Cocoa Pink Caramelized Pears Review

Brand: Cocoa Pink
Availability: General Catalog Autumn/Winter (N/A in Spring/Summer)
Notes: Heated crimson D'anjou pears smothered with gobs of melted caramel and sprinkled with natural dark brown sugar.

First impression out of bottle: Fruity sugar

Freshly applied: Juicy pear with brown sugar

Drydown: The pears are a lot more buttery now, like they're perched on top of a shortbread crust. Less juicy than in the opening. This smells more like cream infused with pears, rather than cooked pears by themselves. I've noticed with many indie fragrances that it's hard to get pear right (even harder than apple!)

After several hours: The buttery sweetness is the most prominent note. It smells a bit like buttered toast, but sweeter. Then on top is a very thin layer of pear jam. I like this for a lightly fruity gourmand. Reminds me of Possets Perkin- The Cook's Tale. I actually like the fruitiness here and it's more apparent than it was on the initial drydown but it's not...100% pear. Maybe like pear mixed with berry.

Smells like pear-berry jam on buttered toast

Longevity: Medium
Sillage: Low-medium

Would an [X] lover love this? I think this would be a disappointment to someone who wanted a super strong pear smell. It's not POW pear, it's more subtle. If you like fruity scents in general, this is a really cute flirty one. 

Would an [X] hater love this? Pear haters probably won't even recognize this as pear. If you hate fruit notes in general, this won't be one that changes your mind. Try something a little more complex with more vanilla/wood.

Where am I? Eating toast with jam while wearing cozy socks during Christmas vacation. My mom used to always have really fun different jams around the house and this takes me back to her making me toast. Toast always tastes better when moms make it.

Where would I wear this? Definitely daytime scent, good for winter for the cozy nostalgia, but the fruitiness makes it good for warm weather too. This was a surprise hit. At first I was unhappy with the subtle pear but it turned into something really fun and toothsome.

Cocoa Pink Bonfire Pumpkins Review

Brand: Cocoa Pink
Availability: General Catalog Autumn/Winter (N/A in Spring/Summer)
Notes: This scent started out as an accident then turned into my personal all time favorite scent.  This year I decided to share.  We accidentally mixed Pumpkin porridge with Marshmallow Fireside and created a sensational creamy bonfire scent with notes of maple oats drizzled with pure golden clover honey, a pinch of muscovado sugar all topped with a dollop of sugared pumpkin puree plus toasted vanilla marshmallows over a roaring fire.  This is a smoky scent.

First impression out of bottle: Smoky maple sugar

Freshly applied: Sweet smoky maple candy

Mmmm soft maple candy

Drydown: Pumpkin comes out to play and mingles with the maple scent over a soft note of oats/general gourmandy sweetness. Honestly not all that smoky. I was expecting more BONFIRE but it's nicely woven into the food notes. This smells more like the "cooked" warm smell of freshly made breakfast food, not the smell of a bonfire. There's a tad bit of creamy gray smoke, but it's not an acrid smell. 

After several hours: Sweet mapley pumpkin porridge.

Longevity: High
Sillage: Medium

Would an [X] lover love this? Pumpkin/maple/fall gourmand lovers will adore this. 

Would an [X] hater love this? Maple haters won't like it. Anyone who despises oatmeal type scents will probably dislike it. But it's not gooey or cloying, so who knows. I find this to be a nice balance of sweet and earthy, though it's definitely MORE foodie than earthy.

Where am I? Sitting in a log cabin, eating pumpkin porridge by the fire.

Where would I wear this? For fall type activities, at night at home, to work, out and about on the weekends. It's a perfect cozy scent with something special.

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 Blueberry Skies Review

Brand: Cocoa Pink
Availability: General Catalog Summer/Spring (N/A during Autumn/Winter)
Notes: Warm blueberry muffins atop luscious billows of vanilla custard cream clouds topped with crunchy, raw sugar crystals

First impression out of bottle: Syrupy blueberries at first, like homemade blueberry compote.

