The nostalgic scent of an old-fashioned American carnival midway — pink cotton candy, hot kettle corn, freshly fried dough, candied apples, and saltwater taffy.
County Fair was a limited edition release in 2012. I received it as a freebie with my sample order last year.
In the imp it smells like popcorn and funnel cakes and, though it's not in the notes, chocolate. On skin the pink cotton candy really comes to the front, all bright spun sugar, and I get the salty, buttery sweet popcorn, and yep, still chocolate.
It's really sweet. Like, really, really sweet. This is not a negative for me - I love sweet, foody scents - but it's something to be aware of. It's borderline diabetes-inducing. It's also very true to concept - it really is just a riot of sweets and candy and crunchy fried, sugar-dusted goodness.
Would I buy it again? Probably, but it's not available anymore, so I can't! Alas.
Available from: Alkemia Perfumes
The innocence of fresh ferns, sweet green grass, and tender new leaves juxtaposed against seduction of white amber, Madagascar vanilla orchids, and vanilla musk.
In the imp, Vanille Vert smells like vanilla and fresh, sweet grass. Wet on skin the vanilla is somewhat less prominent - it's mostly just sweet grass with a hint of sweetness. It's very fresh and springy. As it dries the white amber and a whiff of something floral come out, and something about it doesn't agree with my head. The smell itself is really nice, but something about it - I'd blame the amber - makes me headachey.
I love the way this one smells in the vial, and I love the fresh, sweet green scent when I first but it on, but unfortunately this one doesn't work for me once it gets past that stage. And it's funny, I recall sniffing this sample when I first got it (at least a year ago, probably) and thinking it smelled insanely strong and green. It's aged into a very soft, mellow scent. If you like fresh, green scents you'd probably love this. It brings to mind a bright green field of grass in the spring, wet with dew and slightly sweet-smelling. It's really lovely... I wish it worked for me. Alas.
Would I buy it again? Unfortunately not. It's a lovely scent but it gives me a headache. Wah wah.
Available from: Alkemia Perfumes
A fresh, summery blend of Osmanthus, Hay, Chamomile flowers, Clover tops, Linden blossom, Kentucky Bluegrass, Olive blossoms, White moss, Galbanum, Helichrysum, and Virginia Snakeroot.
This one sounded so good. I'm a sucker for "smells like a wildflower meadow in the spring" or "smells like the woods in november" or "smells like a sunny summer day on the prairie" kind of scents. I want to smell like a pretty place in the middle of nowhere, basically. Plus it has some notes I love in it: chamomile, hay, clover. I am forever searching for a perfume that smells like clover flowers. So it had a lot of promise. Unfortunately, at least for me, it did not live up to any of it.
In the imp it smells very strongly floral. I was holding out hope that it would change once I put it on, but no - on skin it's the same. I put this on my wrist, brought it up to nose, and actually went "GUGH." I don't smell anything that brings to mine a warm, soft, grassy landscape - I just smell "floral." Very strong, generic floral. The kind of scents that I hate, because they smell like being assaulted by perfume sprayers in department stores and they give me a headache. Which this one did.
I don't often have to wash a perfume off, but this one drove me to the sink.
Would I buy it again: Very much no.
Available from: Alkemia Perfumes
A decadent blend of rich pumpkin, caramelized sugar, Madagascar vanilla, precisely balanced with a swirl of cinnamon, ginger, & clove and a tiny drop of amber musk.
Pumpkin Strumpet is the cutest name.
In the imp it smells sweet and spicy, like pumpkin, caramel, ginger, and clove. On skin it's actually a bit less spicy, and I smell the pumpkin, vanilla, and a bit of ginger most prominently. It's quite mild, and definitely not overly sweet.
I don't have all that much to say about this one - it's a perfectly nice pumpkin scent, but it doesn't knock my socks off in any way.
Would I buy it again? No. There are so many sweet pumpkin scents out there that if I'm going to buy one, I want one that wows me.
Available from: Alkemia Perfumes
A temptation of candied fall apples swirled with a playful tease of fall spices and sexy aphrodisiac resins.
In the interest of getting through some of the approximately 475 perfume samples I have in a box in my bedroom, I've been scooping a handful out into a little bowl and keeping it next to my computer. Every day I reach in, pull one out, and review it. It's been fun and I'm re-sniffing things I wouldn't have chosen on my own or that didn't work out for me the first time around. Today I pulled out Apple Tart from Alkemia. Apple Tart is actually the reason I ordered some samples from Alkemia ages ago - I am a sucker for apple scents, and the name is adorable.
In the imp it's spicy and resiny with just a bit of juicy apple underneath. On skin it's pretty much the same. The apple is supporting player in this - it's definitely a spice-heavy scent on me. But I do tend to amp cinnamon and the like, so skin chemistry could be mucking this one up for me. Either way, I don't like it much. I prefer my apple scents to be on the fresh, tart end of the spectrum, or if they're spicy, of the buttery apple pie oeuvre This reminds me more of an apple-cinnamon candle.
Would I buy it again? No. I remember not loving it when I first got the samples, and that remains true today.
Available from: Alkemia Perfumes
