and berry basket. Some people don't want to smell like fruit candy, but I do, I do, I do. And when I first put it on, I did! And it was glorious. For about 2 minutes. Then it became sweet, fruity, movie theater/mall hand soap... After 3 hours, it was less soapy and more fruity. Don't know if I would wear this on a daily basis, but this is pretty nice when its not being soapy.
BF: Mmmmmmmm.
This scent is based on Inara Serra.
Fresh from the Companion Tea ceremony, this scent is the combination of thick oud and Arabian Sandalwood, incense and the thick bubbling black tea she serves with delicate bergamot, honey and sweet hot cream.
Me: Now that I'm reading the description, I'm wondering, "Where is my black tea and sweet cream???" Those sound absolutely lovely, but I don't remember getting any of those notes at all. I guess they just die on my skin. Or in my nose. I took too big a whiff from the sample bottle and had to cough a bit-- this ish is spicy. On my skin it was incense and spice for a long long while. Maybe 4 or 5 hours later, the spice was gone and I was left with a gentler, creamier (sweet cream?) incense that lasted through and after my shower. Nope, I am not fond of incense. The smell that came later was okay, but I don't want to sit through hours of spicy spice first. Lasted 6+ hours, including shower.
BF: Old soap from an abandoned bathroom.
Abandon Mint
The scents of lavender, spearmint and a hint of chamomile blend together to the perfect air of calm. To be discontinued on June 20, 2014.
Me: In the bottle it was pretty minty. On my skin, it was a lovely citrusy mint, didn't really notice the lavender at all. I probably mistook the chamomile for citrus. How? Beats me. I liked this one, but it was gone in about 15 minutes! Even the bf conceded that it was an alright scent, but it didn't stick around long enough. I reapplied it, and it disappeared again. Sadness and despair.
BF: [in a snooty voice] Fresh leaf of mint with early morning dew from the tip of Southeastern France.
Poorest Florist
Man...It can be tough to make money as a florist when it's not Valentine's or Mother's Day. How does this poor girl make her ends meet? Rose otto and carnations, amber, vetiver, peppermint, and spicy herbs. Wait a minute! Is that marijuana drifting in from the back?
While I was waiting for the perfumes to arrive, I read some of the descriptions to the bf, and he got very excited when he heard the marijuana bit. I'm not sure why, since we live in Berkeley and have to smell that all the time. You'd think he had enough of that already. I sure have.
Me: In the bottle it was very rose, very floral. On my skin, there was more rose and other floral bits that my brain couldn't identify. No sign of the mary-juwana. This was nice and unoffensive, but still not something I'd wear. Maybe I need to layer it with something else. Laster 6+ hours, including shower.BF: Minty.
Juju Monster
This fragrance is packed with a monster amount of fruit and berries. Sharp and bold scents of black current weave around the juicy trickles of mulberries, strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, and rich, wonderful cherries. This is a must in the fragrance collection of any fruit lover.
Me: I was so excited to smell like a fruit and berry basket. Some people don't want to smell like fruit candy, but I do, I do, I do. And when I first put it on, I did! And it was glorious. For about 2 minutes. Then it became sweet, fruity, movie theater/mall hand soap... After 3 hours, it was less soapy and more fruity. Don't know if I would wear this on a daily basis, but this is pretty nice when its not being soapy.
BF: Mmmmmmmm.
Ambassador, Poorest Florist and Juju Monster sound awesome. =D Nice review. Glad the comments are working now. XD
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