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....