Alrighty! Conquering that backlog like the bad bitch that I am, ‘cuz that’s how I (temporarily) roll, yo! …or something? ^^;; Unfortunately, this post is also going to be a smidge of a downer, less so than the previous one, but not a squee fest 😦 But hey, at least you know all my opinions are darned honest (silver lininggggg) Like with STA, I tested the samples I initially disliked 5x, results consistent.

*Confession bear*: I also plan to destash a # of these scents later today but wanted to put my honest opinion out there first b/c that just seems fair. Now that my disclaimers are all out of the way, high ho! 🙂

Haus of Gloi (HoG) is a wildly popular indie store that boasts a wonderfully varied general catalog (GC) of perfumes, lotions, and bath potions. Four times a year, they do limited releases of seasonal items and their Fall line-up is particularly popular. I had actually randomly stumbled upon their site almost a year ago, before discovered the awesome reddit indie community, but hesitated to pull the trigger. This year, I knew I had to try them out and picked 6 perfume samples to try: The Horseman (Fall), Spider Silk (Fall), Apothecary (GC), Imp (GC), Litchi Milk Tea (GC), and Madcap Garden (GC). I received Tobac (Fall) as a free sample 🙂 From what I gather, HoG always makes sure to slip in a sample vial into each order which is so nice. Since I was/am on a seriously perfume kick, I only picked up their perfume samples but have since noticed a lot of people are deeply devoted to their bath and body products, so that’ll have to happen one day 😉

HoG offers GC samples for $2.50/0.7mL trial vials ($3.57/mL) and seasonal releases for $3/0.7mL vial ($4.28/mL), samples of both varieties are offered with free shipping (woot!), making sampling their wide selection quite reasonable! Full size GC bottles are $12/5 mL ($2.40/mL) and seasonals are offered at $15/5mL ($3/mL). I believe all of their scents are offered in hair oil, pumpkin butter, body emulsion, bubbling scrub, emulsifying scrub, and soap form which means, when you smell something and think “I MUST NEEDS DOUSE MYSELF IN THIS, RAWRRRR” you can! Note: scents not always available in all forms all the time.

The Order

Ordered: 8/26, asked them to hold order until restock on 9/4, completed order 9/4

Shipped: 9/5

Received: 9/8

First off, it was really kind of them to combine my orders for me! Secondly, that means my TAT was effectively ONE DAY, *swooooon* Check pluses all around.

The order arrived in a small box filled with… I honestly don’t recall if it was filled with bubble wrap or tissue paper…I tore in real fast. >.< My samples themselves were in an adorable tiny canvas bag with a little handwritten note signed by Matt and Briton, the owners. I really appreciate those personal touches.

Customer Service

I reached out via their contact page after I placed my initial order on 8/26 to see if they would be able to hold my order just in case I managed to snag either Spider Silk or Tobac, both of which I missed during my first purchase. They were quite busy and didn’t reply but did hold my order as requested. They also included Tobac as my freebie so I managed to get both of the ones I had wanted! So, although I was initially perplexed by the lack of response, I understand that they were just deluged with orders and appreciated that they had clearly read my message and thoughtfully gave me a free sample of the scent I’d been eyeing. 🙂 I have subsequently contacted them with a few questions about their upcoming Yule release and have gotten thoughtful and prompt replies so I’m thinking tentative A for communication 🙂

The Seasonal Smells!

The Horseman

Autumnal forest and wood, distant fire, smooth saddle leather, brown musk and the lingering scent of a dark gentleman’s cologne on a black woolen coat.

Cold Sniff: Round. Worn leather, wood, super musky, not really picking up on “woolen coat” which is disappointing since it’s the reason I bought the scent. Story time: Once upon a time in college, I was having an absolutely horrible day and via a series of farcical incidents my blanket was stolen by a drunk person (later returned and washed though!), so my lovely bf gave me his woolen winter coat to snuggle under for a nap (I hate the texture of his blankets lol) and it was the most comforting smell ever. I was really hoping this would be a sexier version of that so perhaps I placed unfair expectations on this scent from the get go.

Wet: Leather, mud, smoke, and musk in almost equal proportions. The BF claims he smells sandalwood.

Drydown: Musk, muskety, muskety MUSK and maybe smoke from burnt food (rather than smoke from a wood fire), the combination leaves a heavy, unpleasant ball in the back of my throat. Nope. 😦

Weartime: N/A

Sillage: Moderate to High

Spider Silk

Procured from a dream: delicate water mint, wispy grey musk, crystalline webs of amber, oakmoss, torchwood, copaiba resin, and a touch of withered violet leaf.

