Madame Scodioli solid perfumes

Scodioli Creative has been on my 'to try' list for a couple of years, but I'm not a massive fan of solid perfumes so I just never got around to it. However, I'm trying to branch out a bit so after waiting around FOREVER for the weather to be safe, I decided to order some samples and see what they were like. (As it happens, the day they turned up was 32 degrees celsius - in the middle of Autumn. Luckily I was home early and they didn't have to sit in a hot metal letterbox all day. But seriously - WTF Adelaide????)

The samples come in a set of 3 for $18US. That might seem expensive for samples, but it makes sense when you see the size of them. Check out one next to a clam shell, which is the usual sample size for a solid perfume, and a full size Darling Clandestine solid perfume:

There is 1/4 oz of perfume in each, and according to some mathematical calculations in my head Google, that translates to 7ml for us down under. 7ml of perfume for $6US = bloody good deal (the full size Darling Clandestine perfumes are almost twice that volume, I think, but their perfumes are way bigger than most and crazy cheap for how much you get ). So basically you're getting what amounts to 3 almost-full size perfumes for $6US each.  Shipping was $10US to Australia, which is pretty average these days (sob).

The packaging is gorgeous. These are very sturdy screw top tins with an old-fashioned banner label stuck around them. I could have one of these floating around the bottom of my handbag of doom and not worry about it leaking everywhere. In fact, that's probably what I will do with them. I am trying to acquire a taste for solid perfumes because they are just so much easier to carry around and reapply than oils are. The 3 I chose were Euphorium, Odeda and Boheme. I don't feel as though I need a full size of any of these as they are well big enough for me, and the full sizes are a massive 30ml. However, I will buy more sample sizes as there are a few others I want to check out too, namely Farewell (lilac and bergamot), Timshel (tobacco and vanilla), and Oracle (exotic fig, spices and musk).

Euphorium - almond, milk and honey.
This opens with a strong hit of almond - a note I often detest, and in the tin it is straight up marzipan, bringing back horrific nightmares of 1970s wedding cakes coated with a sheet of almond icing. However, after a couple of minutes the almond mellows nicely into the background to just add a slight nutty note. The honey isn't really noticeable on me - maybe it's that tiny touch of sweetness, but mostly what I get from this is a warm, milky vanilla-ish scent that is pretty much a dupe of my beloved - and discontinued - Firebird Almond Milk. So if you're a fan of that one and you missed out on stocking up before it disappeared, Euphorium is definitely worth trying out.This one was instant love for me.

Odeda - saffron, musk and honey.
This was the one I was most interested in and sadly, the only one I hated. My favourite Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab perfume is a limited edition called Love's Philosophy, which was released a couple of times for Valentine's Day but to my knowledge hasn't been around for about 6 years. I have two half full bottles that I picked up from forum sales, and am constantly keeping an eye out for more. The notes in it are vanilla, cream and saffron and it's the saffron in it that I adore. It adds a tiny kick of spice to the standard vanilla/cream combo and just makes it amazingly warm and sniffable. So I guess I was hoping that Odeda would be similar, but alas, it was not to be. The saffron is completely overpowering to the point where I could never at any time smell the musk or the honey. It was just a really strong, slightly band-aidy spice smell that gave me a headache and took forever to go away (in my experience solids last a couple of hours if that - this one of course hung in there for a good 8 hours). This is definitely not for me and I won't be going near it again.

Boheme - vanilla oak.
It is what it says it is - a woody unisex fragrance sweetened slightly with vanilla. It's like a really nice smelling furniture polish, and I don't mean that in a bad way; if I had fancy wood furniture (rather than a house full of Ikea) I would totally rub this all over it. Actually, I probably wouldn't because fancy wood furniture is really expensive, but you get what I mean. Like Odeda, this is quite strong, but I find that on my skin with most woody notes. I didn't love this, but I did like it - I'd be more inclined to wear it in cold weather so I think I'll put it away for a month or two and then haul it out mid-winter.

Overall, the blends are quite simple (not a bad thing), and I'm happy enough - Odeda notwithstanding - to try more. Scodioli is a good little shop worth checking out, and they also sell soap and manly beard wotsits for those of you who are into such things.

Common Brimstone Perfumes

Grab a cup of tea, kidlets - this is going to take a while.

Way back last year I read about Common Brimstone on Reddit, and since I'm always up for a new perfume company to try out, I pretty much immediately placed an order. When they arrived (one full bottle and 10 samples), I found that a lot of them had leaked, and the sample vials were those horrible milk bottle shaped ones with the flexible wands that you get thumb blisters trying to remove.

The sample vials were so annoying that after testing a few I gave up and put them aside. What was even more annoying was that of the perfumes I tried, I really, really liked them. Rei, the full bottle I took a risk on, was a gorgeous gentle floral with notes of cherry blossom, white musk, magnolia and gardenia. Honey Badger (not pictured because I think it's in my bag somewhere) is amazing - a not-too-sweet honeycomb and beeswax blend deepened with musk and chocolate. Most of the scents I chose and tried out were quite feminine and either distinctly foodie or floral, both of which are right up my alley. These perfumes were totally my jam, but the packaging put me off so much that I wasn't sure I could go back again.

Then someone on Reddit mentioned that the sample vials had been changed to tiny roll on ones. So I decided to do another order around Christmas, picking out two full bottles from the Christmas releases - Chalet Girl and Special Snowflake. I also ordered a set of 5 samples. Again, I was really happy with the risk I took on the full bottles, as I loved both scents, and again, the samples smelled amazing.

The problem was that yet again, the samples leaked - to the point where I couldn't really read half the labels - and worse than that (and really weird considering the leakage), I couldn't actually get any of the product out! I would roll the ball over my wrist and it would leave a lingering scent - as these are fairly potent - but no actual oil came out, so the smell was gone in 10 minutes. I was desperate to slather myself in the caramel and spices of Caramel Chai, so tempting in the vial, but it was just not to be. Nothing wanted to come out. Again, I gave up and put the sample aside, intending to get around to decanting them once I could figure out how to remove the really tiny roller ball. I decided that was enough Common Brimstone for me - as gorgeous as the scents were I just couldn't deal with the packaging.

Cue a couple of months later and someone on Reddit asked about indie perfumers in the UK, and someone else mentioned Common Brimstone. I said that although I loved the perfumes, the packaging was a pain in the arse, and the person who'd recommended them said that the owner Naomi had announced on Facebook she was changing to little screw top sample bottles. Cautiously, like a starving dog who's already been kicked twice, I ventured over to Facebook and sure enough there it was. Okay, I thought - one more chance. I love the perfumes, I like the owner, I really want this to happen. So I took a deep breath and did a third order, which just arrived today. And you know what? JACKPOT.