Blueberry syrup

Freshly applied: Still syrupy blueberries, then a sticky molasses scent.

Molasses with cooked blueberries

Drydown: The molasses fades slightly into a more manageable brown sugar scent. I can smell something that I recognize as a “muffin scent” but it’s not 100% realistic, a bit synthetic. I wasn’t expecting this but it REALLY settles into something gorgeous after a few minutes on the skin. It’s gentle blueberry syrup, light brown sugar, and a soft sweet muffin cake. Not yellow cake like Arcana or Solstice Scent’s cake notes, this is totally that dense ultra-soft Costco muffin blueberry cake thing. This went from meh to AMAZING in 2 minutes. Also the blueberry in this is not too sharp, like dried blueberries (the way OHWTO Victuals was on me) it’s like actual blueberries steeped with sugar and water, realistic and ultra sweet.

You know what's up

After several hours: The ultimate drydown is a fluffy vanilla blueberry muffin cake. It can get a teensy bit sharp/cloying depending on my skin chemistry that day, and I find layering it with a smooth vanilla solves that problem.

Longevity: Excellent (in the alcohol-based format.) This lasts all day.
Sillage: Very high, even after I wash hands, or after 8 hours have passed.

Would an [X] lover love this? Gourmand lovers need to try, especially blueberry fans. This is a very realistic syrupy blueberry, which is hard to find.

Would an [X] hater love this? It's VERY sweet, so someone who hates gourmands will most likely feel this is too sugary.

Where am I? Biting into a warmed-up Costco muffin with a glass of milk.

Where would I wear this? Daytime, weekend, even nighttime as it's quite strong and assertive. Even though this is part of their Spring/Summer catalog, I find it's more suitable to cooler weather.

Solstice Scents Buttered Rum Mallow

Brand: Solstice Scents
Availability: Winter Limited Edition (recurring)
Notes: Rum, Marshmallow, Nutmeg, Cardamom, Clove, Butter, Cinnamon, Vanilla, Brown Sugar & All Spice

First impression out of bottle: Sharp buttery caramel, a little like butterscotch

Freshly applied: Spicy and boozy caramel

Dark rich caramel

Drydown: This smooths out when it dries down. What was a slightly sharp, almost cat piss-y screaming sweet note is now decadent burnt caramel. It smells like caramel that was cooked a touch too long, swirled with deep spiced rum, and dropped onto a mount of vanilla ice cream.

Dark caramel over smooth vanilla ice cream

After several hours: The most prominent note is a voluptuous, crazy beautiful marshmallow vanilla cream note. Smells like ice cream, marshmallow fluff, and vanilla all swirled together. A teensy bit of caramel sauce is left, but not as much as before. Still boozy, but maybe slightly less, like all the alcohol has burned off. Still very deep and spicy.

Longevity: AMAZING longevity, I washed my hands multiple times throughout the day after applying the teensiest dab of this around 11 am, and it was still VERY apparent late into the night.
Sillage: VERY HIGH. Oh god how I love the throw on this perfume. A guy on the street smelled it on me from a yard away, no lie, and complimented the scent. He thought I had some delicious baked goods in my car.

Would an [X] lover love this? A gourmand lover would be all over this. It's spicy and rich, and sweet. Not at all generic.

Would an [X] hater love this? I think a gourmand hater would be overwhelmed by this. In fact I hated it when I first bought it a few years ago, as it was too strong. Now that I embrace the sugar and spice and everything nice, I love it to bits.

Where am I? In a candy factory, brewing up some special Autumn/Winter treats

Where would I wear this? Duh everywhere. I wore it to work today, and I'd certainly wear it for a night out. I'd definitely wear this to a party/around a lot of people because I'm a shameless whore for compliments, and I'd get a kick out of people sniffing me and telling me how nice I smell all night.