Cold Sniff: Sharp and wispy, ozone, mint, ending on a round musky note. The open is very ethereal but the body is quite heavy and grounded.

Wet: Herbaceous, earthy smoke, roundness woven with powdery violet. Heady and heavy.

Dry: The scent continues to deepen like wandering in a damp wood during a thick fog. It’s not quite earthly? Unfortunately for me, its too heavy for my tastes, the fog almost suffocates. I was hoping for more of a lingering whisper rather than an atmospheric embrace.

Weartime: 8hrs

Sillage: towars the high end of Moderate (the bf smells it easily when standing next to me)

Tobac

Pipe tobacco, a wisp of smoke, Bourbon vanilla and two cedarwoods.

Cold Sniff: Boozy vanilla anchored by cedar, it’s a really viscous and heady smell. I can see this appealing to many people, to me, it is distinctly concerning.

Wet: Bourbon meets scotch with whole split vanilla pods steeping inside. I no longer get the cedar.

Drydown: Oh look, syrupy sweet headache inducing vanilla >.< My skin chemisty is terribly consistent in its treatment of all vanillas. I just keep hoping to find the exception.

Weartime: N/A

Sillage: High, room filling.

The General Catalog!

Apothecary

Old books, bubbling concoctions, herbs and creaking floor boards! A pure essential oil blend of: Lemongrass, rosemary, blood cedar, sweet basil, lavender and the tiniest drop of vetiver.

Cold sniff: Very grassy, rosemary stems, hint of rosemary left, the tiniest hint of lemon in the front that is almost culinary but then something really thick and almost burnt? rises at the end. Made my stomach unhappy, to be honest.

Wet/Dry: Lemongrass, all day, e’er day. I lose all the other notes and although it is a wonderfully refreshing scent, it’s not something I want to smell like.

Weartime: 6 hours

Sillage: Moderate

Imp

Passion fruit, sun cured apricots, pink grapefruit juice and innocent mimosa blossoms.



Cold Sniff: Bright and fruity, bordering on candy. There’s almost a chewyness to the scent, like the smell of a Hi-Chew candy while you are eating it.

Wet: Rounder but still bright, sweet and fruity like a pitted fruit rather than a citrus or berry. The apricot here is definitely dominate, there is a hint of a sharpness that I think comes from the grapefruit and a fade into roundness that might be the mimosa blossoms. I don’t smell passion fruit.

Drydown: A light floral mingles with nectarine-y/apricot-yness with the barest hint of citrus zest. I really like this one!

Weartime: 4 hours

Sillage: Low

Litchi Milk Tea

Tart lychee fruit and black tea met with a splash of coconut milk.

Cold Sniff: A strange, unresolved melange of powdery roundness and juicy sharpness. I really hoped it would figure itself out on my skin.

Wet: Initially promising, the scents seem to blend together into a warm, juicy litchi-ness, I don’t get tea at all and the coconut milk seems to make it pleasantly powdery.

Drydown: The coconut milk has gone sour on me and I am sad. The end. Scrubbed off after 1 hour.

Weartime: N/A

Sillage: Moderate

Madcap Garden

A lively blend of pure black tea chilled with peppermint and the tiniest spike of sweet honey. Very unisex, stimulating, addictive, and bright.

Cold Sniff: Really refreshing sharp mint black tea where the mint is a bit more herbaceous than usual. The tiniest dash of syrup.

Wet: Mint and honey dominate this scent, a dash of clove and the barest hint of black tea (maybe a teabag steeped for only 30 seconds). Interesting, it reminds me of my aunt’s candied kumquats!

Drydown: CANDIED KUMQUATS AHOY! The mint has flitted off and the black tea is gone but I swear, it smells exactly like vietnamese style candied kumquats (I make them the lazy way by cooking down kumquats in a simple syrup with cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and black pepper until 1/2-1/3 the original volume, decant into mason jar. When I’m feeling extra ritzy I add in Killer Bee Honey for an extra zing 🙂 For a much more authentic and well written recipe please visit The Ravenous Couple who also gave me permission to use their delicious looking picture!) Again, I’m enjoying sniffing the scent but I’m not sure this is how I personally want to smell…maybe I’ll grab this in a bath scrub though.

In conclusion I definitely think HoG is worth giving a look, they have a varied catalog that I can see appealing to a many different tastes and from what I have heard and experienced, their customer service is darn solid. If you’ve tried them out, what are some of your favorite scents from them? 🙂

Have an amazing day, lovelies! ❤