Arcana Aestas Review

Brand: Arcana
Availability: General Catalog
Notes: The ancient Roman goddess of Summer. Madagascar vanilla, yellow cake, soft peach nectar, golden musk, black musk, and a hint of patchouli

First impression out of bottle: Buttery golden cake and bright syrupy peach.

Freshly applied: Really nice blend of buttery pastry and sweet rich peach. This peach reminds me a LOT of the peach in Haus of Gloi Pumpkin Queen. Actually this whole thing makes me think of Pumpkin Queen, without the spice part. 

Buttery golden cake with sweet peach

Drydown: As it dries, it inverts and becomes peaches first and golden cake second. The peach notes are really voluptuous and pink now. I feel like there are multiple varieties of fruit: canned, creamy, fresh. The cake/pie note is now in the background only giving an overall dessert feel. It’s less buttery than it was on the opening. I love Arcana’s gourmands and this is no exception.The cake kind of weaves in and out so sometimes I smell mostly peach, then I get peachy cake right after, etc. The peach keeps dancing between fresh white peach and canned golden peach. I love the mix of fruity and cake here. This would be super comforting in cold weather, but I think the golden character makes it summer friendly too. 

After several hours:  This is a morpher, when I’m sitting in my cold office it’s a very peaches and cream scent, but in my hot car, it’s all buttery golden peach cake. I love both. The ultimate drydown is peaches on top of vanilla ice cream. The vanilla ice cream vibe is IDENTICAL to the one in Solstice Scents Violet Mallow (whose drydown is epic but the sharp opening florals are BLECH.)

Cake and syrupy peaches with melty vanilla ice cream

Longevity: High, I can smell this way into the afternoon
Sillage: High, I can smell it on me, both in an ambient way and when I huff my wrist, and my coworker could smell it when she walked by me.

Would an [X] lover love this? Anyone who likes Yellow Cake, Apples Crave Cake, Ganesh, or any other popular indie cake scents like SS Cameo would go crazy for this. It's pretty much a peach version of Apples Crave Cake.

Would an [X] hater love this? If you aren’t nuts about cakey scents, this one probably won’t change your mind. Oh also take no mind of the patchouli in here- Julia from Arcana does some sort of witchcraft with patchouli in her gourmands where they are undetectable but lend some magic and tenacity. You can't smell it at all as "patchouli" or even a green/dark note. 

Where am I? Eating a huge pile of peach cobbler cake with a big scoop vanilla bean ice cream

Where would I wear this? This is definitely a daytime scent for me, but since my SO seems to enjoy sweet gourmands, I'd wear this on a date. It's very strong and lush, so definitely has enough presence for a special occasion. I really love how it changes based on your environment, so I would wear this equally in winter and in summer.

Arcana Astrid's Diadem Review

Brand: Arcana
Availability: General Catalog
Notes: Madagascar vanilla, Bourbon vanilla, sugared lavender creme, citron, lemongrass, peppermint, and a touch of stately patchouli

First impression out of bottle: Minty lemon with some grassiness

Lemongrass mint dessert, a little creamy and a little fresh

Freshly applied: Initially I get all lavender and peppermint, with a bitter twist of citrus rind. As it dries, I get the paradoxical bright/bitter citrus (smells like lemon juice now) with that herbal/dusty lavender that smells like real lavender buds, with a bit of grassiness of lemongrass and an obvious helping of peppermint. This is such a cool, herbal scent. It’s very fun and confusing to my nose, but at the same time very pleasant. Like your nose CANNOT perceive all the scents at once, so it goes through an arpeggio of lavender, lemon, lemongrass, peppermint before settling onto a bed of sugared vanilla, then back to the beginning. A kind of weird wild ride. I LOVE IT.

Love the bitter citrus twist 

Drydown:  After drying down completely, there’s a more “sugared lavender-peppermint creme” sensation, with the citrus/lemongrass nestled on top. Thank god the patchouli is simply grounding the peppermint. There’s no rubber or mustiness here, just a surprisingly long-lasting mint note. The vanillas are keeping everything swathed in softness. I'm happy that the notes all pop out and this isn’t turning into a same-y vanilla. 

Lavender cream with touches of sparkling peppermint and citron

After several hours: Same thing as the drydown, a sugared lavender cream with some sparkling peppermint and grassy citrus. 

Longevity: High, especially considering that the herbal notes are ones that usually dissipate quickly. This lasts more than 6 hours on me. The patchouli extends the mint notes, in my opinion.
Sillage: Very high at first, remains fairly good throughout the life

Would an [X] lover love this? I think anyone who likes herbal notes and vanillas needs this scent. It's super unusual and funky. It's a bit cacophonous at first, but it dries down into something just as charming and probably more wearable.

Would an [X] hater love this? I think someone who vehemently hated vanilla might still be ok with this. It's not a syrupy or overly sweet vanilla. If you don't like lemongrass or peppermint, it will be a nonstarter. Lavender haters might be surprised though, as the lavender is used very subtly here.

Where am I? In a spotless white kitchen with Ina Garten, making eight different types of meringues and creams at once.

Where would I wear this? Work, weekend, sleep. Not for a night out, too playful and zesty. But I think this can work well as a winter perfume (it has a frozen, ice creamy feel) and also it's refreshing enough to be great in hot weather.

Arcana Yellow Cake Review

Brand: Arcana
Availability: General Catalog
Notes: yellow cake

First impression out of bottle: Almost savory, definitely not too sweet pastry smell

Freshly applied: Lush, soft, heavenly yellow cake. Again, not too sweet, just savory enough like the combination of flour and eggs and butter.

Drydown: Still the same yellow cake perfection. Almost a subtle hint of spice, just the golden deepness that comes from true yellow (not white) cake. Smells homemade and hearty, not like a box mix.

Perfect yellow cake

After several hours: Same gorgeous single note perfection. This would layer extremely well with florals and creamy, sweeter gourmands.

Longevity: High, lasts for a full day.
Sillage: High. Good throw even after 8 hours. I can smell this without sniffing my wrist.

Would an [X] lover love this? Would a gourmand lover love this? YES A THOUSAND TIMES YES. Every single gourmand lover needs this note. It's like the ne plus ultra of cake scents. It's a classic basic, like the perfect little black dress that somehow looks sexy for a date but professional for a work meeting.

Would an [X] hater love this? A gourmand hater might in fact be ok with this scent. Yes, it's a true cake, but it's the most realistic impression of a cake I have smelled. If you are a hater because you find gourmand perfumes to be fake, plasticky, or sickly sweet, definitely give this a whirl, as it's none of those things. If you just plain hate smelling of food, well, this won't change your mind.

Where am I? In my mom's kitchen, baking cakes for a party. My hands are sticky from licking the bowl, and my nostrils are filled with the scent of that perfect fluffy cake baking in the oven.

Where would I wear this? I wear this everywhere. Work, home, date night, morning, night, hot weather, cool weather. It's very versatile. Like a true neutral perfume.