NAVA Carnival Arcane Review

Brand: NAVA
Availability: General Catalog

Notes: Black Kettle Corn with tendrils of black spun sugar that weave, like a web, though ethereal funnel cakes drizzled with aged black Crystal vanilla musk, Crystalline Syrup and sweet & salty accords

First impression out of bottle: Fluffy Kettle Corn


Freshly applied: Salty-sweet popcorn, over an almost fruity syrup base. I don't smell Crystalline that much...it's fruity and a bit "thin" smelling.

Drydown: Still lovely Kettle Corn, but now the thin/fruity syrup smell has been replaced with a really nice musky sweet smell. Crystalline vanilla is generally a pure, fluffy, musky vanilla and that comes across here, but it's a bit less complex and more playful/cotton-candy-like. I think it's nicely balanced as-is, but I want more of the Kettle Corn scent. I think this would be dynamite with more dark, caramelized notes.

After several hours: Same fluffy soft savory-sweet. Like Rice Krispie treats and cotton candy.

Pink fluffy Kettle Corn

Longevity: High
Sillage: Medium

Would an [X] lover love this? Gourmand lovers who like salty scents might enjoy this. I've never tried Sixteen92 Shadow Show but this sounds similar, without the metallic notes and earthy notes. It's very straightforward.

Would an [X] hater love this? I think gourmand haters won't like this. It's too straightforward and doesn't introduce any unexpected notes.

Where am I? Making carnival-themed treats for a kid's birthday party. Not actually at a real carnival though. 

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

Cocoa Pink Blackberry Sugar Review

Brand: Cocoa Pink
Availability: General Catalog
Notes: Blackberry, Sugar Whipped Cotton Candy, and a splash of Candy floss.

First impression out of bottle: Tart blackberries

Freshly applied: Blackberry cotton candy

Drydown: Still blackberry cotton candy. This is fluffy and yummy like Long Winter Farm Unicorn Farts, but the character is distinctly blackberry, not strawberry. 

After several hours: As it wears, it becomes sweeter and less fruity I think. So after a few hours you end up with a very sugary, plush purple cotton candy with only a hint of realistic blackberry twist. There's a bit of sugaryness that could be frosting. Could be good and more complex layered with Cocoa Pink's Midnight Hag!

Longevity: High
Sillage: Medium

Would an [X] lover love this? I think anyone who enjoys cotton candy would like this- it's a little different from the usual strawberry cotton candy and really evokes a purpley berry candy. 

Would an [X] hater love this? Someone who dislikes cotton candy won't find this very nice. If there were earthier or spicier scents mixed in, then it might be a different case, but there's nothing tempering the chirpy sweet fruitiness here.

Where am I? At a berry harvest fair, eating some specialty blackberry cotton candy

Where would I wear this? Probably for daytime, weekend stuff mostly. I think I prefer my cotton candy scents with a little dark twist, whether that's cocoa (Sixteen92 Black Sugar), smoke (Cocoa Pink Pink Bonfire), or more variety in the sweetness (Aquolina Pink Sugar.)

Cocoa Pink Pink Bonfire Review

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...)

Solstice Scents Foxcroft Fairgrounds Review

Brand: Solstice Scents
Availability: General Catalog
Notes: Cotton Candy, Cream Soda, Vanilla Taffy, Gridling's Funnel Cakes, Powdered Sugar, Crisp Fall Air, Woodsmoke & a Tendril of Incense

First impression out of bottle: Cotton candy and cream soda. 

Freshly applied:First, cotton candy, but not like Solstice Scent’s discontinued Pink Sugar. It’s a little deeper, not so fluffy. I think that’s the cream soda making it deep/creamy golden. There’s a hint of earthiness/airiness from the smoke and fall air but not so much to make this a dark scent. 