Deep Midnight A Study in Brown Review

Brand: Deep Midnight
Availability: General Catalog
Notes: A scented story of aromatic copal, nutty tonka bean, oak wood smoke, and toasted sugar

First impression out of bottle: Smoky wood and sugar

Freshly applied: You can taste the crunchy brown sugar crystals, which are sweetening up the gorgeous resinous wood notes. There's also strong smoke here. It smells like a very sweet and smoky version of Solstice Scents' Attic. It has that same resiny astringency that I love, but overlaid with a toasted sugar topping.

Like this, but with sugar

Drydown: This gets less sugary as it dries, and more nutty. The tonka is a great note here that's sort of surprising. It's not sweet but it's a bit earthy in a non-woodsy way. This starts to smell more like slightly sweet toasted nuts, resin, wood, and a hint of clingy woodsmoke.

Smoky toasted nuts

After several hours: Same as above. This gets to be faint after a few hours, but is a scent that clings nonetheless. 

Longevity: High, but the sillage fades later
Sillage: Very high at first, moderate amount of time with high sillage, then toward the 8 hour mark, this fades to a whispery light scent

Would an [X] lover love this? I think any fan of woodsy perfumes would love this. It has the characteristic astringency and wood notes that someone who loves cedar, pine, redwood, teak, oud, or mahogany would like. The smoke is just enough to make you think of a forest, not like an actual fire. The sweetness never crosses over into being too girly, I can see this on a man or a woman.

Would an [X] hater love this? I think even people who are frightened of woodsy scents or find them too assertive would love this. It's playful, a little lilting and charming, not super straightforward or bold. It's got strong, assertive notes, but it's a little sweet and fuzzy around the edges. I think this is a beginner-friendly scent, especially for a man who isn't accustomed to wearing perfumes.

Where am I? t makes me think of your hot lumberjack boyfriend who comes in from the cold with his flannel shirt stinking of wood and smoke. Then he eats a plate of cookies, and you wear the flannel the next day and it's a beautiful mix of earthy natural notes and sweet gourmand.

Where would I wear this? Work, home, weekdays. It's not quite sexy/sultry enough for nighttime. I like very girly scents, so maybe that's why it reads more daytime to me. It's sexy in a subtle, masculine way, but not ostentatious, so definitely work-appropriate. This has a cold-weather feel, but would be good to wear in the last hot days of September as well.

Haus of Gloi Sweet Potato Treat Review

Brand: Haus of Gloi
Availability: Limited Edition/Reverie/Winter
Notes: Sweet potatoes with mild spices, butter and brown sugar baked off with marshmallows

First impression out of bottle: Syrupy sweet squash with brown sugar

Freshly applied: Mmm coconut flakes, pecans, butter, brown sugar, and spice

Drydown: Same as first impression/fresh application, but with more sweet potato. Really smells like a sweet potato casserole, creamy purée under a crispy topping.

After several hours: The complexity of the brown sugar and nutty notes fades, and you end up with a nice, buttery spiced sweet scent. This turns more generic after a while, but the first few hours are great.

Longevity: High, but the ultimate drydown is a lot more simplistic than the initial one
Sillage: High, the spice notes are especially noticeable. 

Would an [X] lover love this? I think a spicy gourmand lover would really go for this. It's a tad unusual with the nuts and butter, so it's not just your average pumpkin spice type scent. However, it does fade into something more generic, so if you have a zillion fall spicy gourmands, this wouldn't be an absolute must.

Would an [X] hater love this? A spicy gourmand hater would probably dislike this quite a bit. I think it can come off as sickly sweet, and I don't believe there's much in here that would change your mind or surprise you if you hate these types of autumnal sweet scents.

Where am I? I'm toasting the topping for my aunt's sweet potato casserole at Thanksgiving. I'm sneaking bites of the crunchy bits and using a spatula to smooth out the sweet potato purée before I pop it back in the oven.

Where would I wear this? I would wear this at Thanksgiving so I don't clash. No but really, I see this as a cozy, homey scent to wear in bed or while watching movies. I would wear this out and about on the weekend during the fall or winter. It's a bit too homey/rich for work, though I can see my coworkers going gaga for this scent.