No leaks, easy to open - these little screw tops are the perfect sample bottle (for me, at least). I could easily get into it all and am currently covered in a messy smoosh of smells after dabbing them here and there all over myself. It's funny how I rarely take a chance with full bottles unless I'm pretty confident I know the perfume company well enough (I'll do it for Possets limited editions, for example, but not for Haus of Gloi, which I find really hit and miss on me), but every time I've risked a full bottle with Common Brimstone I've chosen really well because I love it. In fact, I have not yet hit a CB scent that I outright don't like. Some I'm just kind of meh about - "Yeah, it's okay but it's not really me", but most of the ones I've tried are now on my full bottle wishlist.

My full bottle with this order is Starlight, a natural blend of white amber, jasmine, tuberose, lemon bergamot and sweet orange. I was tossing up about this one because lemon so often goes straight to floor cleaner on me, but in for a penny and all that. The orange is the most prominent note on first application and it's really bright and sunny. Regular readers know how much I hate fruit scents, and I'm not super keen on citrus, but this one is just so cheery I can't help but love it. The drydown is more floral, but the citrus sticks around and the amber gives it a lovely warmth in the dry down that is not at all as overpowering as amber can often be on me. This is a perfume I'd probably wear a lot in the spring and summer, and it's just lovely. Being a completely natural perfume it doesn't have a long lasting time, but I don't really care about that - I'm happy to re-slather regularly.

So all that was a roundabout way of saying now that Naomi has worked out the kinks of her sample packaging, anyone who likes indie perfumes needs to go and check out this store. There's a ton of stuff to choose from, including a handful of solid scents if that's your bag (I haven't tried those yet but I will when our weather finally cools down properly). Shipping is worldwide and very reasonable - my shipping cost for this most recent order was about $8.50AUD. And the perfumes are really beautiful.

Alchimia Apothecary

I heard about Alchimia Apothecary months ago on Reddit, and I hadn't intended to bother with it because I'm trying to NOT discover new perfumes and just enjoy the huge amount I already have. However, the company owner Erin also frequents that particular subreddit, and her helpful, considered responses to people's questions about perfumes generally made me think, 'Well, this chick knows what she's talking about.' So I thought I'd just try out a few because I can pretty much justify any purchase to myself. I ordered a set of 5 samples and a set of 3 samples - a total of 8 (yay, I can do maths!).

I ordered on 22 November, and they were shipped 27 November. They took forever to get to me - I think I finally received them on New Year's Eve. I put this down to a combination of the time of the year, a backlog in customs and our generally rubbish postal service, because they were definitely shipped within a reasonable amount of time. Erin actually contacted me about a week before Christmas to ask if I'd received it as she'd sent out a bunch at the same time and the only other one that hadn't arrived yet was another Australian customer. I wasn't worried - I know the drill, I knew they'd show up eventually. And they did!

When it arrived, my order was wrapped in cute orange bubble wrap with a sticker but I didn't think to take any pictures of the wrapping. The vials are brown, and I don't think I've ever seen that before. I thought that was pretty cool - darker storage is always better for perfume oils. There was an extra free sample of one of the Yule perfumes, and a special surprise that I'm saving until last.
 
Druid Fluid is a bright, fresh floral with a zingy green note. It's very much in what I refer to as the 'old lady garden' category. I liked it a lot, and I'll probably pick up a full size at some point. This kind of perfume is definitely my jam.

In Ovation is something I have never come across before - a summery vanilla. I can't really describe what it is about it that's summery, but it definitely is. Noodles says it smells a bit like lime, but I don't really get that myself.

Magma is sweet and fruity and a little bit fizzy. It's a very young perfume to me, kind of lollyish and doesn't change much. I like it, but I'm way too old for it.

A la Gory has a massive hit of cherry in the vial and wet on the skin - that was all I could smell at first. However, the cherry note faded quickly, and then I was left with a sweet, kind of soapy floral smell for a while, not really foody. Half an hour or so later the dry down is sweet vanilla biscuit. I liked the dry down but it's quite similar to a few other cake/pastry perfumes I already have.

SeaCret is an ozone perfume with a slight musk note in the dry down. Ozones are not my cup of tea at all but I think people who like them would really enjoy this version.

Caramel Knowledge had what I thought was another strong hit of cherry, but then realised it was almonds. I don't know why but I always confuse those two notes. Thankfully (because I hate almond), it goes away within a minute or two and then I'm left with a kind of sweet and soapy, clean smell - creamy luxury soap. Oddly I didn't get any kind of foodiness from this one at all after the almond, and I expected it to be the most overtly gourmand.  It's nice enough, but on me it just smells like a really expensive soap.

Hue Bris smells like old school fruit sticks - you know the green and orange ones? It's a bit sweet and fizzy and a tiny bit floral. Several hours later it smelled like a musky rose. I liked that element quite a lot, but the initial lolly notes didn't really grab me - again, I'm too old for that.

Sinning Saints is my Yule freebie, a spicy peppery rose. The rose amped like crazy on me with this one and it was all I could smell for about 12 hours. It was nice, but a bit much on a hot day.

If you're as good as me at maths you will notice that's actually 8 samples, not 9. I also have Hook but I've lost it somewhere in the house. It will turn up eventually.

Now, a few weeks before I ordered, there was a discussion on Reddit about what kind of themes people would like to see in indie makeup and/or perfume, and I mentioned a conversation that Noodles and I had once had about how there should be a collection of Freaks and Geeks perfumes. We spent ages thinking about possible note combinations like diesel oil and cannabis for Daniel and so on. I don’t remember them all now and I really wish I’d written them down at the time. Anyway, one of the ones I did remember and mentioned in the Reddit discussion was bubblegum and tobacco for Kim Kelly. Erin and I had a brief little chat about how awesome Freaks and Geeks is, and I’d mentioned something like chocolate milk and peanut butter for Bill (thinking of the scene where he eats a sandwich while laughing at the television) and Erin reminded me that Bill was deathly allergic to peanuts. And that was about it. But then my order turns up with a bottle of a perfume called… KIM KELLY. I was thrilled that Erin was thoughtful enough to not only remember having that specific conversation with me, but that she then went and specially made me a perfume from it. And it’s really good – the bubblegum and tobacco are the opening notes, and it smells exactly like someone smoking and chewing Hubba Bubba. The other notes are violet, black agar, benzoin resin, ambergris, and spice. The dry down is still ever so slightly sweet from the bubblegum, but that's in the background while the benzoin and violet create a lovely floral woody note. I love this perfume - it's what I have always wanted every other bubblegum perfume to be, rather than the sickly sweet Lolitaesque concoctions they usually are. And it is just how I imagine Kim Kelly would have smelled. I hope Erin does do a whole Freaks and Geeks collection one day, because I would be first in line to buy them. 

As well as her listings, Erin also makes custom perfumes and I’ve seen many a happy customer rave about their own personal scent on Reddit. She also sells solid perfumes and some face care products, but I have not tried any of those as yet. In conclusion, Alchimia Apothecary is a shop well worth checking out if you’re into perfume oils.

Sugar and Spite Bathery Soy Wax Tarts

I mentioned a while back that Lysa from The Morbid The Merrier was back with a new(ish) shop called Sugar and Spite Bathery, and because I'm a huge fan of her scents I immediately snapped up a couple of her wax tarts when she announced on Facebook that she had started making candles and melts. Total spur of the moment purchase, but sometimes those are the best kind, and these are no exception.

