Brand: Sixteen92
Availability: Limited Edition Halloween 2015
Notes: Tart cranberry, benzoin, fir needle, dark chocolate, smoldering incense, dry leaves
First impression out of bottle: Dragon's Blood and chocolate-covered dried cherries
Freshly applied: Fruity and chocolatey incense. I loooove the Dragon's Blood note in here, it's a very warm red incense, almost fuzzy and slightly musky.
Drydown: While the opening smelled like a jug of Kirkland brand chocolate-covered berries, the drydown is more sophisticated. This is now a combo of kind of fresh tart fruit, a woodsy dark chocolate note, and still that strong incense. I really love this- it's mostly incense on me, with nuances of earthy and foodie notes. The fir and dry leaves provide a slightly darker, earthier background, but they're not super apparent as individual notes. Something about the tart cranberry, which lends some astringency, along with the sweet soft chocolate, wrapped in dusky incense is really magical. This is one of my favorite incense perfumes and I have a ton.
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| Hot, red, and incensey |
After several hours: Sweet incensey chocolate. This is way more complex and nuanced than Solstice Scents' Grey's Cabin, a chocolate incense smell which is one of the only SS scents I don't own in full size because it has a really flat feeling.
Longevity: Medium
Sillage: Medium
Would an [X] lover love this? I think anyone who enjoys berry scents, Dragon's Blood, incense in general, or even red musk (this has a similar warm fuzzy feel) will really love this.
Would an [X] hater love this? I think if you hate incense, this might be a good slightly brighter take on it. It's not ultra fresh or overly fruity, so if you particularly can't stand any incensey notes, this will likely not be for you. I find it far less headshoppy than I Saw Goody Procter With the Devil, so there's that.
Where am I? The cottage of a witch at Thanksgiving.
Where would I wear this? Daytime, weekend, evening. It's not super sexy but it has a dark feel that would work well at night. It feels very autumnal, I don't think I'd wear it come springtime.
Brand: Deconstructing Eden
Availability: Autumn 2015 Limited Edition
Notes: Warm Autumn spices, a hint of cider, saffron, leather, tolu balsam, dark amber, cedar, maple leaves, moss and a drop of patchouli.
First impression out of bottle: Savory leather and apple cider
Freshly applied: New car leather, saffron (which always gives me a savory-spice feel), patchouli, and a teensy bit of apple.
Drydown: More warm spice coming out now- not just saffron but the traditional Autumn Spice kind of thing. There's a drop of golden sweetness from the amber I think, and it's a very well balanced sweet-spice-earthy-leather scent. I don't love leather but even I can appreciate how nice this smells.
After several hours: Similar to the drydown but sweeter and with a bit less leather. Lovely morph-y blend of woods/leaves, resin, spice, and leather. Unisex. Crisp leaves, a bit of apple, the leather of your boots, and various exciting woodsy smells.
Longevity: High
Sillage: Medium high
Would an [X] lover love this? I think somebody who likes leather would really enjoy this. It's a true leather scent, but it doesn't just smell like a handbag, it smells spicy and warm and softened by wear. If you like earthy scents, this is a surprising and very autumnal earthy scent that is light on the spice, so it's not generic at all.
Would an [X] hater love this? I'm a leather hater and I still find this...better than tolerable. I have worn it for a few hours and while it's not my favorite scent, I can still sniff it and appreciate it, rather than scrubbing it off.
Where am I? Taking a walk on a brisk but sun-warmed autumn afternoon.
Where would I wear this? Autumn, daytime, on a hike, to an outdoorsy event.
Brand: Deconstructing Eden
Availability: General Catalog
Notes: Milk white skin, a haze of clove cigarette smoke, burning leaves and the blackest patchouli in my collection
First impression out of bottle: Spiced smoke
Freshly applied: Sweet smoke, spice, and patchouli
Drydown: Man I love how almost JUICY the patchouli is in here. I never thought I'd enjoy such a strong patch note but I do. It's altered by the haze of clove smoke (it REALLY does smell hazy!) and it almost starts to smell like those spiced pinecones that people decorate with in the wintertime. A little green and resiny, a little spicy and brown. I was expecting a much drier scent than this. It's sweet and dark and a bit fresh, but also a little spicy. It's not as smoky as you'd expect- more like toasted cloves than real smoke.
After several hours: FACCCCKKK. I understand it now. I *get* patchouli, completely and entirely. I feel like this scent is 80% patchouli, but it's delicate, juicy, like a crushed green leaf. There's a bit of clove and spice, but really it's all just ephemeral ingredients writhing around the patchouli and conspiring to make it smell absolutely glorious.
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| Wet, wonderful patchouli |
Longevity: High
Sillage: High
Would an [X] lover love this? A patchouli lover would be like YEAH BUDDY and bathe in this.
Would an [X] hater love this? A patchouli hater would smell this and be like WAIT A MINUTE, IS THAT YOU, PATCHOULI? Everyone needs to try this.
Where am I? Heading home from a death metal concert by way of a dark forest path after a rainstorm.
Where would I wear this? I love the juicy earthiness, so I would absolutely wear this during the day. To me it's so green it doesn't read sexy/nighttime but for a man, it might be. I prefer sweeter scents for night wear, but this is a year-round one for me.
Brand: Cocoa Pink
Availability: General Catalog Autumn/Winter (N/A in Spring/Summer)
Notes: The delicious aroma of Pink Sugar mingling with the sweet presence of bonfire smoke and burning leaves.
First impression out of bottle: Sweet woodsmoke
Freshly applied: Realistic woodsmoke and pine resin
Drydown: Fluffy sweet Pink Sugar emerges (hello darling) and mingles perfectly with the sweet and sour smell of burning leaves and wood. This is such a weirdly perfect mix of sweet with earthy. I was expecting this to be heavy on the Pink Sugar, but I'd say it's 35% Pink Sugar with the rest being that awesome bonfire scent. The bonfire is very similar to Long Winter Farm Campfire, a little fresh and damp, a little hot and smoky.
After several hours: Sweet smokiness, more woodsy and less damp/earthy/leafy than before.
Longevity: High
Sillage: High
Would an [X] lover love this? Anyone who enjoys cotton candy, Pink Sugar or its dupes, Black Sugar from Sixteen92, or bonfire scents should try this. It's a very interesting take on a theme and I love it.
Would an [X] hater love this? People who hate sweet or smoky scents might find this blah. I think the smoke and earthiness is tempered by the sweet sugar, so if you found some common campfire/smoke scents went weird on you, this could be your solution.
Where am I? Wearing Pink Sugar perfume, on a date to sit by a bonfire. Smells like holding hands as a teenager after a night spent outdoors.
Where would I wear this? On a date or on the weekend. Even for daytime, probably, as I wear things like Solstice Scents Smoky Mountain Mallow wherever, whenever (we're meant to be together...)
