Sunday, August 4, 2013

Catch Up Post #7 Solstice Scents Summer Sampler



I don't have a lot to say about any of these, because I didn't really like any of them. A rare miss for me with Solstice Scents, but I guess we can't all love everything. 

Coquina - Sandalwood, Orange Blossom, Clementine EO, Beach Sand, Plumeria Absolute, Coconut, Ginger EO, a splash of Sea Spray
Reading that list of notes this sounds like a fun, bright scent, but on me it was just a fruit cocktail. It smelled a teeny bit synthetic too. I didn't hate it, I just thought... meh. It didn't last long either - it had gone entirely within two hours. 2/5

Hand of Darkness - Oceanic Accord, Rain Accord, Woods Blend, Black Pitch, Buddha Wood, Lime, Coriander, Tarragon, Amber
I would have bet money there was sage in this - what I smelled was sage and dirt. After a few minutes there was a peppery note. Longevity was about 6 hours or so, sillage medium. I was surprised when I came to write this and saw what the notes actually were because I did not get any of that. 2/5
Note: For an alternative view, Rachel was more appreciative of this one than I was. 

Cardamom Rose Sugar - Brown Sugar, Cardamom EO, Moroccan Rose and Bulgarian Rose
At first I get burnt sugar and rose petals, pretty but unremarkable. The rose disappeared after 10 minutes or so and all I was left with was burnt sugar. And that's pretty much it. I find cardamom to smell quite distinctive and I never for a moment picked up any of that. Disappointing. 2/5

High Noon - Worn Holster Leather, Tobacco, Whiskey, Woods, Sand, Gunsmoke, Musk and Soft Ladies' Perfume
This was the one I was most looking forward to, and it was just... ehhhhhhh. Really, all I smelled was leather. There was maybe a tiny bit of musk there but that was about it. I tried it a couple of times to see if it was just a quirk of the day or something, but nope. Same deal the second time. For such usually strong notes, it was surprisingly close to the skin, too. Longevity was about 6 hours. 2/5

High Desert - Desert Sage, Ceremonial White Sage, Sandalwood, Mitti, Cacti, Indian Tobacco, Prickly Pear Cactus, Hay, Smoke, Labdanum
At least I correctly picked the sage this time. I hate sage, and that note was overpowering on me, to the extent that I couldn't pick up anything else specific. This was a total scrubber for me - I had to wash it off after half an hour because it was making me feel a bit sick. One thing I will say is that it is extremely good at mimicking actual desert scents, and now I know why I don't like the desert - it smells like sage. 1/5

Sirocco - Moroccan Spices, Sandalwood, Hot Baked Earth, Myrrh Resin, Precious Saffron Threads and Oud
To me, this smelled like a less nauseating version of High Desert, which is odd since they don't have the same notes. There was more of a sweetness to it, almost-but-not-quite floral. I assume that's the Moroccan spices, which lean towards sweetness. Sillage and longevity were quite low with this one; it was gone in about 3 hours. 2/5

Tropical Moon - Coconut, Tuberose, Tahitian Gardenia, Lime Essential Oil, Pink Lotus Attar
If I went to the Reject Shop and bought a candle that was called something like "Tropic Delight" or "Hawaiian Nights", this is exactly what I would expect it to smell like.  Diappointingly cheap and synthetic smelling. Conclusion: much as I love Solstice Scents, their summer perfumes are obvously not for me. 1/5

Days 207 to 213!


6 comments:

  1. Aww that's disappointing! I'm really sorry none of these worked for you :( Especially with the last catch up post having not-so-great smellies. I was actually surprised about liking Hand of Darkness so much, because I usually don't even bother with summer perfumes (or if I do, I choose one that I really think might be interesting). I was debating on getting High Noon instead of Hand of Darkness- but it sounds like it ended up being underwhelming. I need to start adding Aaron's opinion in my posts more often to give an alternate view. His comments on my perfume are pretty straightforward and hilarious.

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    1. Oh well, I'm fairly unfussed if I don't like samples - that's what they're for, I guess! I was disappointed with High Noon though, that sounded amazing.

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  2. Oh bum! I hope Coquina and Tropical Moon can smell decent enough on me to get me through spring/summer. If not I'll give them to my mum bahahha

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  3. Wow! not even a single winner. To be frank, That's a bit of relief for me because I don't have any money left to buy any of these lol!

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    1. I might be in the minority though because Liber Vix did a review and she loved them!

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