Friday, January 30, 2015

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)


Wednesday, January 28, 2015

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



Monday, January 26, 2015

Toasted Marshmallow - Sixteen92


First sniff: 
Creme brûlée - sweet vanilla with a creamy toffee note


First applied: 
Still creme brûlée, but less sweet and more toffee-ish. Liking this a lot so far.

After 30 mins: 

Not much change, more sweet again than toasted now though. Sillage is quite low and it's faded a bit so not sure how  long it will last. Really like this - it's mah jam. It's a warm, sweet-but-not-too-sweet gourmand, very comforting. 

After 3 hours: 

Almost gone, didn't change really. Needs frequent re-applying and slathering but that's okay.

Longevity: 
Not long, could really only notice it for about two hours, if that. 

Actual notes/description: 
Everyone's favorite hot chocolate topping, gooey marshmallows lightly toasted over a campfire. 

Availability: 
Sixteen92
Seasonal - Winter 2014 Hot Chocolate Bar Collection
Currently available in sample and full size, but not sure for how much longer. 



Sunday, January 25, 2015

Dark Chocolate Fudge Taffy Pull - Violette Market


First sniff: 
Just lots of chocolate.

First applied: 

Chocolate and something a bit watery, sort of reminds me of Tom Ford's Black Orchid. There's a definite floral note but I can't place it - something delicate. This is quite faint too - I slathered a bit but the sillage is not at all high.

After 30 mins: 

A watery floral with a bit of a chocolate base note, pretty but not at all what I would expect by the name.

After 3 hours: 

The base has deepened a little and it's slightly more chocolatey than it was at the 30 minute mark; the aquatic floral is still there and seems to be the main focus. The perfume overall is quite faint now - this one doesn't hang around too long.

Longevity: 
Two to three hours. 

Actual notes/description: 
Dark chocolate fudge with hints of Bourbon vanilla, vanilla cream, pink sugar cane, lemon blossom, orange cream, raspberry truffle, blueberry and caramel. 

Availability: 
Violette Market
Limited Edition - State Fair 2012 
No longer readily available. You might pick it up in private sales.


Friday, January 23, 2015

Gibbon's Boarding School - Solstice Scents


First sniff: 
Leather. This is some kinky kind of school.

First applied: 
Leather, musty wood and something like... lime? Is it bay rum, maybe? It makes me think of pirates on tropical seas. This is quite a masculine scent. Something about it is verging on fly spray - maybe that limey note is making me think of citronella.

After 30 minutes: 
There's not much change, but it's a bit more mellow now, and less fly spray-ish. This would smell nice on a man but it's not really my thing.

After 3 hours: 
Much softer, it fades considerably after the first hour. Kind of a generic man scent now - a bit woody but really mellow.

Longevity: 
About 6 hours but very muted after the first hour.

Actual notes/description: 
Dusty wooden desks, paper, carefully hidden tobacco pouch, dying fire, dried leaves, leather chairs, Autumn breeze.

Availability: 
Solstice Scents
Limited Edition - Foxcroft's Autumn Festival 2014
Full size and sample size.


Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Diabolique - Sugar and Spite Bathery


First sniff: 
Sweet, cream biscuits.

First applied: 
Still biscuity, with a slight tang of something citrus but I don't think it's lemon. Mandarin? Really pretty gourmand but not really getting why it's a Halloween scent. There's a very mild woody note in the background which I imagine will come out more when the top notes dry down.

After 30 mins: 
More woody now but still quite sweet and biscuit/pastry-ish. When I first applied it, it seemed a little weak and I thought it might fade quickly but it's actually getting stronger as the woodiness amps up. It's very much a Sugar & Spite/Morbid The Merrier perfume - Lysa has a classic signature.

After 3 hours: 
A soft, sweet but slightly boozy vanilla with a wood note adding some depth. It has faded quite a lot now - quite faint on the wrist u less I put my nose right up near it. I do like this scent a lot but I'm still baffled by its connection to Halloween. Maybe it has candy corn or something in totally not getting.

Longevity:

4 hours tops, best reapplied after about 2 hours. 

Actual notes/description: 

Orange blossoms dripping with sticky black honey, warm gingerbread, 3 vanillas, tea leaves and aloeswood. 

