haus of gloi coconut bon bon

White chocolate and coconut flake.

Coconut Bon Bon was released as part of Haus of Gloi's 2012 Halloween Candy Bowl collection. I don't recall there being samples available of these, which is a bummer because I ended up just ordering a full bottle of this, and spoilers: I don't really like it very much.

In the bottle and on skin, Coconut Bon Bon smells like artificial coconut. It's cloyingly sweet. It smells like store-bought coconut macaroons or strong coconut extract. The white chocolate is there, but to me it smells terribly fake and a bit waxy. I love me some Haus of Gloi and I generally trust them to make lovely-smelling things, but in this case I am really not a fan.

Would I buy it again? No, obviously. In fact I'm reviewing this now because I'm about to send it off in a swap - hopefully the receiver will like it more than I do.

Available from: Haus of Gloi (but not currently)

ohwto o holy night

A gorgeous blend reminiscent of a Christmas Eve church service - Roses, Beeswax candles, Moroccan Cedarwood, Lavender, Labdanum, Vetiver, and Honey.

O Holy Night was part of One Hand Washes the Other's 2012 Winter release.

O Holy night smells, appropriately, like church. I smell incense, but really lovely, deep incense, and roses and beeswax. It's not a scent I'd pick out (hence why I only have a sample), but it's quite pretty in a Christmas Eve Mass sort of way. I am not a church-going person, but it's the smell that matches up with the image of a grand old church in my mind - all dark wood and candles and stained-glass windows under an impossibly high, domed ceiling with glinting gold accents.

Would I buy it again? No. I like the idea of it quite a lot but it's not a scent I would wear with any regularity.

Available from: OHWTO (still up for purchase as of this posting)

delightful rot sherlock

Elementary. Based on the famous detective in literature, this scent includes a helping of pipe tobacco, spice cognac, 19th century cologne and stacks of dusty papers on old bookshelves.

Pipe tobacco, cognac, and old books? Yes please.

In the imp, Sherlock smells like booze, cologne, and for some reason I'm getting a tiny bit of tea. On skin it's a bit less sharp and boozy - it pretty much just smells like a nice cologne. It's spicy in an Old Spice kind of way and just a tiny tiny bit sweet, which my brain is still interpreting as tea. Maybe just because it's called "Sherlock." There is also a very slight mustiness representing the dusty papers portion of the description. At first I didn't think the pipe tobacco made an appearance in this one, but after wearing for a while I did start to notice faint whiffs of it. It's nice, but I wish it were more prevalent. My dad smoked a pipe when I was little so it's a scent I find very comforting and nostalgic.

Would I buy it again? No. It's a perfectly lovely scent, but while I do like manly scents, this one isn't quite special enough to warrant an entry into my collection. I do think it would smell super sexy on an actual human male though. I may "spill it" onto my boyfriend to test this theory.

 Available from: Delightful Rot

alkemia grasslands

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

arcana herne

Horned trickster, lord of the forest, god of the wild hunt. Cassia cinnamon, Atlas cedarwood, fir needle oil, and a whiff of Herne's holy oak tree.

In the imp Herne smells like cinnamon and cedar. It's an odd combination, in part because cedar always put me in mind of hamster cages. On skin it's mostly still cinnamon and cedar, but I get a bit of the fir as well. It's spicy and very woody. The cinnamon smells like sniffing cinnamon sticks rather than the ground stuff, if that makes sense, which adds to the woodiness.

This scent is weird. If I had to sum it up I'd say it smells like a spicy hamster cage, and I don't really like it, but I keep sniffing my wrist anyway. It's not something I would wear, but it's very interesting.

Would I buy it again? No. I'm glad I have a sample of it, but I just can't with all the cedar.

Available from: Wherever Arcana oils are sold - Scent Addict and The Soap Box Co among other places, or directly from Julia via email.

delightful rot 67 chevy impala

A man's scent. Bay rum, spiked with graveyard dirt, gunpowder, a touch of leather and a ring of salt, with an overtone of masculine musk.

