Scent ramblings

So, I've been thinking...(I know, dangerous, right?)  I'm already getting comments like, "But how much perfume can one person wear?"  and "Do you really wear all that much perfume?" and I was starting to feel bad, especially when I realized...
The perfume thing really never ends, does it? I was thinking that once I got the rest of the BPAL GC's (General Catalog scents, those that are available all the time, barring component issue discontinuations), I want (and there really aren't that many) I'd be "done" except for seasonal updates. Riiiight. Add in seasonal updates from about six other companies and it becomes never-ending. I give, I give, you've got me for life!

Well and there's still GC's from some of the companies too, like Blooddrop, who has a few GC's I want, and the people over in the "Other Perfumes you Love" thread keep trying to talk me into trying Nocturne Alchemy (they have some foodie scents that sound divine), and if something happens with Conjure Oils so the TAT will be reasonable,  there will be a bunch of those I want. And of course there's my never ending attraction to Villainess. And Haus of Gloi, and Haunt, and Moxie Nouveau, and Arcana, and Midnight Gypsy.   Except for Villainess and Conjure Oils, each company only has a few I want, but multiply that between numerous companies and it starts to add up!

I am seriously going to have to save up for that perfume chest, I guess... I wonder just how long perfume oils last if kept dark and cool? I know Snake Oil is good for at LEAST seven years.

You know, though - I'd feel bad if I didn't WEAR them, but I wear everything I have except the bottle of Purple Swallowtail that's up for swap. If I don't love it, I don't keep it. I rotate - usually wear something different every day. And it's now to the point that I don't feel "dressed" without perfume on. Actually no, it's worse than that. Even on days I don't get out of pajamas, I will put on perfume.

I guess when student loans start coming due I'll have to budget differently, but I'm pretty sure I can manage at least one bottle per paycheck.

After discussing the whole issue with Chris, and he is saying that he isn't seeing the problem, I guess I can stop worrying about it. 

Violette Market reviews: White Ghost Pumpkin and Golden Autumn

Though of course as an active member of the "Other Perfumes You Love" thread at the BPAL forums I've heard a lot about Violette Market, this is the first opportunity I've had to actually try anything of theirs.  So I was excited to snag White Ghost Pumpkin from the Diablo Canyon Autumn collection, and Golden Autumn from the Hallows 2009 limited edition releases with my etailer forum haul this week.

Since there were only two VM bottles and two scents are all I can efficiently test without confusing my nose, I'm going to do these reviews first.

White Ghost Pumpkin was one of this year's Diablo Canyon releases that I was most intrigued by. However, I never got around to ordering it, so I am very pleased to have had the opportunity to get it on the second hand market.

(Oh, and I'm back to testing/applying with swizzle sticks...I am already out of wandcaps). Which doesn't have anything to do  with anything else except that I find it amusing.  Or slightly scary, considering how many wandcaps I JUST bought.)

White Ghost Pumpkin's description was:  Glows and haunts, neighbors and unsuspecting visitors! Gives off a nostalgically sweet smell of warm rice milk, creme, and newly-plucked gray mini pumpkins.

Sniffing the bottle I get rice milk and creme.
On but wet, a sort of floral note shows up.  I'm assuming it's supposed to be gray mini pumpkin?  As it dries, though, the rice milk and creme show back up (thankfully!), and the almost floral goes to the background.  I'm getting no traditional pumpkin smell at all.  Don't get me wrong, it's nice - but it's definitely not what one would expect from a pumpkin scent.  It reminds me a bit of squash blossom, actually - which would be appropriate, I suppose.
This one morphs sort of like Haus of Gloi's Troika.  One sniff I get creme and rice milk, the next I get that floral-y scent.

Golden Autumn's description (found online) says: The yellow hues of the season, especially the leaves. Aged golden amber, vanilla, yellow and brown leaves dried in the cool afternoon, and autumn spices.

Out of the bottle I get autumn leaves and the spices.  There really is sort of a "cool afternoon" vibe going on.  How does she do that?
On but still wet, still getting a ton of spices (and not just cinnamon either, which is nice). Hopefully the amber and vanilla will come out to play...
Dry: Ah, there's the amber and vanilla. I really like this.  A very yummy blend of golden and spice notes, plus vanilla.  I can see this one getting a lot of wear.

Next up - Arcana reviews.

