Cocoa Pink Faded Memories Review

Brand: Cocoa Pink
Availability: General Catalog Autumn/Winter (N/A in Spring/Summer)
Notes: A blend of delicate vanillas, soft osmanthus, autumn hay bales, golden amber and copal.

First impression out of bottle: Soft, floral copal resin

Freshly applied: Mmm like an Asian antique store. The combo of osmanthus, amber, and copal is seriously giving me Asian vibes. And the copal/vanilla says antique store to me. 

Drydown: Fruity-floral (that'll be the osmanthus, which some liken to the scent of peach fruit), a bit nutty (I think that's the hay, but it makes me think of wooden furniture), sweet resinous wood. This is like the Japanese version of Golden Morning, which smelled like an Egyptian antique shop. 

Glorious osmanthus

After several hours: Still sweet, floral wood. Mmm this is unique and familiar at the same time. The osmanthus is used perfectly here- unusualy, a little lush and velvety, but also kind of vibrantly fruity. The vanilla comes out more after a while, and what a glorious woody vanilla it is. I'm always surprised when Cocoa Pink puts out these incredible "perfumey" scents considering they are so well-known for their foodie stuff. This is signature scent worthy- not some frilly fluffy seasonal concoction to be worn once and then forgotten. If you loved their Summer scent Paper Butterfly (Osmanthus, paper, golden fields of wheat, powdered sugar, cream, dry white amber grounded with the beautiful memory of soft pale musk) then this is an amazing fall version.

Longevity: High
Sillage: High

Would an [X] lover love this? I think this just needs to be smelled and judged on an individual level. It's unusual and gorgeous. With the mix of floral, vanilla, and wood notes, I think there's something here for everyone.

Would an [X] hater love this? See above. But I think amber haters probably will find this to be characteristically sweet as most ambers are and may be turned off. 

Where am I? Standing outside an antique shop, smelling osmanthus blossoms from the trees outside, catching a whiff of a mysterious lady's vanilla perfume.

Where would I wear this? Like I said, this is totally signature scent worthy. I think it has that je ne sais quoi quality that allows it to be worn daytime/night and for more professional or fun activities. It's quite mature but unusual. Not your grandma's perfume, but if she smelled it, she'd probably take it for herself too.

Cocoa Pink Golden Morning Review

Brand: Cocoa Pink
Availability: General Catalog Autumn/Winter (N/A in Spring/Summer)
Notes: Cool vanilla wrapped around honeyed, pale pumpkin gently grounded with white oak, tonka bean finished with the barest hint of copal.

First impression out of bottle: Honey

Freshly applied: Sweet honey and copal resin.

Drydown: Oh wow, this is heavenly. It smells like a NAVA perfume- like a shop full of Egyptian antiquities. It smells like honeyed resins and fine earthy woodsy notes. I get no pumpkin really- just creaminess. The tonka and oak combine to make a gorgeous woodsy background, but the main attractions are the sweet vanilla, honey, and copal.

After several hours: Still the same. Very perfumey and lush. Like I said, reminds me of NAVA, and actually also of some old BPAL perfumes I remember. Really sexy, mature, sweet, and elegant. Totally unlike some of Cocoa Pink's foodie/youthful offerings.

Sweet, resinous, woodsy like a romanticized library in Egypt

Longevity: High
Sillage: Very high.

Would an [X] lover love this? I think anyone who's a fan of sweet resinous scents would enjoy this. It's quite feminine, which isn't necessarily the case for many woodsy/resin scents, but it's so beautiful. Also I may add that the honey scent in this is not really ostentatious. Indie honeys are tough and I have had my fair share go plasticky/soapy on me but this honey wraps around the vanilla and wood notes so perfectly. 

Would an [X] hater love this? I think people who dislike resiny/syrupy scents will find this to be too strong to their liking. It settles into a very perfumed scent, so it's not a "natural" woodsy scent.

Where am I? Helping Rachel Weisz sort through ancient manuscripts.

Where would I wear this? I would wear this primarily in colder weather, and it could go either way in terms of day or night. A bit too syrupy/perfumey for warm weather though.

Possets Mayan Queen Bloodletting Sacrifice Review

Brand: Possets
Availability: Limited Edition (Possets RETOUR)
Notes: Incense smoke, copal resin, red fruit rich in iron scent, and the background of cacao and jungle atmosphere of greenery.

First impression out of bottle: EEP! Strong like sharp red fruit (almost like beets mixed with tomatoes mixed with strawberries? like a hipster juice made of these.) 

Sharp red fruit

Freshly applied: Yeah this smells like beets and a hint of iron (a gritty smell, not like blood but a bit rusty.) It smells like spicy greenery too, like a tomato plant. A hint of sweetness.

Drydown: Strong sweet beet juice, green like you pressed some of the leaves along with the root itself. A little tart and bright, very vegetal, like a raw smoothie/juice. There’s a bit of gritty cacao. I ADORE THIS. It’s super weird and super oddball and yet I love it. 

Sweet, spicy beet juice with some greenery

After several hours: The smoke is coming out heavily now, along with the incense. Oh man this really feels like the opening/initial drydown was the bloodletting, and this is like a few hours after the ceremony, when the priest comes in to clean up the mess and blow out all the candles. Gorgeous and sexy in a dirty way. I’m not a person who likes weird/unwearable scents, but this hits ALL the right unusual/beautiful notes. 

Smoky extinguished candle scent emerges

Longevity: High
Sillage: Medium/high- If I smell my wrist, it's all raw beet juice and smoke, but from a distance, I keep catching this sensual, weird sweet scent and then realizing, it's me! I love how this wafts. It's gentler from a distance.

Would an [X] lover love this? This is one you just have to try. If you loved Eternal Return from Sixteen92, you will like this I think. There's a hint of beet in E.R. and here it's front and center. Urgh. So good. 

Would an [X] hater love this? I hate green scents, and this is like all the good things about green with none of the bad things. It smells like a wild jungle and oozing bloody beets, but not grassy or cologne-y. The smoke and incense are woven very subtly into the mix, and it's all just perfect. But like I said, this is one you just have to try. You'll never know until you sample. 

Where am I? Either a hipster juice bar, or maybe like Dwight Schrute's kitchen after he juices some beets. 

Where would I wear this? I'm wearing it at work right now, but I’d definitely wear this out at night, maybe for a girls’ night when I want men to leave me alone and I want to smell powerful.

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.