A Strange Day - Honey, salted caramel, orange blossom and sandalwood.
Lawwwwd, this is awesome. It's a rich, creamy gourmand with neither the honey or the caramel dominating, but blending together to just make this delicious 'something is cooking that smells amazing' aroma. I want to devour some kind of pastry made with these flavours. RIGHT NOW.

Innocent When You Dream - A sultry, gorgeous base of amber, tonka and bourbon vanilla, brightened a wee bit by moonflower and mandarin. 
I am burning this one right now and I just love it. I don't really get the base notes unless I get right up close to it, mostly what I can smell throughout my kitchen - and even from here in the next room where I am sitting - is an icy floral note. It's quite unusual - sort of minty, but not really. Sort of wintergreen, but not really. I don't know what a moonflower smells like so I don't know if that's what it is, but it's lovely. I hope Lysa makes perfumes out of these blends some day because I would be all over both, but especially this one.

For international shipping, just send an Etsy convo telling Lysa what you're after and she'll give you a quote. If you decide to go ahead she will create a custom listing for you. I have found the shipping very reasonable - the cost of shipping for this order was about $9AU, and I just ordered 3 bottles of perfume last night (not breaking my December no buy, they're Noodles' Christmas present to me) with shipping quoted at $10USD. By the way, I ordered these on November 28 and got them on December 5 - one week later! That's really, really unusual for shipping from the US, in fact I'm not sure I've ever had that happen before. My last order from Sugar and Spite took about 2.5 weeks, which is still pretty good for international.

Just after I ordered these, Lysa said on Facebook she was going to double the scent, as she liked subtle scents in candles for her own use, but lots of people like theirs really strong. I was worried these wouldn't have much throw, but they're fine in my small house. As I said, I'm sitting in the room next to the burner at the moment and I can smell it easily. So I assume doubled scent will really give you some bang for your buck. I'm going to buy some more in the new year so I'll see how they are when they're stronger and report back.

In conclusion, these are amazing and well worth coughing up for if you like wax tarts and candles. Treat yo'self! 

Sugar and Spite Bathery Halloween Haul

One of my favourite perfume shops used to be The Morbid The Merrier. It shut down in early 2012 after the owner went through some major personal issues, and then a once beloved company was mired in the usual indie drama with payments and orders not happening for quite some time. I'm not going to go through the whole saga - you can find it easily enough if you Google - but my understanding is that everyone was eventually repaid, though it took almost a year to happen. 

A few months ago the owner Lysa opened Sugar and Spite Bathery, and she's been keeping pretty low key, because I had not heard a single thing about it on the grapevine. I didn't know of its existence until Liber Vix posted a first impressions haul. After finding out Lysa was back I was pretty much falling over myself to get to the shop and make an order. I am sure people might be hesitant because of the way the last store imploded, but I'm willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. She seems to have made amends with everyone eventually - either by delivering their order or a refund - and while she was operating I never had a single problem. Her products and customer service were always excellent. However, I would say people need to make up their own minds when it comes to this kind of thing. 

One of the things that really stood out with The Morbid The Merrier was the packaging and presentation, and Sugar and Spite carries on that lovely tradition. Of course, I took a bunch of pictures before I opened anything, and of course, I cannot find them ANYWHERE. All I have is a grainy Instagram photo. 

International pricing for shipping is not listed on the Etsy site, though the notes say that international shipping is available and to contact for a quote. That always sets off my alarm bells because I feel like it's going to be some whopping amount if they're not willing to state it up front. However, in this case I think it's just a matter of her not getting around to listing them individually, as the quote for me for 1 full bottle and a sample set of 3 was $11US, pretty standard these days for shipping to Australia (annoyingly - stupid postal charge rise). 

My package took less than three weeks from the time I ordered to the time it arrived, again pretty standard for US to Australia. And once I had it in my hot little mitts I could not wait to tear it open and get into it. 

The Halloween Sampler is 3 perfumes, and I received a free sample of Horseman, which I already have from the TMTM days. You can read my impressions when I first bought it here. After 3 years it has aged well and still smells amazing. I haven't tried the sample at all but I'm going to do a comparison in the next week or so to see if they differ from ageing, because Lysa said the blend is the same.

Fiend - Ripe apple pulp, tart mandarin, vanilla bean, and a fiendish ribbon of black amber.
A lot of perfumes that involve citrus tend to go straight to toilet cleaner on me, and this one teetered on the edge without ever quite getting there. Regular readers will know I am not a fan of fruit scents, and I particularly dislike the smell of apple. Although, this is definitely a fruit scent, it's masculine and quite dark. To my own surprise I liked it, but it's not my thing and probably my least favourite of the three samples. Lasting power was good with this one - I could still smell it at the end of the day on my wrist.

Goblin - Blackened honey kissed by night blooming flowers and a ghostly whisper of smoky vanilla.
Love this one. A gorgeous smokey honeyed floral. Not too sweet, could be worn by men or women. The smokiness of the vanilla deepens it beautifully. This didn't last too long on me - only a couple of hours - but it's worth it. Definitely a full bottle.

Sinister - Black licorice whips, tea leaves, and incense smoke from darkened caravans.
My favourite of the 3 samples. I do love me a licorice scent. I can smell the tea and the smoke, and the incense sweetens it just a tiny bit but not too much. This is a night time scent - dark and very potent. It lasted forever on me - I put it on in the morning and I could still smell traces of it on my wrist the following morning before I showered. Licorice is a polarising scent note - people tend to either love it or hate it. If you love it, try this. If you hate it, avoid - this will not convert you.

Katrina - A trio of white flowers, smoky almond, and spiced pumpkin.
I had ummed and ahhed about this one in its first incarnation in 2010. Although I thought it was lovely, I decided against buying a full bottle because I had a million white floral perfumes and this one didn't seem unique enough to warrant more of it. I always vaguely regretted it though, because I did love it. When I saw it was back I snapped it up quick smart, and I'm glad I did. For a white floral it's quite low key - it doesn't scream its entrance to a room. It's soft and pretty and super feminine. I don't really get the pumpkin or spices at all, which is fine with me because I'm not a fan of pumpkin scents. 

Overall, I'm thrilled Lysa is back, and she mentioned on Facebook possibly bringing back some of her other TMTM scents so I'm quietly excited about that prospect as well. In the mean time, I'm going back for a couple of full bottles before the Halloweens come down in early November.

Ordering if you're not in the US
Send an Etsy convo to Lysa stating what you want to buy and she will give you a shipping quote. If you're happy with that she will create a custom listing for you. She doesn't go online on Sundays, so if you contact then it may be a day or so before you get a response.

If you want to read some more detailed information about the shop's products, Liber Vix went back for seconds.