Luxurious sweet cotton candy

Drydown: I smell the powdered sugar now, and it’s amazing that it’s not a generic sweet smell. It’s the actual scent of powdered sugar when you get it wet. Smells like making royal icing! The whole thing is less overwhelmingly sugary than other cotton candy fragrances, there’s a coolness that comes from the crisp air (really does smell like November air) and the smoke/incense. I’d say it’s at least 70% air/earth with only 30% foodie notes, definitely not a straight-up gourmand. 

A perfect, powdered sugar-laden funnel cake joins the cotton candy

After several hours: A little incense peeks out on the later drydown and mingles nicely with the funnel cake/powdered sugar but it’s not a heavy spiced scent. I thought I would be meh on this but it’s actually lovely.

The foodie scents are combined with the best autumnal air scent ever

Longevity: High. This lasts the whole day
Sillage: High. It goes down to medium-high later in the day but is still very noticeable

Would an [X] lover love this? I think a gourmand lover would like this a lot. I usually like traditional gourmands, but this has a different, earthy twist that works so well.

Would an [X] hater love this? I think gourmand haters need to try it, because it's very unexpected and not sweet in a cloying way.

Where am I? This isn't a busy/clamoring scent like being RIGHT in the middle of a fair. It's like you're standing on a hill just above the fairgrounds, smelling the edible treats wafting through the air, a touch of woodsmoke on the October/November breeze, and a hint of incense from a fortuneteller's caravan. It's right when the sun is setting and the air is cooling off.

Where would I wear this? Work, weekend, even maybe a night out. It's not a light scent but it's also not heavily dark or spiced, so I think it's very versatile. It's one of my absolute favorites.

Long Winter Farm Unicorn Farts Review

Brand: Long Winter Farm
Availability: General Catalog
Notes: strawberry cotton candy and spearmint

First impression out of bottle: Minty fresh cotton candy

Freshly applied: This is a true perfect blend of pink cotton candy and mint. The mint doesn’t smell like a breath mint, it’s actually fused really well with the cotton candy. I get both the fluffy sugariness and the fresh minty feel. If I breathe it in more deeply, I smell the accurate crystallized spun sugar smell of cotton candy, with a hint of berry sweetness. This reminds me SO MUCH of going to Disney On Ice(!) shows as a little kid. I was obsessed with cotton candy, so I’d always share a cone with my mom, usually I got one of those commemorative character cups/containers to go with it. This smells like the memory of that cotton candy with the briskness of being in the ice skating rink. The mint tempers the cotton candy perfectly and it’s not too sweet. 

Fresh pink cotton candy with some mint

Drydown: Weirdly the smell combines and becomes the exact smell of sweetened adzuki bean paste. I love this smell, but it's certainly a weird impression to get from something as simple as mint/candy. It still smells like I described above, but if you know what red bean paste smells like, you'll think of it too.

Sweet, rich adzuki bean paste

After several hours: Basically the same, but a lot fainter

Longevity: Not very good for a cotton candy scent (which usually last forever on me.) Probably 3 hours at strong sillage, then another 2 hours at whisper-soft throw.
Sillage: At first, medium-high, then dies down to very soft.

Would an [X] lover love this? If you like cotton candy scents, give this a try. It's different from the usual offerings. It's a LOT fruitier than something like Pink Sugar, and less musky/sexy.

Would an [X] hater love this? A cotton candy hater would probably find this too sweet. But if you hate Pink Sugar, you might think this is a little more refreshing and palatable.

Where am I? Ice skating rink, eating cotton candy.

Where would I wear this? This is definitely a daytime scent. It's not too sweet for work, and it would be great in the summer but the mint makes it nice for winter too.

NAVA Pumpkin #13 Review

Brand: Nocturne Alchemy
Availability: Limited Edition Halloween 2015
Notes: Crystalline Vanilla Pumpkin. Fresh Pumpkin Pie doused with Cotton Candy, Soft Pumpkin Pie Spices and Crystalline Vanilla SL

First impression out of bottle: Cotton candy that's weirdly not very sweet.