Another Supernatural scent from Delight Rot today - I asked Mike to reach into my current "to be reviewed" sample bowl and pull something out for me, and this is what he came up with. Kind of fitting since it's described as "a man's scent," I guess.

For those not familiar with Supernatural, 67 Chevy Impala is in reference to the car Sam and Dean drive, which is a shiny, badass, incredibly sexy 1967 Chevy Impala. Yes, it is sexy. And I'm not a car person at all. But it just is.

In the imp 67 Chevy Impala smells like dirt and spicy cologne (that'd be the bay rum). It is STRONG. So strong that it stung my eyes a bit when I brought the wand up to my nose. On skin I get more leather on top of the dirt and a whiff of spicy bay rum. There is a slight musky, sweaty saltiness to it as well. After it wears for a while the musk comes out and I get a tiny hint of smokiness from the gunpowder, but it's not overpowering at all, even for a smoke-phobe like me.

In the full description of this, it's noted that 67 Chevy Impala is quite strong and you don't need to use much. This is very true. I swiped a tiny bit onto my wrist and I could smell it very clearly while typing this. The throw is impressive for a perfume oil. It lasts really well too.

I really, really like this. It's masculine, yes, but I tend to like manly scents - Old Spice is one of my favorite smells in the entire world, to the point where I will creepily sniff the deodorants whenever I am in a drugstore - so this appeals to me. It smells sexy, which is fitting for a scent based on the Impala. Because while in reality Sam, Dean, and the car would probably all smell like dirt, blood, engine grease, hotel soap, and fast food wrappers, this sexy, dirty, rugged man smell is much more appealing and in line with the image presented by the show.

Would I buy it again? Yes, definitely. I'm actually thinking about picking up a bottle of this, because I don't really have anything like it and I couldn't stop sniffing my wrist while I had it on. This is the gem of the bunch from my Delightful Rot samples so far.

Available from: Delightful Rot

stash inventory: solstice scents

This post was prompted by the fact that Solstice Scents is holding a "post your stash" contest, in which you show off your stash and can maybe win a SS gift certificate because of it. Show people my pretties AND get the chance to win/hoard more stuff from SS? SOLD. But while I was taking the photo for this it occurred to me that it might not be a terrible idea to do this for all the different companies in my stash. I love seeing people's stash posts, and it'd be a good way to keep track of what I have and what I've reviewed on the blog. So look for more of these in the future, but for now, here's my Solstice Scents stash! Scents that I've reviewed will be linked to said reviews.

For the record, if I win I have my eye on a backup bottle of Rose Mallow Cream. If I don't win, I have my eye on a backup bottle of Rose Mallow Cream.

Perfume oils:

Kitchen
Spellbound Woods
Pumpkin Spice Latte
Victorian Tea Room
Harvest Moon
Blueberry Muffin Batter
Sugarvale
Gingerbread & Vanilla Cream
German Chocolate Cake
Witch's Cottage
Lavender Vanilla
Cocoa Mallow
Cenobite
Blackburn Farmstead
Rose Mallow Cream
Chantilly Cream
Blossom Jam Tea Cakes

Burnishing Glaces:

Cenobite
Witch's Cottage
Blackburn Farmstead
Blueberry Muffin Batter
Kitchen
Enchanted Forest
Chantilly Cream

Body Ganache:

Cenobite

Whipped Soap:

Chocolate Peppermint Bark
Banana Nut Bread 

Samples:

Spellbound Woods
Rice Pudding & Rum Soaked Raisins
Manor
Spiked Nog & Nutmeg
Roasted Chestnuts & Marshmallows
Library
Foxcroft
Snowshoe Pass
Kitchen
Attic
Black Forest
Cellar
Caramel Apple
Outpost
Blackburn Farmstead
Nightgown
Thornwood Thicket
Violet Truffle
Lavender Vanilla
Black Leather, Red Lace
Chiffon
Courtyard
Devil's Millhopper