Sarawen Perfume Haul

Late last year I finally got around to reviewing some Sarawen perfumes I'd bought and then pretty much forgotten about months earlier, and since then I've been wanting more. I recently got around to doing another order - annoyingly I'd left it so long that several of the ones on my wishlist are no longer available - and decided to make the shipping worthwhile and pick up quite a few at the same time. I'm not going to talk about all of them here as I haven't tested them yet, but I'll give you the basic rundown of what I bought (I'm assuming these prices are in Canadian dollars as this store is Canadian).

First of all, packaging and presentation is gorgeous - the samples are 1.5ml and come in little screw top bottles (much easier to deal with than vials with wand caps). The labels have been designed to fit in with the rest of the shop's theme and look just as lovely as the regular sized bottles.

Shipping for me for a total of 14 sample bottles was $10.40CAD, which is very reasonable considering the recent US price hike has all of us internationals shelling out $12US and up on the bare minimum of purchases these days (boourns!). My only concern is that although they were packed in a bubble mailer, the bottles themselves were not wrapped in bubble wrap, just (albeit very pretty) tissue paper. Given the general carelessness of Australia Post workers, it's just blind luck nothing was broken. Sara did put a sticker on it saying that the contents were glass and therefore fragile, however I've had several PO employees cheerfully tell me that they have no 'fragile' service here and those stickers mean nothing to them. I think I'd rather pay a bit more in shipping and know that my little glass bottles are safe - or at least more safe.

So on to what I bought! The descriptions are the seller's own.

Sherlock Holmes sampler - $15

Logical Deduction - Sophisticated notes of bay rum, Earl Grey tea, and tobacco, with a hint of leather and dark chocolate. This is a unisex fragrance inspired by Sherlock Holmes, and is reminiscent of a gentleman's Victorian parlour.

Logical Delusion - A dangerous and cunning blend of poisoned tea, tobacco, and gunpowder, with a hint of nag champa and absinthe. Beware, Holmes! This is a unisex fragrance that borders towards masculine and is inspired by the character of Moriarty from the world of Sherlock Holmes - it is the perfect foil to my Holmes' fragrance, 'Logical Deduction'!

Scandal in London - She's seductive, secretive, and little dangerous! Feminine lilac and ylang ylang flowers blends with feisty dragonsblood with a light hint of eastern sandalwood. A touch of Holmes' favourite tobacco tops off this sultry floriental perfume.This perfume is inspired by the character of Irene Aldler from the world of Sherlock Holmes. 

Tea With Watson - Take a break from adventuring and stop at 221 Baker Street for awhile. White tea, delicious yellow cake, and a dash of cream caramel layered over light tobacco and bay rum. It smells just like a tea party at Holmes and Watson's flat! This is a balanced unisex fragrance inspired by the world of Sherlock Holmes.

The Hunger Games sampler - $11.50

Girl on Fire - Wild strawberries gathered from the forest blend with the comforting scent of leather hunting boots, and in her hair a very faint hint of sweet forest herbals. A pretty scent, but not to be taken lightly - rebellion lurks beneath the feminine fruit notes!

Run Away With Me - The masculine scent of leather melded with gunpowder and soot from District 12's coal mines. A whisper of wild strawberries and amber completes this unisex fragrance inspired by the character of Gale from the Hunger Games.

The Baker's Boy - Spend a day frosting and decorating cakes with Peeta. A luscious, gourmand fragrance bursting with ripe strawberries (from Katniss of course!) and delicious yellow cake. Underneath the delicious-ness drifts soft vetiver, leather, and golden amber. This perfume is a unisex blend that borders towards feminine.

I also bought a set of 3 custom samples for $11.50:

Lion's Roar (Game of Thrones) - Let them Hear You Roar. Sexy leather blends with luscious neroli blossoms and earthy patchouli to create this unisex fragrance that embodies the Lannister family's conquering and ferocious nature. Top notes of frankincense, vanilla, and precious woods completes this rich fragrance! Primary notes: neroli, leather, frankincense, rosewood, vanilla.


Beer'n'Butter (Harry Potter) - A delicious and foamy elixir! Creamy butterscotch, dreamy vanilla, and a dash of pumpkin layered with a drop of coffee as you sit relaxing by the pub's roaring fire.


Lady Nightingale (Dragon Age) -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 the character of Lelianna from the Dragon Age game.

Note: I've reviewed this perfume for my other blog here.

Ambrosia Chocolat (free sample) - "If you are not feeling well, if you have not slept, chocolate will revive you. But you have no chocolate! I think of that again and again! My dear, how will you ever manage?" - Marquise de Sévigné... Chocolate: delicious, sensuous, and an absolute necessity! This scent will satisfy your chocolate craving as it drizzles with honey, dark chocolate, and hints of vanilla cream. A scrumptious blend of tasty treats with a light touch of patchouli to round out the sweetness. A gourmand perfume that will have you constantly sniffing your own wrists! Main notes: chocolate, amber, honey, vanilla.


And of course, because this is going to be the big theme among indie cosmetic artists this year, I had to get the sampler of The Great Gatsby ($11.50). I haven't seen the movie and I'm not entirely sure I'm all that interested. I'm iffy on Baz Lurhmann - sometimes his movies are a glorious mess (Moulin Rouge), and sometimes they're just a mess (Australia). The Great Gatsby looks... ehhhhhh. I do love the book though, after reading it for school and then many times since, so I'm all for buying into the current craze. And of course, I'm all for anything inspired by the 1920s - when are they going to bring back The House of Eliott, I ask!

Jaded Ambition - He lights his expensive cigar, watching the party descend until dawn. The enigmatic Mr. Gatsby seems to have many secrets. Sidling up beside him, he gives you a friendly grin and you catch the aroma of his sweet cigar, exotic woods, citrus, and little hint of Daisy's orchid perfume. For only one woman can truly hold his heart. Main notes: tobacco, citrus accord, oud, coffee, orchid, benzoin. This scent is inspired by the character of Jay Gatsy from F. Scott Fitzgerald's American masterpiece, and is unisex bordering to masculine fragrance.

Manly men doing manly things. The tobacco and oud amp on me and it's almost headachy. The coffee is in the background but it's so subtle I couldn't place what it was. Not for me, but I think those who like very masculine scents would enjoy this.

Jaded Decadence - She's the ultimate party girl. She is youth, beauty, and decadence personified. Her athletic figure dances to the latest rage - jazz music. And soon you note the scent of violets, rose, and a hint of cream vanilla and sweet red wine. She flashes a smile and the young men sigh. Main notes: violets, vanilla, rose, chypre, citrus accord, merlot wine. This scent is inspired by the character of Jordan Baker from F. Scott Fitzgerald's American masterpiece, and is a floriental -style scent for modern flappers!

The wine adds an interesting seedy element to this- it's quite clever. This is a fairly strong floral, dominated by the violet. Definitely more of a night time perfume than an office one.

