Two more packages arrived today!

Warning: I know nothing about perfume. Literally nothing. These are my first indie perfumes ever.

I haven’t tested these for wear but I did cold sniff them and give each of them a chance to dry down on my skin and I’m super excited and I love pretty much everything, with a few that I want to own and roll around in forever. Super impressed with the quality and turnaround and packaging and shipping price (international!) of both Alkemia and Solstice Scents.

I smelt each of them from the bottle and on my skin after drydown and made abstract notes without looking at the scent notes, then went back to the website and compared notes. Nearly everything worked on my skin, which was lovely!

.

Alkemia

I bought a full size perfume (Sandscape) and a pack of five samples, asking them to pick scents for me so I got a full and interesting mixture that I didn’t curate.

.

Sandscape

- cold sniff: beachy but not aquatic, somehow. late summer florals, wafting in on the ocean breeze. sitting on the nature strip at dusk.

- skin: familiar. deodorant and sunscreen and sweat. definitely very…clean but interesting

- after reading notes: “Sun warmed beach sand, Atlantic ocean breezes, the saline-aquatic scent of drying sea water on skin, and the faintest hints of tanning oil and seaweed.” I definitely get the skin and the breeze and the tanning oil. I’m glad I got the full size of this, feel like I’ll be reaching for it a lot this summer.

.

La Sirena

- cold sniff: aquatic, flowers blooming in the shallows of the water, dipping your toes in the sea in the calm before a storm

- skin: fresh and crisp and salt crusted beneath a buoy, a wreath of seaweed

- after reading notes: “A mesmerizing spell of oceanic aquatics, saline seaweeds, and garlands of fresh Tiare flowers offered to the sea. Hauntingly elusive.” Tiare! Yes, that’s what I was smelling. Definitely florals and ocean. This one didn’t throw much scent but after a while it felt like it…meshed really well with my skin.

.

Sea Goddess

- cold sniff: some kind of clean smell, like a crisp fresh floral fabric softener, seaweed and sharpness

- skin: clean and salty and fresh with strong but beautifully subdued florals

- after reading notes: “Warm skin caressed by iodine and seawater swirled with seaweed and a whisper of seaspray roses and beach plums on a summery breeze of honeysuckle, nardo, and champaca blossom.” This one is super evokative for me. It blends nicely into my skin. it’s a softer aquatic with more floral than I thought I’d like, but this one makes me feel things

.

Antares

- cold sniff: spicy floral? an old woman but like the really cool, young-seeming kind who probably talks to you about sex and the crazy shit she did when she was young

- skin: exactly that - potpurri but spicy and complex

- after reading notes: “Queen of the Night, Dried Wild Roses, Mandarin, Nicotania, Oakmosses, Cactus, Juniper, Acacia buds, Fir Resin, Clary Sage, Cedar Needles, Labdanum, Guaiac Wood, Germander, and White Patchouli lightly bathed in dewy Water Musk.” Wow, not one I would have picked out because that description scares me, but I love this a lot more than I expected to. I get the roses and hints of the patchouli (I usually hate patchouli but this works)

.

Irrésistable

- cold sniff: sexy spicy cinnamon and cloves, kisses on the neck and something beneath it kind of like lust and jelly

- skin: if licquorice and gummy chews and cinnamon lollies were sexy? I’m so bad at this

- after reading notes: “An irresistibly sweet temptation of french macaroon accord, bourbon vanilla beans, piquant nutmeg, sweet almonds, golden caramel, dulce de leche, blended with a sexy confection of intoxicatingly sugared ambers.” The longer this stays on the more I like it. I’m totally getting the nutmeg and sweet almonds.

.

Deso Aridente

- cold sniff: orange peel and ginger and warmth, baking fruit crumble

- skin: candied oranges with spices. Soured a little as it wore.

- after reading notes: “A provocative blend of smouldering spices - star anise, nutmeg, clove, and piquant ginger; crisp gingersnaps; lemon peel; and Karkaar frankincense.” I’m not sure this one works on my skin. I’ll test this again, but might need to pass it to someone else to try. I think the frankincense is what’s turning weird on me.

.

Memoria Seductoria

- cold sniff: sharp and warm, complex and sweet with something that crackles like pepper

- skin: exactly that, but more mellow - the pepper is less intense but it’s mellowed and warm and wonderful

- after reading notes: “Warm Christmas cake studded with clove; candied mandarin orange peel; carmelized figs and dates; treacle toffees; and smoked amber.” Im not sure where the peppery smell is coming from. I’m not good enough at this. I do really like this, though - It wears nicely, and perhaps the smoked Amber is giving it the spice that makes it kind of intriguing

.

