Cocoa Pink Signature White Review

Brand: Cocoa Pink
Availability: General Catalog

Notes: a blend of delicate shea blossoms, rice flowers, vanilla cream, sweet sugar and heliotrope with delicate undertones of amber and sandalwood.

First impression out of bottle: Clean sweetness.

Freshly applied: Sweet amber and floral pops out a little, reminds me a lot of Alkemia's Carmen VII at this point. 

Drydown: Lovely medley of flowers, smooth clean cream, powdered sugar, and a hint of fruity-floral that reminds me a bit of lilac mixed with cherry/almond (from the heliotrope I believe.) I like the blend of food and non-food sweetness here. Very fresh and clean but soft and sweet, not at all laundry-like or zesty. 

Like a white-themed tea party

After several hours: Same soft, smooth clean white smell. 

Longevity: High
Sillage: Low/Medium

Would an [X] lover love this? I think anybody who likes subtle scents will like this because it's so light but complex and fun. It's a wonderful and different "fruity-floral" that doesn't have too many obvious notes. Nothing competes, everything blends well.

Would an [X] hater love this? I think if you dislike fruity florals or florals in general, you might find this too princessy.

Where am I? A tea party with a white color scheme. 

Where would I wear this? Daytime, summer, spring.

Cocoa Pink Genevieve Review

Brand: Cocoa Pink
Availability: Fall/Winter 2015 (N/A during Spring/Summer)
Notes: Sweet milk, bourbon vanilla, sandalwood, burning sage & smoke

First impression out of bottle: Milk and toasted smoothness.

Freshly applied: Same toast-y milk scent with the bite of dried green sage. The sage is very warm and earthy here- not savory like turkey stuffing but herbal and clean like a witch's kitchen. A bit of tartness like Ava Luxe Milk (tart in a dairy way, not unpleasantly sour though.)

The sage here is not burnt in a blackened way, but pleasantly warm

Drydown: More smooth toastiness now, like if you could have toasted rice krispie treats floating in a pool of cream. Really creamy and lush but not sugary. Love the pop of sage here. The smoke note is not super strong, it’s like a wisp of gray kitchen smoke. I love that this has a toasted scent without smelling burnt or woodsy. It's very light, soft, and clean, while having a pleasant earthy substance.

After several hours: Same but faded to a faintly smoky and sweet white skin scent.

Longevity: High
Sillage: Medium at first, then fades to a low but persistent skin scent after a few hours. Better throw and longevity than something like Caramel Popcorn Balls, which is weaker and softer.

Would an [X] lover love this? I think gourmand lovers would adore this. If you like herbs of any sort or faintly smoky scents, this is perfect.

Would an [X] hater love this? I think even people who shy away from milky scents and find they go sour will love it- this is so pleasant and inoffensively creamy

Where am I? Eating rice krispie treats in a witch's kitchen.

Where would I wear this? Daytime, work, weekend. It feels very warm and cozy for autumn, but I could wear it year round, honestly. 

Deconstructing Eden Theodora Review

Brand: Deconstructing Eden
Availability: General Catalog
Notes: Bulgarian rose absolute, Indian jasmine absolute, sandalwood, dragon's blood, frankincense, purple plums, Madagascar ginger, and precious spices

First impression out of bottle: Fruity Dragon's Blood

Freshly applied: Dragon's Blood, berries, and a hint of ginger and whiskey (sometimes DE scents with spice in them smell like whiskey on me!)

Drydown: Unfortunately, this is one of the DE scents that first takes a funky turn on me. There are very few but this is similar to Jasmine House, which turned to straight coriander and whiskey on me. I have a very similar impression from the initial drydown of Theodora. 

After several hours: So the nice thing about DE scents is even when they don't work on me, the drydown is always fabulous. In this case, it doesn't take too long (maybe 5 min) for the scent to morph out of its SPICED WHISKEY loudmouth opening into something far tamer. This turns into a slightly alcoholic (like wine and maybe a hint of brandy) purple-fruit incense scent. Dragon's Blood usually smells "red" and "dry" to me but here it smells VERY purple and almost damp and juicy. I don't get a lot of individual rose or jasmine, but I do smell a faint floral background. I definitely smell a bit of fresh ginger, which is a really nice addition. This is not overwhelmingly incense (maybe 40-50%) and it doesn't smell smoky or powdery. Just very smooth and sexy. 

Longevity: High
Sillage: Medium

Would an [X] lover love this? I think incense and plum/berry lovers will really enjoy this. It's not too juicy, not too dry, just perfect.

Would an [X] hater love this? Even if you think you dislike incense or Dragon's Blood, give this a try. I prefer Nag Champa to Dragon's Blood but this blend won me over. Sometimes the note can be too dry, too musky, but this is a very elegant and sexy version.

Where am I? A dimly lit purple tent filled with fruit, incense, and booze

Where would I wear this? Weekend, daytime, nighttime, autumn, winter, spring, summer. I think I might wear this at work but it's not really a work-mood kind of scent. I would put this on to lounge at home but also to go out on a nice date.

