Sarawen Pixie Dust Review

Brand: Sarawen
Availability: General Catalog
Notes: sweet orange, vanilla cake, honey, sugar

First impression out of bottle: Cinnabon with cream cheese glaze.

Freshly applied: Cream cheese icing and a hint of Tang.

Horrifying.

Drydown: Sticky dark honey and Tang. This has an unsophisticated sticky feel. Like you spilled orange juice and syrup on a tablecloth and it just dried.

After several hours: A bit less gross than the initial drydown, but mainly like pre-packaged cake with a hint of orange icing.

Like something you'd pick up in a gas station

Longevity: Medium
Sillage: Low-medium

Would an [X] lover love this? I don't think this is a sophisticated/unusual gourmand. I think Sarawen's cake notes are weak and nothing compared to something like Arcana or Solstice Scents, who really develop a true voluptuous set of cakey/gourmand accords. 

Would an [X] hater love this? I don't think a gourmand hater would like this. It's everything that can go wrong with a foodie perfume.

Where am I? Eating cake from a rest stop on a road trip with a stomachache. 

Where would I wear this? I wouldn't. If it worked on me, maybe daytime or work. 

Cocoa Pink Winchester House Kitchen Review

Brand: Cocoa Pink
Availability: General Catalog Autumn/Winter (N/A in Spring/Summer)
Notes: The distinct aroma of autumn in the Winchester house kitchen with notes of aged oak, fresh baked pumpkin pie, 5 fold orange essential oil coated in the warm essence of light muscovado sugar, fresh ginger, sticky gobs of benzoin, warm buttery caramel simmering on the stovetop and just the barest hint of clove.

First impression out of bottle: Crystallized ginger

Freshly applied: Whoa knock you down crystallized sweet ginger mixed with fresh citrusy ginger. 

Drydown: There's a hint of oak playing around with the ginger scent. This is such a fresh and zesty scent- it makes me think of an Asian spa, not a warm haunted kitchen. I can sort of smell the sugary bits trying to get out, but it's still overwhelmingly a fresh ginger scent. I think the orange essential oil is helping that zestiness be at the forefront. 

After several hours: Mostly wood now with some hints of ginger. I honestly never smell any of the other dessert scents.

Longevity: High
Sillage: Medium

Would an [X] lover love this? Fresh ginger lovers need this- it's not your powdered spice cabinet ginger.

Would an [X] hater love this? Ginger haters will despise this, and citrus haters too. 

Where am I? Smells like you used ginger-based organic room cleaner to clean out an old wooden house. The smell of ginger kind of lingers in a pleasant, clean way but isn't overpowering. 

Where would I wear this? Daytime, to clean the house, work, a brisk fall day that's not too cold yet.

Cocoa Pink The Un-Red Review

Brand: Cocoa Pink
Availability: General Catalog Autumn/Winter (N/A in Spring/Summer)
Notes: This blend would make any vampire or other undead creature stalk your bathroom. Buckets of bloody orange juice, sweet vanilla, bourbon vanilla, sandalwoods and ambers. 

First impression out of bottle: Campari and orange juice (it was my mom's signature drink in the '90s, ok?)

Freshly applied: Tart, super nice blood orange juice, like the kind you'd find freshly-pressed in Ina Garten's kitchen.

"If you can't harvest your blood oranges from a centuries-old Sicilian orchard...store-bought will be fine."

Drydown: Same tart luscious blood orange juice, now with a beautiful sweet vanilla woods tone. I really do get the "buckets" of juice smell, because it has kind of a cascading juicy smell. Reminds me of the scent you get from pouring a glass of fresh blood orange juice. The vanilla sandalwood background is so soft and almost fuzzy. This is like the gorgeous but demure sister of the brash and sexy grown-up creamsicle Lucrezia Borgia from Deconstructing Eden. Where that has patchouli and labdanum to deepen and adult-ify the blend, this relies on more innocent sandalwood vanilla. 

Sophisticated vanilla orange

After several hours: Same, but lighter on the citrus and more focused on the soft vanilla sandalwood. 

Longevity: High
Sillage: Medium. The blood orange isn't POW after the first few minutes, but overall the perfume has nice throw and it doesn't immediately lose the citrus. 

Would an [X] lover love this? Citrus-vanilla lovers, i.e. members of the Possets Dance With Me army, will really like this. It's fluffy and sweet without being childish, thanks to the sophisticated blood orange.

Would an [X] hater love this? I think if you hate sandalwood, vanilla, and orange, then you can give this a pass. If you are open to any of those notes, then try it out as it's a really fun blend of the three.

Where am I? Eating a creamy citrus dessert in a room filled with sandalwood knicknacks.

Where would I wear this? This is a daytime scent to me, but I'd wear it for summer or winter, work or social stuff. I think the notes are a great marriage that don't specifically scream one occasion or weather type.