Haunt! Palmist and Fates reviews

 Haunt is a new company for me.  But when she had her Halloween sale, I found that she had added two GC's...Fates and Palmist.  And I had to try them, even though both list the dreaded patchouli as an ingredient.  This company does things a little differently from most of the others I buy from regularly.  Her seasonal sale stuff goes FAST - as in, sometimes only minutes.  But her GC's as far as I can tell, are available most of the time.

 Palmist:  blackberry and leaf, dark plum, wild violet, sweet patchouli leaf, sandalwood, vanilla orchid, and black spices.

Wet - sweet berries and plum, almost candy-like. Thankfully no patchouli in sniff.
Drying - Ohhh, violets.  I'm finding that the combination of violets and blackberry seems to be one of my favorites.  Still no patchouli, which is great, considering that the bottle even lists patchouli oil as an ingredient...Oh, this is good....
As this dries, it gets progressively less sweet and more dark. I still am not (thankfully) getting the BO/dirt smell I associate with patchouli, but I can tell that there is something in the background darkening up the scent.  Maybe a blend with patchouli I can actually wear??
 Dry:  Plum and violet...this is yummy!  Definitely a keeper and I am so glad I got a bottle! 

Fates: plum, pomegranate, davana flower, clove, cardamom, frankincense, patchouli, sandal heartwood, red musk, and bourbon vanilla.

In bottle:  Not as sweet as Palmist - pomegranate?  But it's not tangy, either.
Wet, on:  Yes, that's pomegranate...mmmm.  And vanilla...and red musk.
Drying: Here come the spices!  Definitely clove and cardamom. And ah, there's the plum.  Again, with this one, no dreaded BO/dirt smell that denotes patchouli to me.  This one is a bit of a morpher: one sniff I get plum/pom and the next I get spices.
It's drying down to mainly spices now, but every now and then I'll get a whiff of plum/pom and vanilla.
I don't like this one as much as I do Palmist, but it's still good, and still a keeper.

All in all, for a first experience with a company, this was excellent.  I also must mention her packaging: The little cloth (muslin?) bags she uses are adorable, and the included sample of Fright Night was in the smallest amber glass bottle with a cap that I have ever seen.  I didn't even know you could make glass bottles that small!

As always, the folks at Haunt don't know me from Eve, other than a random customer. I purchased the oils on my own, and I was not compensated in any way, shape, or form for this review.

Blooddrop - Smoldering review

This was my first experience with ordering from Blooddrop.  In addition to perfume, Astrid offers corsetry, bath items, chamber sprays and catnip toys. (Yes, my next order will include at least one catnip pillow for the spoiled feline brats that live here!)

I chose Smoldering for my first order, partly because it's part of the Autumn collection and I didn't want to take a chance on it selling out.  I had asked around about Smoldering on the "Other Perfumes You Love" thread at the BPAL forums, because the "soft gentle smoke" in the description worried me, since I'm not a smoke lover.   But berries...all those luscious berries in one perfume??  Oh, yes, please!  I was assured that the smoke in this blend doesn't show up as a smoky smell, but rather something that adds a background complexity to the berries. 

The scent description from the site is: Inspired by a wonderful Zinfandel I drank this summer; Smoldering is a simmering brew of berries and a touch of cauldron smoke! Raspberries, blackberries, alpine strawberries, blueberries, elderberries, gooseberries and currants enveloped with soft, gentle smoke. 

Sniffing the bottle closed, all I could smell was berries, which helped to reassure me some.  And these are real, juicy, not fake or dry berries.

When I took the lid off and took a big whiff, I did get something that smelled almost like buttery smoke (?) but fortunately (for me) that doesn't come through on the skin.

On me, both wet and dry, I get a gorgeous medley of berries.  No smoke, no butter - but something is softening, rounding, and complexifying the berries in the background.  Just simply beautiful.  I kept huffing my wrists all night at work.  This has good lasting power on me too - I put this on an hour before I left for work, and I could still smell it at the end of my 7 hour shift. 

There are several other scents I want to try from this company, notably  "At The Diner after Rocky" and "Broomstick".   Blooddrop also has what are called Simplicities for each season, which are scents or single notes appropriate for the time of year.  Right now, of course they're all candy and autumnal, and I have been told that Apple Cider Doughnuts is one not to be missed! 

As always, Astrid of Blooddrop Clothing, Fineries, and Perfume doesn't have a clue who I am, other than a random customer.  I paid for the perfume out of my own pocket, and was not compensated in any way for this review.