Jaded Innocence - Distant yet so close. Cold, but still yearning for a past love. Her soft eyes twinkle, and the scent of orchids, cream, honey, and violets fill the sense. She speaks, and the warm timbre of her voice can still make Gatsby weaken at the knees. Main notes: orchid, champagne, honey, citrus accord, chypre. This scent is inspired by the character of Daisy Buchanan from F. Scott Fitzgerald's American masterpiece, and is a soft floriental scent for modern flappers!

Again, the boozy note brings this perfume out of the realm of your bog standard sweet florals. And again, it's quite strong, though the honey softens it up after 30 minutes or so. I liked this one the best of the three.

************

Sarawen has two shops - Big Cartel and Etsy. I bought this order from Etsy, really only because I prefer it for ease when I can use it. My last order was through the Big Cartel site, and there's really no difference except that one may sometimes have stock the other doesn't.

In summary, Sarawen is a gorgeous little perfume shop, and I highly recommend trying it out.

Empties and Chuckers (and culling 30 Day Challenge)

Okay, I'm giving up the 30 Day Challenge. The questions are kind of lamo and I can't be bothered. Let's just talk about empties! I don't have that many because I haven't used many products or worn much makeup in the past few months - I go super basic in hot weather.

Maybelline Express Care Eye & Lip Makeup Remover
A regular purchase for me - it does the job it's supposed to and it's cheap. I've got another one on the go already.

Garnier Nutritioniste Skin Renew Daily Regenerating Serum
I don't think this is available on Australia - I got it on Strawberrynet. It's okay, but it's nothing special and it's not really a serum - it's more of a light moisturiser. I wouldn't bother repurchasing.

Physician's Formula Concealer Twins Light/Green
Old school Physician's Formula! This is about the third one of these I've owned and I really like it - the light for under eyes (not so much for concealing as brightening) and a dab of the green on my cheeks when they're a bit red. I don't even know if these are still made, but I have a million concealers at the moment, so I wouldn't repurchase this one again for a long time regardless. Good stuff, though.

Twyla Perfumes & Apothecary Cannabis & Jasmine Face Cream - dry skin
This was a sample I got a while back and it was 10ml so I got a good couple of weeks out of it. I really like this cream - it doesn't do anything miraculous, but what moisturiser does. I don't think it's really for very dry skin - it's not rich enough. I'm normal/combo though so it was perfect for me. It absorbs nicely and my skin felt beautifully soft the next morning. It goes nicely under makeup too. The smell is a bit medicinal/herby but it doesn't hang around anyway. I will definitely buy a full size of this, but I have some other stuff to use up first.

Hawaiian Butterfly Organics Hibiscus Sugar Lip Scrub
I wanted to like this because it was cute and it smelled nice but it was just too much of a mess. The two different oils didn't really mesh together that well - sometimes it would be runny and goopy and other times it would be solid on top but as soon as you scooped some out you'd get the messy goopy stuff oozing over the top. I wouldn't repurchase this. I just use a smidge of brown sugar now. 

Garnier Fructis Thermo-Active Spray Sleek & Shine
This is really Lily's though I used it a couple of times because it's quite light. The problem is that after a few uses the squirty thing stopped working and I could never fix it, so it's just been sitting around. I guess I could put it in another bottle, but meh. There's no shortage of hair products in this house, so I'm chucking it.

Face of Australia Impact Curl Extreme Volume & Curl Mascara
I really liked the effect this had for the first few weeks and then it went all gluggy and started to clump my lashes together and start smudging. The brush is one of those bendy rubber ones I constantly poke myself in the eye with too. I wouldn't repurchase this.

Empties March 2013

It's been a while since I did an empties post, because in the summer I rarely use up anything - in fact, most of that time I only use the very basics - soap, shampoo, deodorant. I don't even wear moisturiser on my face most days when it's hot. So this is not a month's worth of empties - it's more like 3 or 4 months, or from whenever I did my last empties post. I did have a bunch of chuckers as well as I had a bit of a clean up, but I forgot to keep them aside and actually chucked them. Now you will never know what they are. Try not to let it eat at you.

Coles Nail Polish Remover
Eh, it's nail polish remover. It does what it's supposed to do. Weirdly I think they have tried to make it smell nice - it's a strange toxic vanilla scent. Don't bother, Coles - no one expects nail polish remover to smell good. I'd buy it again - it's cheap, it does the job.

Puretopia Whisk Away Creamy Face Cleanser
This is my second tube, and I like it a lot. I don't think it's any better or worse than most other cream cleansers I've tried, but I'd buy it again.

Garnier Clean Sensitive 2 in 1 Gentle Makeup Remover and Gentle Eye Makeup Remover
I hated these at first, left them in the cupboard for ages, then pulled them out again when I had run out of everything else and quite liked them. However, by the time I got to the end of them I hated them again. They don't remove anything but the lightest amount of makeup - think tinted moisturiser and cream blush. The eye one is bloody useless with any kind of mascara. I don't know why I liked them at all, and I definitely won't buy either of them again.

Beauty Without Cruelty Facial Cleanser 3% AHA Complex
Just another foaming facial cleanser - I like to have one in the shower for cleaning my face in the morning. It's non-drying and doesn't do much of anything except refresh. I like it and it's cheap (I got it from iHerb - and no I'm not telling you my iHerb code), so I'd probably buy it again when I was doing an iHerb order.

Hugo Naturals Shower Gel Vanilla & Sweet Orange
I threw this in with my last iHerb order just to get to a certain amount where the shipping would be cheaper. It smells nice but it's not moisturising or anything, and since I'm too lazy to bother moisturising my body most of the time despite having a large collection of body butters and lotions, that's a necessity for me in a shower gel. I wouldn't buy it again.

Dove Triple Moisturising Deeply Nourishing Body Wash
See, now we're talking. This one is moisturising and I buy it pretty regularly - whenever it's on special. It's full of those nasties that hippies hate, but I don't care - one less step and count me in!

Imperial Leather Foamburst Foaming Shower Gel Passionflower & Jojoba
I bought this because people on YouTube and blogs rave about it all the time. It's shit. It's like washing yourself with shaving cream - super drying and not very foamy. I ended up using it to shave my legs because I couldn't stand it as a soap.

Al'chemy Ylang Ylang Colour Care Shampoo
I don't have coloured hair at the moment but I think this one was sent to me from Echolife. I like all the Al'chemy shampoos and I nearly always have one on the go (though at the moment I'm trying out one from iHerb). I'd buy any of them again, and probably will in the near future.

endota spa organic hand cream lavender & alpine pepper
This had a horrible smell - really herby and medicinal. It did bugger all as a moisturiser too. I can't remember whether someone gave me this or if it came in a monthly samples box, but I know I didn't buy it. And I wouldn't - it's craptacular.

Swisse Hand Cream with Vitamin F and Pomegranate
Another annoyingly non-moisturisy moisturiser. I think Jacquie gave me this from one of her monthly sample boxes. Again, crap - wouldn't buy it.