Bellos Encantos

- cold sniff: gingerbread with cream and something mellow

- skin: if flavoured milk came in gingerbread flavour…like a gingerbread hot drink with no chocolate or caffeine

- after reading notes: “Delectably rich chai-spiced shortbread; candied ginger; golden honey; Mexican vanilla; and sweet Benzoin Siam” im definitely getting the ginger and the chai spices, but I think its the vanilla mellowing it out

.

Solstice Scents

I just got samples from SS, but you have to commend their packaging and the amount they send with - it’s an experience to open your mail, and I love that. I forgot to pick another sample for my first time, which sucks, but some of these I desperately need.

.

Sycamore Chai

- cold sniff: distinctly chai, tea blended with all of the beautiful spices, catching up on a tuesday afternoon with friends in a small cafe

- skin: spices mellow, the dregs of the tea left over, something…appley

- after reading notes: “Vanilla Chai Tea & A Ginger-Pumpkin Roll Filled With Marshmallow Creme“ I think the pumpkin is what I’m actually smelling, not apple. I kind of love this. It brings back a lot of comforting memories. Sadly it’s would appear it’s not available right now, but it should be restocked soon.



.

Blackburn’s Parlour

- cold sniff: candy bananas and chocolate ice cream, sharing a big banana split

- skin: the banana becomes more real and the chocolate mellows out - it’s way subtler in a way that I love even though I loved it on first sniff

- after reading notes: “Vanilla Waffle Bowl, Vanilla & Chocolate Ice Creams, Sliced Bananas Smothered In Caramel Sauce & Topped With Whipped Cream” Totally. I love this. I want to bury myself in it. It is way less fake-bananas on the skin and it’s wonderful

.

Kitchen

- cold sniff: OH MY GOD. cinnamon and gingerbread and sweets, dusted in flour and sugar and everything nice.

- skin: smells exactly like a gingerbread lotion I once owned. beautiful. gets warmer and cosier as it wears.

- after reading notes: “Pumpkin, Sugar Cookies, Peach Preserves, Spice Breads, Danishes, Caramel, Vanilla & Sweet Wood Smoke.“ So not cinnamon? Spice breads. Totally. I think I’m smelling the meshing of peach preserves and caramel, and I love it. My mother smelt this on me and asked me immediately to buy it for her in full size, and I might do that (or one for me. Whatever)

.

Whispers in the Night

- cold sniff: jasmine and gardenias and white flowers and spring, wearing something lacy in the garden in the dark (on smelling this, I said “I don’t think I know what gardenias smell like, but this smells like gardenias”)

- skin: a bit too floral for me, kind of old womany. After about an hour and a half it mellowed out and developed a slight powderiness, but I actually preferred that

- after reading notes: “Jasmine, Tuberose, Vanilla Orchid, Coconut, White Amber, Sandalwood, Amber, Ylang Ylang, EotN Base” So clearly I think that gardenias and tuberose smell the same. The jasmine is strong but after about two hours I’m smelling the sandalwood and amber and I’m actually much preferring it. I definitely think I’ll finish this, despite my first reaction.

.

Corvin’s Apple Fest

- cold sniff: apple slices that have been soaking in a spicy mixture for a few days

- skin: exactly that, but with something vaguely…alcoholic? I also prefer this the longer it wears

- after reading notes: “Apple Pastries, Fresh Apples, Caramel Apples, Warm Apple Cider, Vanilla” So clearly I’m getting the warm apple cider and the caramel apples and I’m also really liking this nearly two hours after application. Clearly a few of these are slow burns for me.

.

Snowmint Mallow

- cold sniff: peppermint marshmallow and whiffs of coconut

- skin: I want to roll around in this forever. smells sort of like mint thins but with marshmallow meddled in? Fades a bit quicker but it’s gorgeous.

- after reading notes: “Peppermint, Vanilla Cake, Sugar Cookies, Flaked Coconut & Marshmallow Creme“ I totally picked up the coconut! I’m proud of that. I love this, this is gorgeous. I want it.

.

.

So overall I’m thrilled with pretty much all of these scents, and I definitely tried a wide range of things both in and out of my comfort zone. I forsee another Solstice Scents order coming in my future, presumably after my sixteen92 order comes, but I’m super happy with everything and I’m thrilled that my skin chemistry didn’t upset many (really just the one). A+ experience, would do again. Sorry I know nothing about scents.