Perfume bottle and cap primer

After my last post, it occurred to me, that I may have lost a few people who aren't "into" the perfume oil world, so I thought I'd put together a post about what sorts of alternatives are out there for both closing perfume oil bottles, and applying said oil.

As I mentioned in the last post, Chris nagged me into buying wand caps.  Okay, so what's a wand cap?  Well, pretty much what it sounds like... it's a cap with a glass wand attached.  The glass wand dips down into the oil, and makes it easy to apply without getting too much, or contaminating the oil with your fingers.  There's still a limited amount of skin contact that goes on when using wand caps, but it's a lot less than dipping your fingers in there every time!  This is a wand cap:

Wand caps are great to have (and I got my order today, so now all my bottles except for three are wandcapped).  But there's all sorts of alternatives.  I was using swizzle sticks.  These are actually maybe even better for not contaminating your oils,  because you can throw them away after using them to apply an oil.  If you've got a bottle of oil that you're not sure you want to keep, use a disposable method when testing it, so as to avoid skin contamination for the next person.  Here's the swizzle sticks I was using that Chris threw a fit over - and I guess it would be kind of odd if you didn't know what they were for, to see a package of cocktail swizzle sticks on the dresser of someone who doesn't drink....

Now, what about those three bottles I just said don't have wand caps?  Why don't they?  Well, Conjure Oils packages their bottles a little differently.  They include an insert, called a reducer, with their bottles that keeps the oil from coming out all at once should it get turned over without a lid on.  These are my two Conjure Oils bottles with reducer caps:

The third bottle that doesn't have a wandcap is one of the smaller ones from Arcana.  The 3.7 ml vials have a smaller bottle circumference, so a wand cap won't fit, they're too big.  However, I was thrilled to find that a wand cap fit on my bigger bottle of Pomona from Midnight Gypsy, which is 7.5 ml.

After wandcapping all my bottles today, I have six wand caps left over; but I also have three more bottles of perfume on the way.  So that will leave me three wand caps left over before I need to order another batch.  I'll probably order more when I place my next BPAL order, which won't be too long, because I need a bottle of this year's Pumpkin V, and if I'm already paying shipping, wand caps might as well come along for the ride.

And last but not least, here's the current bottle stash.  This will be increased by three bottles when the rest of my orders get here over the next two weeks.  Currently I am waiting on my Blooddrop order for Smoldering, and my Haunt order for Fates and Palmist.  I have a shipping notice for Blooddrop, which  means I should see it by Monday at the latest,  and according to Haunt's Facebook page, she's shipping orders placed around the same time I placed mine this weekend.

The astute reader will probably have noticed that I had a bottle riding along with the wand caps.  Eat Me v. 6 arrived safely, and I'll get a review up for it (along with the frimps), in a few days.

Of wand-caps, prototypes, and perfume

I am part Scottish.  The stereotype of Scottish people is that they are frugal.  Well, I don't know how accurate the stereotype is in Scotland, but as for me, it holds true.  I'm not only frugal, some people have commented that I'm downright cheap.  (But never easy...*grin*).

Therefore, the prospect of paying more for shipping than an item costs is a difficult hurdle for me to get past, no matter how much I might need said item.  After looking all over the internet for a place that sold glass perfume wand caps (to apply perfume oil - you don't want to dip your fingers in your bottles and contaminate the oil, or at least I don't, plus you get way too much scent that way), for a cheaper shipping cost, and after listening to Chris complain for the third time about my perfectly reasonable (and much cheaper) alternative of plastic sword shaped swizzle sticks, I finally caved and ordered wand-caps from BPAL's Etsy shop.  The reason I ordered from the Etsy shop instead of the actual Lab site is because I eased the pain of paying $7.50 shipping for a fifty cent item (well, 16 fifty cent items, actually), by choosing a bottle of a prototype oil to ride along with the wand-caps.

Prototypes, as described by the Lab's Etsy listing: "Black Phoenix scents usually go through many iterations before they’re ready to go live. Sometimes a scent stalls out because of component issues, and other times we just keep working on it and tweaking it until we get it where we want it to be. We chose to put forth the prototype scents to our customers through the Black Phoenix / Dark Delicacies trunk show events because we wanted to share some of the experience of the creation process with our customers, and we’re sharing the overstock on these prototype bottles here on etsy."

