It’s a HAUL Y’ALL!

I have uncovered the secrets to beating post-holiday blues. Order a bunch of things pre-Christmas, to be delivered to your apartment. Go home for 2 weeks, celebrate the holidays. Return to find the abundance of packages you ordered and unwrap them in your holiday pajamas, in bed. Also, snapchat sisters double chin faces for giggles and call home every 30 minutes to talk to your dog and pretend she is responding by sniffing the phone.

I expressed in an earlier post that I wanted to move past the borders of what is considered “mainstream” indie perfume companies…I know, is that even a thing? I wanted to really explore what some truly amazing artisans had to offer. I ordered from 3 companies and I am SO excited to write about them. Here’s the plan, I will write a haul/shop introduction post for each shop (in no particular order), with brief descriptions about my initial thoughts on each sample I received. Then, I’ll take my time writing reviews for each individual scent as time passes. Sound good? Ok! Moving on…the first shop.

Bellair Farm’s Apothecary can be found on etsy and offers naturally made perfumes and body care. The perfume is alcohol based, but you can order all scents in solid form if you are trying to avoid that. *Edit* Only the perfumes that have tinctures, Kalalau, Fragaria and Year of the Horse contain alcohol. All other scents are oil based. The shop front and packaging is clean and crisp, I am a fan (I’m a simple girl at heart) and I love picturing this little shop in the heartland of Missouri. It just makes my heart happy. The TAT was quick, although I can’t attest to the exact time since I was away from home for 2 weeks. The sample vials were neatly packed, contained a little card with scent descriptions and there was no spillage or overwhelming odor which can come with sample sets that contain a particularly overwhelming scent. You can see the inside of the box, it’s the featured image for this post. Thumbs up, right? The 10 sample set can be ordered for $13.50 (plus shipping), that’s approximately $1.35 per vial!. Here are the ten scents and ten cents on them (gosh, I make myself chuckle). Come back later for more detailed reviews.

Belle Blanche: rose, mint, a little anise…reminds me of rose water

Dianthus: clove, mamarjoramsweet, but green and herbal too

Year of the Horse: musk and sage, grassy

Kodama: masculine, vetiver, earth and spruce

Fragaria: OH HECK YES. spruce and strawberry * Side note, my family always has fresh fruit on Christmas…hence the affection for this one

Kalalau: lime, ylang ylang, ginger, ocean

Vesta: lavendar, balsam, sandalwood

Jurate: vanilla, amber, lime

Vixen: neroli, ylang ylang

The Spice Route: cinnamon, clove, vanilla..someone smells like this, I can’t put my finger on it.

Check them out…I mean it. Do it. I’m already wearing Fragaria, that’s how much I’m into it. The fast shipping, price per sample and quality of oils makes these samples comparable to any of the more well known indie perfume shops. The jury is out on the length of wear and evolution of the scents, but I’ll be back soon as I test these puppies out.

Check the shop out here —> Bellair Farm’s Apothecary

Happy sniffing!