Ayelet Naturals Firming Organic Under Eye Nourishing Cream with Primrose
Every now and then I get into this healthifying kick where I start buying only natural products and swearing off parabens and chemicals and blah blah. Then I realise that pretty much everything in life has something in it that will kill you and there's not much point getting freaked out about it so I go running back to my nasties-laden commercial products. This was purchased during one of my organic greenie natural phases from an Etsy store called Ayelet Naturals. I liked it. It didn't do anything amazing but it was a nice eye cream. I'm not sure I'd buy it again, but I'd certainly not be averse to trying other products from the store.

Bourjois Liner Feutre Felt Tip Eyeliner
Sadly I didn't put the lid back on properly and this dried up. I would buy it again if I didn't already have eleventy million black eyeliners - I like the texta kind, as this one is.

Perfume PSAs

1. You only have a few days left to take advantage of the 20% off for my blog readers at Twyla Perfumes - it finishes on 12 February. See here for more details - the code is PRISSYPERFUME. Or alternatively (because you can only use one coupon code in Paypal), she is also offering free worldwide shipping until Saturday using the code UPSBLOWS. See which option is cheaper for you and:

2. If you're a fan of Firebird's Almond Milk, here's a heartbreaking heads up for you - it's being discontinued. One of the components is no longer available and Brooke bought the last of it, so once she runs out of that, Almond Milk is gone. If you want to know why I made sure to snatch up an extra bottle, you can read my review here.

Enchanticals Perfume

Enchanticals is yet another perfumery that I happened across while scouring Etsy looking for things to spend money on (justifying it with, “Well, I have to have 365 perfumes to review for my project blog now”, of course). This shop sells ‘Victorian Gothic Perfume and Bath & Body Luxuries’.

Samples of perfume oil are available in various sets and collections. I chose a custom set of 6 and ordered Alize, White Rabbit, The Fat Lady, Embracer la Mort, The Snake Charmer and Levesque Burlesque. The shop owner, Monica, emailed me not long after my order and asked me to choose two free samples in addition, so I requested Mermaid Cove and Butterfly Wings. As I said in some blog post recently, I have been deliberately buying at least a couple of scents each time that are outside my normal range, because I want to mix up my reviews a bit. Besides, you never know when you might happen across something you love but would never have looked at otherwise, am I right? 

The sample set I bought was $13US plus $7US for shipping – international shipping from the US has just gone up dramatically, as I complained about in my last post, so Monica has currently suspended it while she finds out what the new charge will be. Generally speaking though, she does ship internationally (obviously, since she shipped to me). And speaking of shipping – it was really fast. The last few months things have been taking 3-4 weeks to get to me from the US, often even longer. I think a lot of stuff is being held up in customs these days while they faff about deciding whether they are going to open them and look at them or not. I ordered on 15 January and received it on 25 January.

Although my order was packed in a little box with packing peanuts, one of the vials was smashed and the perfume had leaked all over the others. I washed them off as best as I could (hence the tattered labels in the picture above), and contacted Monica to let her know. She got back to me within a few hours and was most apologetic; we sorted it all out very quickly, so two thumbs up for stellar customer service from this store. The one that broke was Alize – of course it had to be the chocolate one!

Now to the perfumes – I’m just going to be brief because I’ll eventually review all of these on 365 Days of Smells. There were a couple that I disliked, but these were the ‘outside my comfort zone’ ones, so it’s not that they were crappy perfumes, it’s just that they were the kind of fragrances I don’t happen to enjoy. The quality overall is really good.

Levesque Burlesque

Right off the bat this was one of the ones I really didn’t like. It’s fruity (peach), but on me it smelled like apple-scented disinfectant. On Noodles it smelled like The Body Shop Fuzzy Peach – I still didn’t like it, but it was nowhere near as bad on her, so take my experience with a grain of salt.

The Fat Lady

This was my favourite (reviewed here) – a sweet, biscuity scent that reminded me a bit of BPAL’s Eat Me (without the dusty part). It had a delicious smelling note of slightly lemony confectioner’s custard that really made me crave a vanilla slice.

Embracer la Mort

Violets. As in the shop description, there’s a note of green there (though in my experience, that often comes out with violet scents), but I didn’t get the berries. I liked it, but violet isn’t a floral I find very wearable all that often, so it’s not one I’d buy in a full size.

White Rabbit

This was the most ‘perfumey’ of the ones I tried. I couldn’t pick out any distinct notes, it was all just blended together. This one was the strongest and had the highest sillage.

The Snake Charmer

In the vial it’s marzipan (the amaretto note), which thankfully recedes a bit when applied and the berries come out. Despite my dislike of fruit, sometimes berries can work okay on me, and this was one of those. I quite liked it.

Mermaid Cove

This smells like a slightly watery white floral – there’s maybe gardenia in it (nope, it's frangipani)? Now you know I love my white florals, and you may or may not know I generally dislike watery florals, but I rather liked this one. It wasn’t TOO watery – it just added a hint of a background aquatic note, so it smelled like a garden after a really heavy rain rather than smelling like watered-down perfume, which I find with a lot of those kinds of scents. I’m not sure I’d buy a full bottle as I have quite a lot of white florals, but I’m definitely considering it.

Butterfly Wings

Another fruity concoction. I am 30 years too old for this. Noodles liked it though.

One thing I really like about Enchanticals is that not only can you get samples of all the perfume, you can also get a sort of in between size so if, like me, you want a full size bottle but you already have eleventy million perfumes and you’re never going to get through any of them, you can get these in a one dram size (slightly under 4ml) for around $10US - $14US each. There are also larger size 1/3 fluid ounce (about 10 ml) bottles that vary in price, depending on the perfume.

For the quality, the large range, speed of shipping and the really great customer service, I’d highly recommend checking out this store. You can do so on Etsy or there is also a website.

Update: International shipping is back!

More Randomosity

I really miss this show. 

You may or may not know that USPS has increased their shipping prices from January 27, and in the case of international shipping, it’s a massive increase – in some cases almost double. This is a bad, bad thing for those of us who don’t live in the US but buy the majority of our online purchases from there. It’s also a bad, bad thing for little guys on places like Etsy who do a lot of their business internationally (such as indie perfumeries, as we don’t have much of that available to us here), because a lot of us will have to severely limit our purchasing from now on. In short – it’s sucktacular all round.  BOOURNS!

Speaking of perfume, I learned something interesting the other day. Apparently grapeseed oil only has a shelf life of 6-9 months, so beware of buying perfumes that use it as a carrier. Unless you’re someone who is going to use it up in that amount of time, you might find they go off. I have never used a perfume in that time in my life, so it’s certainly something I’ll be watching out for.

And speaking of using makeup (do you like my smooth segueways there?) I have recently had discussions with a few people (Natalie and Jacquie to name two) about our habit of buying beautiful products that we are coveting, and then either not wanting to use them because we don’t want to upset the beauty of it, or saving it for ‘best’ and only using it a couple of times a year. When you think about it, that’s insane. I mean, if you own, say, two lipsticks and you wear one every day and save the other one for special occasions like weddings and parties, then fine. You have a case. But if you’re like us and you have lipsticks in the dozens and you’re saving some of them for special occasions, you’re just wasting all the money you spent to have this beautiful product in the first place. So whether it’s lipsticks, a gorgeous eyeshadow palette, or a bottle of perfume, if you love it, USE IT. Enjoy it and make every day a ‘special occasion’. Eventually whatever it is will go off, and if you’ve barely touched it, then what was the point? So that’s my goal for this year – use all those things I put aside as special. If I use them up and I can’t get another exactly the same, at least I will have had the enjoyment of it while it lasted.