Eat Me is part of the Lab's Alice in Wonderland line.  The description for the final product that was actually released is: "Three white cakes, vanilla, and red and black currants."

The prototype has it's own review thread at the BPAL Madness forum (my internet home), and the general consensus is that the prototype has more of a berry rather than a currant feel, and there is much more almond in the cake note.  That sounded pretty good to me!  I'm sure the final version of Eat Me is delectable also, and someday I'll have a bottle of that, too, for comparison purposes.  But for this week, discretionary income has been discretionarily spent! 

Before the great wand-cap/swizzle stick debate, I had already ordered a bottle of one of Blooddrop's autumn limited edition scents, Smoldering.  Here's the site description: "Inspired by a wonderful Zinfandel I drank this summer; Smoldering is a simmering brew of berries and a touch of cauldron smoke! Raspberries, blackberries, alpine strawberries, blueberries, elderberries, gooseberries and currants enveloped with soft, gentle smoke".  

I've been eyeing it for awhile, even though the smoke note in the description concerns me - but the berries will get me every time!  I did some asking around at BPAL Madness and from the replies I got, the smoke seems to show up as more of a complexity and another layer to the scent rather than a true smoke smell, so I have my fingers crossed that this works for my non-smoke loving self.

Arcana! Murder Ballad Blues review

I have been anxiously awaiting my order from The Soapbox Co. for my first Arcana products.  The one I have been most looking forward to, was of course Murder Ballad Blues.  Not only does the title instantly remind me of Sharyn McCrumb's Ballad series of books set in the Appalachias, but the scent description had me at "blackberry".  

It is described as: "In the tradition of murder ballads, the essence of an old-time jailhouse lament (on fiddle): wild Appalachian blackberries and sugared mountain violets with hints of dark earth and guilty secrets."

Even though I had a suspicion that the "dark earth and guilty secrets" part might hide the presence of the dreaded patchouli I ordered it anyway.  I was also going on an online review that compared it to blackberry jam,which would have made it all win, all the time for my blackberry loving self.  

In the bottle: the blackberries and a floral, which I am assuming is the violets.
Wet: Still berries but more and more violet coming out. 
As it dries, I'm getting more violet and less blackberry...oh no! Go back the other way!  However, on the bright side, there's not a hint of "guilty secrets" anywhere....
Ahhh..here come the berries again.  I do like this, even though it isn't blackberry jam-like on me in the least.  I definitely do not get "foody" from this.   I had just been thinking I needed to back off on the foody and get some more florals, and I think the powers-that-be must have been listening.   When dry, on me, this is a pretty blend of fresh, juicy blackberry, and violet.  I think I'll be wearing it a lot, especially in the summer.  If a scent had a color, this would be purple.  I'm really glad I took a chance on an unsniffed bottle and ordered this!

In this package, I also received Drool, part of the Cocos Nucifera collection by Arcana, and a sample of Sway, from the same collection.  Quick sniffs are all I've done with these so far, reviews will be later. 

Recent Reading, Gargoyles, and Perfume, oh my!

Well, I've been a little quieter than I intended this week, but really, other than New Release Tuesday, which I'll talk about in a minute (was too busy to do so at the time), it's been pretty boring around here.

All my author friends have been at Bouchercon in Cleveland this weekend, so I've been watching Facebook for their updates.  The best news for me, a dedicated Julie Hyzy fan, is that she was awarded the Anthony award for Buffalo West Wing, the fourth entry in her best-selling White House Chef series.

Even before New Release Tuesday this month, I was all excited for both Cozies and Urban Fantasy releases. One of the UF releases I had been eagerly anticipating was Anton Strout's Spellmason series debut, Alchemystic, which debuted Sept. 25th.  I couldn't wait, and have already devoured it, and let me tell you it did not disappoint! I'm thoroughly hooked and can't wait for the next entry in the series.  Stanis (the gargoyle) and Alexandra are a fantastically engaging hero/heroine combination, and I just can't praise this series debut enough. (And no, Anton did not pay me to write that, *grin*).

