Solstice Scents - a little rave

Today I want to give a shout out to an indie company I am loving more and more with each order, Solstice Scents. Although I'm a pretty seasoned indie perfume purchaser, I came late to this brand, and I don't know why. I bought a sample pack way back in September 2011, probably after reading someone rave about them on a perfume forum. I tried them, liked them, but then put them away and pretty much forgot about them. It wasn't until December 2012 when I read a post on Michelle's blog about some that she had tried out that I decided to wade back in. And honestly, I don't know what took me so long to get with the program!

I have 4 full size perfume oils, a full size premium perfume oil, 3 Burnishing Glace Mists, a Creamy Whipped Soap and multiple samples (not pictured).

Perfume Oils
Lace Draped Spectre -  incredible creamy, peppery carnation scent that reminds me of my mum's flower garden when I was growing up. I reviewed it here.
Old Cedar Magus - masculine smokey, woody vanilla. Om nom nom. I reviewed it here.
Violet Mallow - I bought this one unsniffed because it's a limited edition and I'm still not 100% I like it. It's heavy on the violet at first but the dry down is a chocolate vanilla gourmand. I talked about it briefly here.
Cenobite - One of my favourite vanillas ever. Not sure if it's number one but it's definitely in the top 3. A super rich, grown up, boozy vanilla. I can't get enough of it. I imagine Ina Garten's kitchen smells like this. And probably Ina herself.
Rose Mallow Cream - This is a smaller premium perfume (5ml, the others are 10ml), and another limited edition I bought unsniffed (I believe both this and Violet Mallow have since been made permanent). Reminds me a lot of MOR Marshmallow but less sickly sweet. I reviewed it here.

Creamy Whipped Soap
I'm not a fan of jars of soap because I don't have a shelf in my shower and it's just annoyingly awkward trying to unscrew lids off things and get product out without it all getting wet and ruined. The only reason I bought this was because Jessica gave me a gift voucher for my birthday and I wanted to try something different along with my regular perfume purchase. I'm glad I did because it's totally worth the palaver. You just scoop out a bit - maybe a tad smaller than an egg, smear it on your shower pouf, and it lathers up like a DREAM. I can't speak for any of the others but the scent I have is Cenobite and it fills the entire bathroom while I'm using it. Rich, creamy vanilla goodness. It does linger ever so slightly on the skin after, but not really enough to make an impact on its own. This soap is also beautifully moisturising. I definitely want more of these.

Burnishing Glace Mists
This is a sort of oil, sort of body mist that dries pretty much immediately on skin and lasts FOREVER. It can also be used as a bath oil but I don't have a bath, so I can't speak for its efficacy there. I have three of these - Lace Draped Spectre, Cenobite, and also Nightgown, which is probably my favourite Solstice Scents fragrance. It's a gorgeous creamy white floral, ultra-feminine and silky. I reviewed the perfume oil version here.

As I was typing this I remembered a couple of things I'd forgotten to include in the photograph (I threw some of the samples in too just because).

Body Ganache
I have this body butter - and it is definitely a butter rather than a lotion - in Ghost, which is not currently listed as in stock. It's their fragrance free version, though not technically completely fragrance free as the cocoa butter in it makes it smell a bit chocolatey. That fades fairly quickly, though. I bought this because I wanted an unscented body moisturiser that wouldn't clash with perfumes. It's very rich and thick and moisturises well, though it can take some time to absorb.

Gardenia Enfleurage
These are teeny samples (.25ml) of a perfume made by this awesome and laborious process. I bought one, and then a week later before I'd even sniffed it ordered two more. I love white floral, I love gardenia, and the thought of having a true gardenia perfume just excited me beyond reason. Needless to say it was very much limited edition (and expensive), but they are currently in the process of making another batch for the next year so it will be back eventually. This stuff is so precious to me I have not even tested it on skin yet! I am waiting for just the right moment. I've sniffed it in the vial though, and it's heavenly. 

So, the facts:

• International shipping is very reasonable, and Angela refunds excess shipping charges. I think the most I've paid is $14.90 and that was the order that included the whipped soap. 
• Delivery is really fast - every one of my orders has been shipped the day after I ordered (sometimes several hours after), and I get them within two weeks. They're always well packed with lots of padding to protect them. 
• You can get a free sample of your choice with every order. I love that you can pick your own instead of getting something random. I know that's fun at times, and there have been perfumes I've discovered through freebies that I would never have thought to buy myself, but it's nice just to be able to grab a little something something that you think you might like without paying. 
• These scents tend to be quite strong, so probably not for the people who want something delicate and barely there. The Glace Mists are, in my experience, even stronger than the perfumes. I bought them with the idea of layering, but they don't even really need to be layered - they more than stand up on their own. 
• Prices are very reasonable - they vary by a few dollars depending on which ingredients are used, but the 10ml perfumes for example are between $9 and about $16US, which is really good for the quality.

If you like indie perfumes and bath products this is definitely a shop worth checking out. My reviews of other perfumes from Solstice Scents can all be found here.