Freshly applied: Much stronger vanilla and cotton candy feel than Pumpkin 7. The creamy pumpkin here is very similar to Pumpkin 7, but it’s a teensy bit more spiced and foodie. Like you’ve taken the purée from 7 and started to make it into dessert already. 

Drydown: I didn’t love the opening, it was kind of bland cotton candyish, but now I’m loving the musky vanilla of the Crystalline note melding with the sharp sweetness of the cotton candy and the underlying pumpkin pie. Sweet, fluffy, gorgeous. It’s like if you somehow magically transformed pumpkin pie INTO cotton candy.

After several hours: Cotton candy with a hint of pumpkin spice

Lightly spiced pumpkin cotton candy

Longevity: High
Sillage: Medium/High- cotton candy usually projects hard on me, but the Crystalline note from NAVA (while persistent) is a sort of tricksy note that drifts in and out of your periphery. It is detectable but later in its life is hard to smell when you're SNIFFING your wrist. But you will smell it randomly when you're walking around. Magical.

Would an [X] lover love this? A pumpkin lover would really go for this. It's a nice spin on your average pumpkin-spice scent. A cotton candy lover would also probably enjoy as it's a good change from the usual fruity-candy fare.

Would an [X] hater love this? A pumpkin hater probably wouldn't like this. It's not my favorite of the NAVA pumpkins so I don't think this will win hearts or minds simply because it incorporates interesting cotton candy.

Where am I? A carnival in Halloweentown! 

Where would I wear this? Out and about, work, dates, to sleep.

NAVA Trick or Treat Review

Brand: Nocturne Alchemy
Availability: Limited Edition Halloween 2015
Notes: Black Vanilla Caramel, Black Raspberry Sugar, Black Sugar, Bastet's Black Amber, Candy Corn, Black Cotton Candy, Blue Sugar Cream, Vanilla Flesh, Hot Cocoa Accord, Chocolate Sugar, Angel Food Cake and French Vanilla

First impression out of bottle: Alcoholic raspberry chocolate, like a cherry cordial truffle but with raspberry instead!

Freshly applied: Super sweet chocolate ganache and raspberry syrup

Substitute raspberry instead of cherry

Drydown: A little less chocolatey (boo) with a little stronger raspberry and a fluffy note that I think is the cotton candy. NAVA cake/gourmand notes tend to go a bit plasticky/dusty on me, which is so unfortunate. This seems to be straddling the line of perfect- sweet and plasticky. 

After several hours: This is like a gentler soft cocoa raspberry with a strong vanilla character after a few hours. I feel like the initial scent and the ultimate scent are DA BOMB, but the middle part is a leeeetle bit cloying. I can tolerate it though. The drydown is perfect soft vanilla wrapped around a chocolate raspberry heart.

Fluffy vanilla-raspberry with a hint of chocolate

Longevity: High
Sillage: Medium. I can smell this very strongly when first applied but it dies down to medium throw and turns into a subtle sweet fruity gourmand.

Would an [X] lover love this? Chocolate lovers would probably be all over this, though the strong chocolate dies down early on and becomes a background player. I think if you have a fondness for raspberry this would be the perfect perfume for you. It's definitely syrupy/jammy, like the inside of a bonbon. This is no "sun-ripened raspberry," it's candy and syrup.

Would an [X] hater love this? I think a gourmand hater would probably dislike this. It is very candied and a teensy bit sickly sweet, though as a foodie perfume lover, I don't find it overwhelming. This won't convert gourmand haters.

Where am I? Eating bonbons in an expensive candy store

Where would I wear this? I would wear this to work, for a night out layered with something else (maybe another chocolate scent), and definitely as a fun weekend scent. It's not quite bright and not quite dark, kind of right in the middle. Good for daytime or night, and I can definitely see this in mid-winter or as a nice summer scent. It's quite playful but not super young.