In cozies, this month we had new releases from both old favorites and new friends.  One title that I've been waiting what feels like forever for, was Iced Chiffon, by Duffy Brown.  I won a contest she sponsored several months ago, and have been on pins and needles for the book ever since.  It's going to be my next read.  Joelle Charbonneau had a new entry in her very popular (and popular for a reason, they are excellent reads), Skating Mystery series.  A new JoAnna Carl Chocoholic mystery, a new Sara Rosett Mom Zone title,  and an eagerly awaited new entry in Laura Child's Scrapbooking series were all present this month as well.  New entries came from David James, Waverly Curtis, and Sheila Webster Boneham.  In addition, this month we were blessed with titles from Ellen Hart, Lydia Adamson, Melissa Bourbon, Hazel Holt, Paige Shelton, Rhys Bowen, Carolyn Hart, Elise Hyatt, and Casey Mayes.

Mid-month we can look forward to the second in the Max Tudor series by G.M. Malliett, a new entry in the Lady Emily series by Tasha Alexander,  a new Sarah Woolson adventure by Shirley Tallman, the second in the Maggie Hope series by Susan Elia MacNeal, and a new one in the Berger & Mitry series by David Handler.

And the end of the month brings treats (instead of tricks), with the Oct. 30th releases of a new Penny Brannigan adventure by Elizabeth J. Duncan, December Dread by the oh-so-talented and wonderful Jess Lourey, and the second release this month by David James, which will be the second in his real estate series, I think (?)

But I am currently reading (and thoroughly enjoying, I might add), Lowcountry Boil, by Susan M. Boyer.   This book has more twists than the Snake River, and has been keeping me on the edge of my seat.  I'm about 2/3 done, and can't wait to find out how it ends.  I hope for many more Liz Talbot escapades!

And yes, there are more perfume reviews in this blog's future. I have four bottles on the way.  I have Drool (Ripe figs with vanilla beans and hypnotic honey amber), from Arcana's Cocos Nucifera II collection , and Murder Ballad Blues (In the tradition of murder ballads, the essence of an old-time jailhouse lament (on fiddle): wild Appalachian blackberries and sugared mountain violets with hints of dark earth and guilty secrets.)  also from Arcana coming that should be here Tuesday;  and my curiosity plus fear of the dreaded "sold out" message prompted me to place an unexpected order with Haunt for Fates (plum, pomegranate, davana flower, clove, cardamom, frankincense, patchouli, sandal heartwood, red musk, and bourbon vanilla) and Palmist (blackberry and leaf, dark plum, wild violet, sweet patchouli leaf, sandalwood, vanilla orchid, and black spices).  Those should be here in another few weeks, as that company advertises a two week turn around time.  I've been looking at scents from both companies for awhile now, but I haven't tried either, so I'm eager to get these and try them.

Haus of Gloi Review: Pumpkin Eater

Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater, had a wife and couldn't keep her, put her in a pumpkin shell, and there he kept her very well...

As I promised, here's the review for Pumpkin Eater.  But the short version is:  Pumpkin perfection!

From the site: "Cream, glowing pumpkin, rich vanilla bean and the tiniest touch of nutmeg butter."

In the bottle - buttery pumpkin goodness!  I was already happy with it just from sniffing the bottle.  And it just got better. On, the butter note fades and lets pumpkin and cream take center stage.  However, there's something else in there that smells faintly ....floral?  Must be my skin chemistry, as there is no floral listed in the notes, however, I'm going to call it pumpkin blossom and actually I'm very pleased with this surprise visitor.  As it dries, with one sniff I get pumpkin and vanilla cream, with another I'll get that faint floral, and with the next, a buttery pastry scent.   This one seems to be  more of a morpher than the other Haus of Gloi scents I have tried.  So far I've really not been disappointed with any of the scents I've ordered from Haus of Gloi, and there are a few more left on my wishlist. 

As always, Matt and Britton of Haus of Gloi have no idea who I am, other than a random customer.  I purchased the perfume oil on my own, and was not compensated in any way, shape, or form for this review.  

Midnight Gypsy reviews: Wicked Jack and Hesperides

In a probably futile effort to narrow down this year's perfume buying to just ONE pumpkin scent,  I'm testing the sample of Wicked  Jack that Tina of Midnight Gypsy was so kind as to include with my order of the big bottle of Pomona (which is absolutely amazing and an all time favorite scent of mine). 

On the left wrist this time I have Wicked Jack, and on the right wrist, Midnight Gypsy's version of Hesperides. (I am differentiating here because BPAL also has a discontinued blend called The Hesperides).