Availability: 

Sugar and Spite Bathery
Limited Edition - Halloween 2014
Not currently available, but may be seasonal. 

Sunday, January 18, 2015

Cake or Death - Common Brimstone


Cold sniff: 
Sweet nothing. Not even kidding - there's a faint sweetness but really can't smell much of anything at all.

First applied: 
Almond and vanilla. This reminds me a little of Haus of Gloi's Troika. It's still quite faint - I have to lift my wrist to my nose to smell it properly.

After 30 minutes: 
Very faint. The scent hasn't really changed at all - still a soft vanilla almond - but it has faded a lot. I can barely smell it.

After 3 hours:
Completely gone.

Longevity: 
Barely a sigh.

Actual notes/description:
Luscious red velvet cake blends beautifully with elegant cognac for a delicious gourmand perfume experience.

Availability: 
Common Brimstone 
Permanent
Full size and sample size

Saturday, January 17, 2015

Yule - Possets Perfume


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.

Friday, January 16, 2015

Tattered Lace - Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab


First sniff: 
Something resin-y, maybe frankincense or a fairly delicate patchouli. That's the wand. In the vial I can small something foody - it's almost like a sweet custard, like the way a continental slice smells.

First applied: 
There's that custard smell again, now with a very slight lemony tinge. The resin is there too and it's strong enough that it made me sneeze when I sniffed it closely. It seems to blend nicely with the food note/s though, so hopefully this isn't going to be some big hippie nightmare.

After 30 minutes: 
This has faded a lot - for something so potent when first applied it's really quite faint now. I can smell it when I move my wrist around close to my face but that's about it. Now it's more of a vanilla scent, still a little of the sweet custard note but the resin has pretty much gone.

After 3 hours: 
Almost gone. There's a faint whiff of sweet vanilla when I sniff my wrist closely, but that's about it.

Longevity: 
Maybe 2.5 hours, tops.

Actual notes/description: 
An allegory of Victorian melancholia: tea-stained bourbon vanilla, with white cognac, coconut bark, Oman frankincense, and woodmoss over opium tar-stained silk.

Availability: 
Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab
Limited Edition - Dark Delicacies Retail Exclusive 2011
Not readily available. Might pick up in private sales.

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Horror Night At The Movies - Violette Market


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.


Tuesday, January 13, 2015

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.

Monday, January 12, 2015

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.


Sunday, January 11, 2015

Jack and The Devil - Solstice Scents


First sniff: 
Leather, chocolate... or maybe a deep vanilla?

First applied: 
Leathery tobacco and vanilla. Very masculine but smooth. There's some patchouli there too but thankfully it's not crazy.

After 30 minutes: 
The patchouli is prominent now, unfortunately. The tobacco is also stronger - this has become even more 'manly' than when I first applied it. It's probably awesome on a bloke, but not my kind of thing at all.

After 3 hours: 
The patchouli has mellowed at last and it's quite a smooth, masculine vanilla amber now. Again, I'm sure this would be amazing on a man but it's not something I would wear.

Longevity: 
About 6 hours.

Actual notes/description: 
Vanilla, tobacco, oakmoss, amber, patchouli, pumpkin and soft spice.

Availability: 
Solstice Scents
Permanent (was originally part of a limited edition Fall collection)
Full size and sample size.


Aloha 2015!


Hello to anyone who may be reading this! Yes, I'm back - I've been toying with the idea of returning for months and I had big plans for a January 1 return but you know how it is.

Anyway, this time I am not committing to a review a day - last time I tried that I did okay (got to August!), but by the end of it I was so over it. I just wanted to wear a perfume for the sake of it, not because I had to think about it and write something about it. So this time I'm going to keep it simple - a few short sentences about what it smells like to me and that's pretty much it. There are loads of blogs out there that do long, thoughtful reviews if that's what you're after. I'm also going to test/review before I look at the notes, which could show up how wildly crap I am at distinguishing particular notes despite having been an avid perfume buyer for about 25 years.

I still have my Scentbase and keep it pretty much up to date, so if there's anything specific you want to ask me to try out, please feel free to let me know.