Before Rapunzel, there was Persinette. A beautiful, alluring woman, blessed by the fairy, this scent reflects an entirely girly and sexy combination of pink grapefruit and sweet ginger, with sassy hints of pink peppercorn and a light musk.
In the imp and on skin, Persinette smells sweet and pink. Grapefruit is the most prominent note, but the ginger is in there, lending a bit of spice to the grapefruit's zing. It's a bit less sweet on skin than it smells straight from the imp, but the overall impression really is pink. This would be a nice scent to put on in the morning when you're feeling sleepy and blah, or a good spring/summer scent in general. It's fresh and pretty. I have something similar to this - Flourish's Grapefruit Ginger - but I like Persinette better.
Would I buy it again? Mm, I'm not sure. I have nothing bad to say about it, but it's not something I feel like I desperately need more of, you know? If I ever use up my imp I might consider springing for a larger bottle, but the chances of that happening are slim.
Available from: Delightful Rot
Autumn apple cider, pressed black apples, amber wood, orchard pear, aged cedar wood, vintage patchouli leaf, blood cedar wood, and sweet vetiver.
My second Violette Market scent! Also received as an extra. Let's see how it is!
In the imp it's - whoa. Intense. I smell cedar and amber and patchouli, lot of wood, with a bit of sourness and sweetness of the cider and pear. On skin I actually smell the apple and pear a bit less, but it's also less intense in general. I mostly smell cedar (but it's not hamster-cagey) and dry pear. Sort of like hard pear cider as opposed to a fresh pear. As it dries it gets a bit sweeter but it's still very woody and dry. It's interesting. I didn't think I'd like it at all when I sniffed it in the imp, and I'm not super crazy about it on, but I don't hate it either, and I keep going back for more. So that says something.
Would I buy it again? No. While I'm glad I got to try it (I am, after all, inexorably drawn to any scent with apple in the notes list), it's not fruity enough for my liking. But I do think I'll wear the imp I have, especially in the fall.
Available from: Violette Market
Bushels of apples, bouquets of lilies and carnations and sweet peas, green clover, sensual and exotic musks, a splash of champagne and a little candy, to boot.
Apple of My Eye was part of One Hand Washes the Other's 2013 Valentine's Day release. I ordered it because I am forever and endlessly drawn to any scent with apple in the notes. And clover. Let's not forget about the clover. I think my perfect Spring scent would be one that smells like crisp, fresh apples, clover flowers, rose, peach, and honey. (Note to self: see if Haus of Gloi offers these notes for their custom perfumes.)
In the tube Apple of My Eye smells fresh and green and slightly floral. The apple isn't super prominent. On skin it actually becomes less fruity and I smell mostly sweet pea and clover. There's a slight tickle from the champagne, but I can't identify any candy or musk, and compared to sniffing it in the tube, the apple is very, very mild, bordering on unnoticeable.
It's a perfectly nice scent - it's fresh and reminds me sitting in the park in early spring. But I was promised apple! And I'm not getting apple. So that's disappointing. I usually find OHWTO scents fairly true to their descriptions, so this is most likely a skin chemistry issue.
Misc. Notes: "It's more flowery than what you usually wear, but I actually really like it." -Mike
Would I buy it again? I don't think so. I'm not upset that I bought it, and I'll wear it, but if I knew it was going to be so lacking in apple, I wouldn't have bought it.
Available from: OHWTO
Be careful what you wish for. What seems sugary and charming at first, with notes of lychee, black coconut and yuzu, soon reveals to have a sinister and smoky interior, curls of copal and dark musks floating out of what seemed to be nothing but sweet.
In the imp, Djinni is sweet and citrusy with a hint of something darker. On skin it's less sweet but still quite citrusy, and I can smell the coconut more. It's got a dark, warm (literally - something about this smells "hot" to me, like minty things always smell "cold"), musky undertone, but I don't really get any smoke. Which is, as ever, fine by me.
This is really interesting - it's at once bright and sweet and dark and musky. I don't quite know how I feel about it, but I couldn't stop sniffing at my wrist, so that says something. The description and idea behind it are very fitting, and although I don't believe it's intentional, this one reminds me of the djinn episode of Supernatural. Bright and shiny on the surface, but underneath everyone's chained up in a dirty warehouse getting tortured by a creepy guy with an excess of facial tattoos.
Would I buy it again? I'm not sure. As of right this moment I don't think it's something I need to own a full bottle of, but I'll have to wear it a few more times and see if my opinion changes.
Available from: Delightful Rot
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
The warm glowing center of home. Autumns last apple pickings, warm bread, orange rind, various fire roasted nuts, cracked black pepper all nailed down by an oozing sticking benzoin.
Hearth is part of Haus of Gloi's recurring Winter collection. I picked this mini up from the most recent release in 2012.
In the jar Hearth smells like spiced apples and oranges. On skin I smell more of the nuts and bread and pepper. It's much less sweet than I expected from the cold sniff, and the fruitiness is subtle. Once it settles I get mostly very peppery orange and I don't love it. Given the notes, I should like this, but it just doesn't work with my skin chemistry.
Would I buy it again? No. In fact, this little guy is being sent off in a swap to someone who will hopefully love it more than I do. Godspeed, Hearth.
Available from: Haus of Gloi
A scent for a country that never was. At least, not yet. Dense evergreen forests, endless waterfalls, pine boughs, woodland paths littered with dried leaves, ambergris washed ashore the rocky coastline, driftwood, midday showers, oakmoss, sandalwood and ylang ylang.
In the pod Cascadia smells very clean - it reminds me of all those "clean laundry" scents for some reason. The woodsiness is also there, but it's mild. But then! On skin the evergreen and pine comes out like WHOA at first, to the point where I can't smell anything else. Thankfully it softens pretty quickly and I start to get a bit of the other notes, most notably the sandalwood and a tiny hint of sweetness from the oakmoss. It's quite pretty once you get past the initial blast of HEY CHRISTMAS TREE. I am a big fan of any kind of "this smells like being in the middle of woods" scents, and this falls into that category - it's something I'd want to wear while hiking or exploring outside.
Would I buy it again? Maybe. I like it but it reminds me a bit of OHWTO's Lumberjack, which by contrast I love, so I'll have to compare the two before I decide whether or not to put it on my "to buy" list.
Available from: OHWTO