Wicked Jack's description, from Midnight Gypsy's website is: "Lavender absolute blended with pumpkin, fragrant ginger, cinnamon, & cloves - underscored by vanilla, cream, & caramelized sugar - and just a titch of molasses. A whisper of sweet hay & the faintest breath of rich & complex beeswax absolutes round it out. Haitian sandalwood & dark patchouli come together to anchor it all, and the addition of blood orange gives it a distinct orange spice tea scent straight out of the bottle. It dries down to a lovely spicy scent on the skin, which is where the gorgeous note of spiced honey laced with traces of wildflower & sweet grass really shines - that's the beeswax absolute making itself known."

On me, Wicked Jack is indeed, wicked, and he is certainly not shy!  Wow!  I probably should have been a bit more cautious in my expectations for this, given that both lavender and patchouli tend not to like me.  This is NOT your typical spiced-pumpkin autumn scent!  I can see a LOT of people really loving this because of that.  It is very well-blended, and I get quite a bit of spice, and I can definitely tell that there is patchouli in the base notes.  Once it dries down a bit and stops punching me in the nose,  it's mainly patchouli and warm spices.  Not for me, but as I said, I know a lot of people who will adore this blend.

The site description of Hesperides says, "Honeysuckle, sweet pea, and apple enveloped in a rich base of amber, vanilla, and cedar. I've rounded it out with subtle nuances of sandalwood and champa, and then anchored it with a deep animalic musk - but just a whisper!  This blend, on the skin, truly IS the embodiment of a decadent, golden nectar - golden apples, indeed! It dries down with a rich, creamy, almost powdery note with plenty of tenacity."

Now this....this is nice! Wet, I got a blast of apple wine, but as soon as it started drying the wine note disappeared and I got a rush of sweet, juicy, apple.  Beautiful.  As it dries down, the honeysuckle and sweet pea come out a bit.  This is a very pretty, light, scent.   It reminds me a little bit of a cross between Silver Apples of the Moon and Glittering Apples of the Stars from last year's BPAL 'Weenies collection.  Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately, depending on your point of view), it seems as if this is one of those blends that my skin is just going to eat.  Which means I might have to have a bottle...I really like this!

And again, the obligatory disclosure.  I purchased these perfumes of my own accord, and I was not compensated in any way, shape, or form for these reviews. 

Midnight Gypsy reviews: Cakes & Ale and Hearth

And here are the long-promised reviews for some more of the Midnight Gypsy scents.   This time I chose to review Hearth and Cakes & Ale, because for some reason, even though it was 90 degrees outside today, I'm in an autumn state of mind.  Probably because that's all anyone at BPAL Madness is talking about.  And several shops have come out with their autumn updates, so again I am feeling steeped in perfume.

I have Hearth on the left wrist and Cakes & Ale on the right wrist.

Hearth's description: Hearth... The word conjures, for me, the image of abundance. A large wooden table covered in food, mugs of ale, & sweet treats with family & friends gathered close while a hearty fire roars in the fireplace nearby. This scent seems to epitomize that for me... chestnuts roasted over the fire, caramelized sugar & butter, a bit of rum, & a dash of sweet vanilla cream. This scent is delish... when I wear it I absolutely want to lick my wrists! Definitely a rich, decadent, buttery gourmand scent! 

In a word: YUM!!   On my skin, this is exactly what it promises: buttery gourmand goodness.  It smells like a delicious buttery pastry.  This may very well be my next big bottle purchase.  I am in foodie nirvana right now.  This is simply delicious!   Also, this makes me feel a lot better about missing out on Violette Market's State Fair Fried Funnel Cakes, because this is exactly what I wanted that to smell like.  I think I may have just found my Holy Grail pastry scent.

Cakes & Ale's description:  Sweet, sugared pumpkin cakes with heavy cream and hot buttered rum. Crushed ginger & clove warm this blend up a bit, but the spice notes take quite a backseat to the cream, pumpkin flesh & rum. This is a decadent, buttery gourmand scent with a healthy splash of rum that will make your mouth water.

Pumpkin scents are everywhere right now.  Most autumn updates include at least one pumpkin based scent, if not a whole line of variations on the pumpkin theme.  How many pumpkin perfumes does one person need?  Well, at the moment, this happens to be the only one I have, so I guess the way it behaves on me will help to answer that question! 