Cocoa Pink Cozy Cabin In the Woods Review

Brand: Cocoa Pink
Availability: General Catalog Autumn/Winter (N/A in Spring/Summer)
Notes: White Cedar trees heavily laden with soft piles of snow, sweet sandalwood, crackling freshly chopped firewood roaring from inside the glowing fireplace with the heavenly aromas of creamy sugared vanilla and gingerbread floating through the air.

First impression out of bottle: Cedar and pine

Freshly applied: Wooo hickory wood and pine. Almost like BBQ smoke (but not too smokey, just that same sweet savory thing.) Then pine pops out, it's really green and sappy. Almost makes me think of citronella. 

Citronella candles

Drydown: Yes, still citronella, but overlaid on really sweet warm woodsy notes. I can't decide if I like this because...it's basically citronella and woods. Oh god do I LIKE smelling like citronella?

After several hours: Sweet, piney woods, smoke, and citronella. I'm disappointed I get no  really distinct/differentiated foodie notes, but honestly the combination smells really good. I think the gingerbread and vanilla must be tempering the sharper notes, because it all smells awesome.

Longevity: High
Sillage: Medium

Would an [X] lover love this? This is weird, so even if you like woodsy scents, proceed with caution.

Would an [X] hater love this? If you hate smoke, fresh wood scents, and citronella, then this will probably be like death to you.

Where am I? For some reason, burning citronella in midwinter.

Where would I wear this? Camping, outdoors, daytime, nighttime. It's weird but I like it.

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.

NAVA Pumpkin #7 Review

Brand: Nocturne Alchemy
Availability: Limited Edition Halloween 2015
Notes: Amber Pumpkin perfumed with 7 rich exotic Amber notes to create the ultimate Amber perfume base for this Pumpkin infused scent. Spices of fig and raw pumpkin swim in a vat of decadent Sandalwood

First impression out of bottle: Fresh, creamy, hint of spice pumpkin. Tiny hint of something that reminds me of black tea, I think that’s the fig.

Freshly applied: Same as the initial impression, beautiful light airy pumpkin. Smells like fresh pumpkin purée and a carved jack o’ lantern, plus just a hint of spice. Not like a PSL or anything. Far less spice than #31. There’s a golden quality to this that is coming from the amber. I love the use of the amber here, almost like a syrup that’s surrounding everything.

Drydown: Yep, this is staying true. Raw/steamed pumpkin purée with a tiny hint of spice and swaddled in creamy white-gold yumminess. The hint of fig is definitely reading black tea to me, in a lovely earthy grounding way.

Pale pumpkin with warm, woodsy background

After several hours: Creamy amber and sandalwood.

Longevity: About 4 hours until it becomes a very faint skin scent
Sillage: At first, medium, then low for the rest of the day.

Would an [X] lover love this? I think anyone who likes pumpkin will find this a refreshing change of pace from the usual heavily-spiced or overly gourmand offerings.

Would an [X] hater love this? A pumpkin hater might be surprised. As this scent is more perfumed and soft, and less obviously FALL SPICE, it could be appealing even if you usually snub pumpkin scents.

Where am I? Being crowned the Pumpkin Queen at a Harvest Festival

Where would I wear this? This is a very daytime scent to me, soft, appropriate for work, but also sweet and fun enough for weekend wear. When Spring comes and I'm tired of my autumnal scents, I might still break this one out occasionally.

NAVA Black Santalum Cider

Brand: Nocturne Alchemy/NAVA
Availability: Limited Edition Halloween 2015
Notes: Rich Black Sandalwood drizzled into an old oak barrel found just outside deserted castle and filled with sticks of cinnamon, tart apple slices, cardamom and nutmeg.

First impression out of bottle: Beautiful dark cloudy apple cider, like the fresh-pressed cider you can buy from the farmer's market.

Mmmm, fresh apple cider

Freshly applied: Something a little more resinous and perfumey is peeking out to complement the bold apple cider scent. Love that the spice in this isn’t your generic Autumn Spice blend. It’s infused in the murky brown apple cider. I can tell my beloved Santalum is in here somewhere, but it’s not a woodsy scent right now. There’s a hint, like I said, of gorgeous resin that’s swelling and making the apple cider more interesting, but it’s not reading as WOOD at the moment. 

Drydown: Simply gorgeous, resinous apple cider scent with some deep blackened-brown notes lurking under the dark gorgeous apple. The Santalum note is coming out now, drier and more golden than the resiny note alone. At first it smelled like just straight apple cider from a mug, and now it smells like the cider plus the barrel it was brewed in.

Dark, resinous woodsy cider

After several hours: Resinous, a hint of cool murky apple cider, and a very blackened feel. This is resin-woodsy but not plain-woodsy. 

Longevity: High
Sillage: Medium

Would an [X] lover love this? Apple lovers NEED THIS. The apple cider scent is perfectly complemented by the wood and resin notes, so it's not a fleeting shower-gel apple, but a real murky juicy apple that lasts and lasts.

Would an [X] hater love this? This is a definite realistic apple cider scent, but it smells wet and juicy and earthy, not like a generic apple spice perfume. If you have a grudge against fall perfumes because they smell like a Yankee Candle store to you, this one might surprise you.