Speaking of goals for this year (oh wow – I’m so good at this), another one of mine is to learn to wear necklaces. As a young’un I always wore necklaces of one kind or another, but as I’ve gotten older (and let’s be real, porkier), I’ve found that I hate wearing anything around my neck – it just feels uncomfortable. I carry my work pass around in my hand because I hate the lanyard thing it hangs from. But I love the look of necklaces, and I own a few of them, so I want to relearn to love wearing them.

I had mentioned I was doing a No Buy for January, and that was going pretty well until I found out about the international shipping increases, at which point I decided to suspend the No Buy and get all the stuff I could manage from my wishlists while I could for a reasonable shipping cost. The No Buy is back on from now until my birthday in May. As a consequence I have  A LOT of little packages on the way to me:

Twyla Perfumes (20% off – how could I not?)

Possets Perfumes

Alchemic Muse

Midnight Gypsy

Solstice Scents

Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab

Various Etsy purchases such as earrings, a necklace, a lip scrub , posters for Noodles and a purse for my mum.

I love acapella. I know it’s cheesy but I really admire people who can do talented things like that. I especially like Matthias Harris and Mike Tompkins.

While you’re checking them out on YouTube, you should also watch this 10 minute documentary about a group of people with a lot of time on their hands at work, who spent it perfecting their strategy in the event of a zombie apocalypse. There are a couple of questionable comments about women, but consider the source, let it slide and enjoy the show. It’s pretty good. 

And finally, a slight whinge – I hate it when people have blogs with no ‘follow’ button on them. If it’s not a private blog, why would you make it difficult for people to follow (and bloglovin’ doesn’t count because that sucks)? Also, captcha on comments – I need new glasses, so trying to read captcha words is REALLY hard. I am sure that 99% of people don’t even realise when they have it on there, so it should be something that you have to opt in to rather than opt out of. Get on to that, Blogger!

Okay, I’m done now. 

Midnight Gypsy Perfumes

Although I’m doing my daily reviews on my project blog 365 Smells, I’m still going to do shop overviews here, and let you all know what I’ve found on my travels around the wide wide world of web. When I was in one of my many Etsy freefalls I happened across Midnight Gypsy, and liked the sound of quite a lot of the perfumes. I decided to be restrained and only order a set of 6 samples (yes, that is my idea of restrained). I ordered on December 10 and they were shipped on December 15. I didn’t receive them until early January, but my post has been soooo slow lately, so I’m not surprised. Damn you, Aus Post. Again. Always. I hate you guys so much.

In addition to the set of 6 I purchased, I also received 2 free samples - Skinny Dip and Wildling. Woo! I’m going to give you the shop’s own description and then some very, very brief notes I took myself while testing them out. I’ll do full reviews of all of these in due course on 365 Smells.

Boudoir 

Vanilla and amber tempered with elegant woods. This isn't a sweet vanilla, instead a rich creamy one with a dry bite from the wood. A smoky oak note really comes to the forefront in this one.  

Smoky woodsy amber. Strong and a bit headachy when first applied. Bad move putting this on in hot weather. I seem to have recently developed an aversion to amber, a note I have always loved before. :-(

Seraphim

This is a darkly angelic blend of soft white florals scattered over a bed of the blackest bourbon, dark vanilla & egyptian musk. Vanilla with a bite!

Sweet and foody in the vial, a bit deeper when applied but still quite sweet – not sugary, but more like vanilla. Like it a lot so far. Not really that 'dark' though. 

Skinny Dip 

This is a sweet, girly blend of delicate vanilla musk with a touch of sugary sweet cotton candy. Reminiscent of county fairs, bonfires and bare sun-kissed summer skin. This is perfect for you ladies who love musk but would like something a bit lighter for warm weather wear. :-)

Very similar to Seraphim. A bit lighter and quite faint.

Wildling 

A truly sumptuous melding of crushed dark berries, sweet candied figs, and vanilla with soft florals and moss. A complex, earthy amber and a whisper of musk bring it all together.

Fruity in the vial, more amber on the skin with the candied fruit note backing off a bit. This might have been a mistake on a hot night with that amber again. Yes it was – washed it off.

Fómhar

Ohhhhhh…… Autumn. My favorite time of year. There is a crispness to the air, a different quality to the sunlight. And for whatever reason, it brings with it memories that are attached to certain scents. Autumn, for me, is precious woods & a whisper of dry leaves, carrying with them bitter chocolate, caramel, a hint of rich vanilla, along with the faintest whisper of sweet pipe tobacco. 

Chocolatey vanilla with a dark base. Reminds me of a darker version of Serendipitous.

Dragon’s Milk 

A decidedly feminine take on Dragon's Blood! I've blended Dragon's Blood with notes of amber and vanilla, added a dribble of sweet cream and a soft bouquet of Asian blossoms, underscored with a soft powdery musk. The dry-down on this is soft, powdery, and feminine without being cloying in the least. 

Really pretty vanilla musk, thankfully so far the amber isn’t showing up. Goes a bit soapy with a powdery note on the dry down.

A Murder of Crows 

Inky black wings and cackling calls. The last of autumn's leaves rattle, clinging fiercely to their bony branches upon the dozing trees as winter slithers its way across the wood. Deep, smoky sandalwood with an infusion of cocao absolute, a drop of honey, myrrh, a splash of sweet coconut milk, a whisper of the season's final peppery carnations, and a dribble of earthy patchouli. This blend is not particularly "sweet" or "foody", rather it is an earthy, resinous dark chocolate scent with a peppery kick from the carnation and a mildly sweet drydown from the honey note. 

In the vial deep, deep rich black chocolate and a damp earth note. Mellows to a chocolate floral, makes me think of Molinard Fleur de Chocolat. Dries down to a chocolatey floral musk.

Overall, I think these perfumes are lovely, and excellent quality. There’s a bit of similarity between the vanilla musk ones, between Skinny Dip and Seraphim I’d say you just need to decide whether you want ‘dark’ or ‘light’. You wouldn’t need both.

I did a review of Screamin’ Mimi, which was far and away my favourite. I will definitely be getting a full bottle of this one, and possibly Seraphim as well. Although I like most of the others, I feel like I either have other scents that are similar, or I don’t need a full bottle of it – the vial is enough for me to enjoy for now. I will definitely be trying out some more samples as well, though.

You can also read an amazing review of two Midnight Gypsy scents (A Murder of Crows and Artorious) here.

The cost was $15USD for a set of 6 samples, and $5.50USD for shipping. Full sizes sell in 7.5ml apothecary bottles for $14 - $18, or 10ml roll on bottles for $16 - $20.