Oh boy.  Now I'm wondering if I amp spices as well as honey?   Because I got one whiff of delicious pumpkin in the wet stage and after that it's all spices. Maybe a hint of cake, but the pumpkin has gone away, away.   Let me be clear here - this is by no means a fail on the part of Midnight Gypsy.  Skin chemistry plays a HUGE part in how artisan perfume oils smell on the individual.  

So I guess the answer to  my above question about how many pumpkin scents does one person need is at least one more than what I have...which luckily for me will be remedied on Friday, when my bottle of Pomona gets here along with a requested sample of Wicked Jack! 

Haus of Gloi review: Honey Tree

This was a sample sent to me with my order for the bottle of Hex, which I reviewed in the last post. Today on a whim I decided to skin-test Honey Tree, all I had done before was just sniff the vial.  The description from the site says:

Quite rich! Right from the bee hive - honey amplified by seductive essence of resinous vanilla, darkened by a passing waft of mild rare wood smoke.

As I mentioned in my notes about this in the other post, the wood smoke note concerned me, because I don't enjoy the smell of wood smoke (or most other smoke), why on earth would I want to smell like it?  Well, I shouldn't have worried.  
There *might* be a touch of it in this blend, but it certainly isn't enough to ruin it for anyone else who doesn't like smoke. 

This is definitely all sweet honey, all the time.  And it is STRONG.  It doesn't morph, either - what I was smelling wet is what I am smelling now that it is dry.  It has the dryness that I associate with honey scents, as well.  

I like it - a lot - but I think I'd prefer it more as a layering note (assuming it didn't overpower whatever I tried to layer it with), rather than on its own.  

Obligatory disclaimer: Matt and Britton of Haus of Gloi have no idea who I am, other than a random customer. I was not compensated in any way, shape, or form for this review.

Haus of Gloi review: Hex

Again, the "Other perfumes you love" thread at BPAL keeps introducing me to new perfumeries that I would never have found otherwise.  Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing depends on whether you ask my nose or my bank account!

Everyone is coming out with their Autumn scent collections.  Haus of Gloi's Autumn collection was both varied and intriguing to me.  But one scent, Hex, was a "must have" for me, just from the description:
"You've been bewitched! Brackish amber, aged vanilla bean and three dark fruits, veiled in darkness and otherworldly secrecy."

Dark fruits will get me every time, and honey and/or amber usually get my attention as well.  So I ordered a bottle of Hex, which arrived today.  

So I was very excited to receive this one, and didn't even let it settle much before applying.  First impression?  Yep, that's amber!  At very first sniff I was getting amber and honey, and ...wait...no fruit?  But after a few seconds, the fruit comes out and this is delicious!  This reminds me a lot of BPAL's Berry Moon 2009, without the musty impression I get from that one. This is a very nice blend of what smells like a mixture of black plum and blackberry with vanilla and rich golden amber. In other words...delightful!  So glad I ordered a whole bottle instead of a sample.  

The Autumn collection at Haus of Gloi has a few more scents I want to try to get my hands on before they disappear as well.  Pumpkin Eater, described as : "Cream, glowing pumpkin, rich vanilla bean and the tiniest touch of nutmeg butter", sounds like something I would adore. 

Also there was a sample of another scent from the regular line included in this order, and lucky me, it was one I had been curious about.  Honey Tree's description is: "Quite rich! Right from the bee hive - honey amplified by seductive essence of resinous vanilla, darkened by a passing waft of mild rare wood smoke."   The wood smoke note was concerning me, because unlike a lot of my friends on assorted perfume sites, I don't like notes like smoke and asphalt and tobacco.  But as far as I can tell, this is just a rich honey/vanilla, no smoke detected by my nose.  So that's a keeper too. 

As always, all scent descriptions are taken from the perfume site at http://www.hausofgloi.com.  Also,  Matt and Britton have no clue who I am other than a random customer, and had no idea I planned to review the scent.  I purchased the scent on my own, and  I was not compensated in any way, shape, or form for this review. 

Wishes....

BPAL and Villainess and Conjure, oh MY!  In addition to my ongoing BPAL addiction, it looks like I've added Villainess and Conjure to the list.  Luckily for me, both of those places have smaller catalogues than BPAL.  I feel like I could go for years and not get through all the scents I want to try from Black Phoenix Alchemy Labs.

