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.