Where am I? I'm sitting in a cider house, smelling the pressed apple juice and old wooden beams. I’m perched on an oak barrel getting drunk off of spiced cider.

Where would I wear this? Work, weekend, autumn, winter. It's surprisingly elegant, but definitely not a sexy/girly perfume. Probably wouldn't wear for a date. 

Solstice Scents White Feather EDP Review

Brand: Solstice Scents
Availability: General Catalog, only available in Eau de Parfum, not perfume oil
Notes: Vanilla, Jasmine, Real Gardenia, Saffron, Sandalwood, Spices & More

First impression out of bottle: Super spicy and perfumey. Indoles, saffron, spice, and sour wood.

Freshly applied: Stinky, poopy indolic jasmine. Like flowers that have started to rot and turn brown. The spices and wood and incense are conspiring to smell like decaying wood. Very spicy and dank.

Drydown: All of a sudden, the dank rotten notes dissipate, and a breath of spicy, lush jasmine bursts forth. It is now a half and half hybrid of creamy jasmine illuminated by the moonlight and soft burning incense. The most exquisite gardenia note (SS's own handmade gardenia enfleurage) is helping the jasmine to be more gentle and lush. There is a sweet playful vanilla that plays around the edges of the incense but never takes over.

After several hours: Soft vanilla incense with a hint of the same gorgeous jasmine from earlier.

Photo via VTWiccan

Longevity: High
Sillage: Medium. After the initial strong burst, this very quickly becomes a medium-throw perfume. But even though I can't smell it that strongly, other people definitely smell it when passing by or hugging me. I receive a lot of compliments on this one. It also clings to clothing exceptionally well.

Photo via Solstice Scents

Would an [X] lover love this? A jasmine lover would love this, unless some of the notes went funky on their skin. As it is a bit poopy and stinky, this can morph into perfection or hell, depending on your skin chemistry. An incense lover would probably adore this, for a lighter floral take on incense.

Would an [X] hater love this? A jasmine hater would most likely not be converted by this. The only exception I can think is if they had smelled synthetic jasmines before and were put off by the bathroom cleaner ish vibe. Then they need to get a load of this. Incense haters might like this, as it avoids the heavy resin feel of some incense and focuses on the powdery, spa like aspect.

Where am I? Standing next to my parent's jasmine bush at twilight, smelling faint Japanese incense from the altar in the house. Or maybe standing in the doorway of a mountain temple hidden in the Himalayas. Either/or.

Where would I wear this? I have worn this out to dinner multiple times. I love it for that because it's kind of an intimate, romantic scent that does well in low light. I like it for work as well, but the initial smelly opening is NOT pleasant, so I have to be extra careful not to apply it fresh around other people. I will usually spritz it on outside and let it chill out for 1-2 minutes before entering someone else's space. I find it to be a scent that works well in cold weather, as the romantic spiciness makes me feel cozy, as well as hot weather, when you feel like you're constantly sweating. It's one of those scents that melds with your (ugh) body odor to make you smell sultry and hot.

NAVA Santalum Review

Brand: Nocturne Alchemy
Availability: Limited Edition (Studio Limited collection, not seasonal but once sold out, it's gone)
Notes: This is the beautiful Sandalwood imported from Alexandria infused with all Egyptian components: coconut husk, golden amber accords, golden Sandalwood resin, deep fossilized amber, golden Himalayan Cedarwood, gold Patchouli and a teardrop of golden Frankincense

First impression out of bottle: Deep spicy wood

Freshly applied: Almost animalic in its spiciness, resiny, woody. Strong like you walked into a shop that had a bunch of freshly chopped or polished wood. The spiciness is a bit over the top here. It's a blend of masculine and feminine.

Very dark, spicy sandalwood

Drydown: The spiciness calms down, and a deep golden note appears. It's warm, resinous, glowing. Like a pool of resin sliding over the heart of a tree. If this were a color it would be deep golden brown.

Slightly lighter, smoother, and less spicy sandalwood

After several hours: Same as the drydown, only it becomes fused with my skin scent so I can't tell where I end and Santalum begins. Truest deep sandalwood. No sawdust, no plastic, no vanilla, no sweetness besides what is naturally there. I never smell the patchouli as a standalone note. It is probably working its magic behind the scenes, but it never comes forth as a major player.

Longevity: High, I can smell this on my skin, hair, and clothing for days
Sillage: High, and even after it settles into a "skin scent" it's still very prominent and assertive

Would an [X] lover love this? Yes, a sandalwood lover needs this, no bones about it. It's the Ultimate Sandalwood.

Would an [X] hater love this? Maybe, maybe not. It's gorgeous but it's a truly true sandalwood. If you don't like the smell of wood or spicy wood in particular, this might be the one to change your mind, but it might reinforce what you hate about it.

Where am I? A temple built of sacred sandalwood, surrounded by glowing light and beautiful meditative stillness.

Where would I wear this? I truly do wear this for all occasions. It's a scent that both calms and energizes me. I find it appropriate for a sexy nighttime feel and a more subtle daytime vibe. It's unisex and though it's not my SO's style I can see this working equally well on a man or a woman.