I think my next imp pack from BPAL will be:
 Bastet: "Luxuriant amber, warm Egyptian musk, fierce saffon and soft myrrh, almond, cardamom and golden lotus."
Brisingamen:  "A glittering mantle of rich golden notes: five ambers, soft myrtle and apple blossom, myrtle and carnation." (No, I don't know why myrtle is in there twice - it is that way on the site.)
Eat Me: (from the Mad Tea Party collection). "Three white cakes, vanilla, and red and black currants."
Eden: "This oil contains the innocence of the Garden, coupled with the Truth and Erudition found in the fruit of the Tree of Life: fig leaf, fig fruit, honeyed almond milk, toasted coconut, and sandalwood."
Obatala:  "Obatala's offrenda is soft, white, and pure: milk, coconut meat, shea butter and cool refreshing water."
Snake Oil: One of BPAL's cult favorites. "A blend of exotic Indonesian oils sugared with vanilla."
(All above scent descriptions courtesy of Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab.)

As I've mentioned, I absolutely fell in love with the Leticia and Criminy oils I got from Villainess.  I was also highly impressed with their turnaround time.  They offer a sampler of six scents for $20.00, and it wasn't too hard to pick out six that I'd like to try.  So now I have a wishlist there for a sampler containing:
Blood:  "Our take on this very vital fluid is a full-bodied spiced Merlot grounded in dry fig and inspired by a ripe bouquet of berries"  I'm hoping the fig and berries overpower the Merlot, or that at the least, the Merlot isn't boozy smelling. Me and my oversensitive nose...
Decadence: "An indulgent vanilla - alcoholic, buttery and bittersweet with delightful undertones of tonka and coconut. Our favourite vice."  Are you seeing a trend in my scent picks lately? Yeah, me too. I seem to be really going for the vanilla and coconut.
Jai Mahal:  " A lesser palace infused with the sweet scent of victory. 4 rich vanillas and tonka, Mysore sandalwood, bourbon and coconut. Expensive woods, incense and imported spices - cedar, amber, myrrh, cardamom and nutmeg."   More coconut and vanilla...plus spices. Yum.
Killer Beez:" Sheer lethal cream and honey and a barely-there touch of nuts. Because you catch more bees with honey..."   Sounds good enough to eat. I'll settle for smelling, though.
Paradise Misplaced:  "Sweetly creamed coconut with touches of mango offset by crisp green tea."  And there's the coconut yet AGAIN.
Silk and Cyanide:  "Almond. Crisp, barely sweet, pervasive and altogether sinister."  Sometimes you feel like a nut...*grin*.
(Again, all the above scent descriptions obtained from Villainess.net.)

And then there's Conjure Oils. I haven't even received the Toby Daye sampler I ordered yet, and already I'm coming up with five new scents I want pips of.  (Pips are what Conjure calls the same 1/32 oz. glass vials that BPAL calls imps.)  I have it on good authority (Vajra, the owner's, via the company's Facebook page), that the Toby Daye oils should ship next week, though.
In addition to those, I've found:
The Light Queen:  "Her perfume is a love song to the Queendom and an ode to the simple things in life that make the ordinary extraordinary:  a long soak in a rose milk bath while sipping chilled champagne"  I'm hoping for light on the champagne and heavy on the milk...
Cyanide Crumpets and Nightshade Jam:  Now, who could possibly resist a name like that? Not me, especially when factoring in the scent description: "Toasted crumpets slathered in almond butter and seeded blackberry and nightshade berry jam."  
The Pernicious Parasol: "A cyanidic-inspired cocktail - cherry, plum and apricot are cloaked in black vanilla and slathered with bitter almond, tart green apple, d'anjou pear and the tiniest tinge of cassava."  I had to laugh reading this, it reminded me very strongly of Gail Carriger's Parasol Protectorate series.
 Bastet: "Egyptian red musk, catnip and warm amber create the perfect perfume for this playful diva"  According to Conjure, Bastet is not only the Cat Goddess, which persona I was familiar with, but also the Goddess of Perfumery. I can't wait to see what the cats do with an oil containing catnip....
Nuit: "She births the sun each morning and reabsorbs it again each night. She holds the souls of the departed as the night sky stars that she holds in her bosom. A blackberry sky sparkling with vanilla stars, a cup full of celestial milk from the Cow, and warm Egyptian musk."  While I'm not attracted to celestial cows,  I am attracted to every note listed for this.  
(And yet again, all above scent descriptions obtained from conjureoils.com.)

If nothing else, I'll be the best smelling customer service representative in town....