Two thumbs up!

Perfume Project for 2013

After a year or so of mostly ignoring my perfume oils for the convenience of a quick spritz of something commercial, I'm back into them in a big way. I've spent the past couple of months buying various samples on Etsy and other indie sites, and I've discovered loads of great new fragrances. However, one thing I've found is that aside from the ubiquitous Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, it's often impossible to find reviews of indie perfumes. So after reading this blog, I have decided to shamelessly steal the idea and review a different perfume every day for a year, beginning on 1 January. It also gives me a lovely excuse to continue buying perfumes throughout the year.

I generally roll my eyes at people who have a blog for this and a blog for that (though I'm guilty of blog hopping myself so I'm really not in a position to point fingers), but I decided to create a completely separate space for this project as my blog is more general, and I don't want to clog it up too much with just perfume reviews. I'll still do my brand overview kind of posts here, though, and also reviews of commercial fragrances.

My new blog is here and starts next week, so if you have any interest in perfumes, please follow along! The perfumes I currently have are on my ScentBase, so if there's anything particular on that list you'd like to know more about, let me know. I take requests!

The Garden Bath Buttered Rum Perfume Oil

Picture from the The Garden Bath Etsy store.

The last time I did an order with The Garden Bath, Donna also sent me a sample of one of the perfumes from her Winter Limited Edition Collection. There are 6 fragrances in this collection, and they are now up on her shop site until the end of February next year. The sample I received was Buttered Rum.

Buttered Rum is ultra-foody. It makes me want to scoff sticky date pudding with proper vanilla ice cream. When first applied it's a rich, warm butterscotch, and after a half hour or so it mellows to a not-too-sweet caramel vanilla. The staying power is quite good - I put this on about 4 hours ago and I can still smell it on myself.

I haven't tried any of the other perfumes from this collection as yet, but I'll be getting a sample set when I order a full size of Buttered Rum in the next couple of weeks. Because I MUST have a full bottle of this - it's so delicious.

You can get the set of 6 winter samples in a cute little tin for $9US and full bottles are $9US each. You can also get a custom set of 6 samples so if there are only a couple of the winter ones you want to try, you can choose others from the regular line to check out as well.

Su received a sample of Winter Woods with her order a while back and she has given her impressions of it towards the end of this post.

Twyla Christmas Spirits Trio

Twyla Perfumes & Apothecary is a new-ish indie perfume store, having been open for only a couple of months. I hadn't heard of the store until someone mentioned it in a comment on a YouTube video. Of course, I immediately had to go and check it out, and to be honest I wasn't expecting much more than one of those junky little online stores with bad spelling and generic scents. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the site is lovely, the writing thoughtful and well-constructed, and the scents complex-sounding and intriguing.

I spent a few days trying to whittle down to a reasonable sized order, because frankly, I wanted pretty much everything. I was going to just leave it until after the new year, but in the end I decided I really had to have 3 full size limited editions that were about to come down and 2 sets of Little Drops of Poison - 3 samples in each. (Customer service note - the site stated that international shipping was $7.25 but when I went to Paypal it came up as $725! Obviously an incorrect decimal point somewhere! I emailed Twlya, who was in transit at the time, but she contacted me immediately and said she'd fix it ASAP, and within an hour she had contacted me again to tell me it was all done and I could go ahead and complete my order.)

A couple of days later she announced on Twitter that she had just released a limited edition trio of Christmas scents, and once they were gone they were gone. I went to have a look, and discovered they were all themed around chocolate. You know me and chocolate scents! These are $10US for each bottle or $25US for all three, so I figured what the heck - in for a penny and all that.

My first order (the limited editions no longer listed on the site and the sample vials) was on 1 December, and my second order (the Christmas trio) was on 3 December. I received them together on 17 December. My mail has been reaaaaaaally slow lately, getting backed up no doubt at either Customs or good old Australia Post (bastards), so I had not expected to get these orders before Christmas, or possibly even New Year. Score!

I thought I would review the Christmas scents first as the site states that these are very much limited, and I know some of you are also chocolate scent fans! I'll talk about the others in a week or so when I've had time to check them all out properly.

The Spirit of Christmas Past

White Chocolate Cognac Creme: a creamy, sweet yet wistfully delicate blend of massoia bark, pressed flowers, and french white cognac.

In the bottle, this smells like chocolatey cognac - like one of those 'special' chocolate boxes your grandma would never let you have. At first when I applied it, all I got was the (quite pleasant) boozy note, and it didn't have a lot of throw. I had to bring my wrist up quite close to smell it. Once it dried, a creamy floral note came out - something very light and delicate like lilac or wisteria. Then came the white chocolate and the cream. After an hour or so it mellowed to a sweet-ish creamy scent with that floral note coming and going faintly. What do I like in a perfume? White chocolate, gentle florals, creamy notes... I feel like this one was made for me. It's gooooooorgeous. I wish I could have it in a shower gel, body butter, scrub, bath soak (even though I don't own a bath), and so on. ONE OF EVERYTHING, PLEASE.

The Spirit of Christmas Present

Chocolate Mint Cognac: a delicious blend of cacao absolute, French green cognac, bourbon vanilla, juniper berry and mint.

In the bottle and when first applied, this is dark chocolate with a hint of mint. After a few minutes I could smell the cognac. This one was quite strong - I got a good whiff of chocolate and cognac whenever I moved my arm. It's a bit more masculine than Christmas Past, which I'd say is distinctly feminine. This perfume eventually mellows to a dark chocolate liqueur and lasts quite a long time on me. I really liked this a lot, though I'd be more inclined to wear it in cold weather. I think it could be interesting layered with some kind of smoky perfume too, as the cognac note is that 'rich men hanging out in private clubs' kind of thing.

The Spirit of Christmas Future

Dark Chocolate Cherry Cognac: rich, dark, deep and deadly blend of cacao absolute, bitter almond, and  French green cognac.

This one is the only one I didn't outright love. It's interesting and doesn't smell like anything else I have, but it's not quite my thing. The bitter almond comes out first on me, and in the bottle that's mostly what I get too, with a note of something green in the background. I guess that's the green cognac, but I don't really know as I've never heard of or smelled green cognac before. Who knew that was a thing? This one is also the least 'chocolatey' of the three, probably because it's a dark, bitter cocoa. It's quite masculine and imposing, and smells slightly tobacco-ish. It did last a few hours, but not as long as the other two. I would like to smell this one on a man.

Summary

These perfumes come in 6ml blue apothecary bottles with droppers, sealed caps and hand-written labels. The quality and care that has obviously gone into them is excellent. I'm really glad I took a chance and bought all three of these unsniffed. I probably won't get a huge amount of use out of Christmas Future, but it's another one I'd like to try again when the weather cools down. And although I'm unashamedly a lover of the girly smells, every now and then I like to break out with something a bit more blokey.

You can buy Twyla's perfumes on her website, and she also has a limited range (though not these particular ones listed individually, only as a set) in her Etsy shop.