What's That Smell? OSMANTHUS

In the "What's That Smell?" series,  I'll explain some of the less obvious perfume notes that crop up in many indie perfumes. Keep in mind my descriptions and comparisons are based on my own experiences and your impressions may not be the same. Perfume notes are NOT ingredients. They can be natural essences, artificial isolated compounds that imitate the natural substance, blended accords, or a combination. Therefore, the note you like in one perfume may be unrecognizable in another. As with all sensory, subjective things, your mileage may vary.

Like heliotrope, osmanthus is a flower that doesn't have a traditional floral smell. In fact, osmanthus (sometimes referred to as tea olive) has a distinctive fruity aroma. It smells a lot like peach and apricot. Often, osmanthus is used to blend fruity and floral notes together in a sweet, natural way. Because it straddles the fruity/floral line, it can be used as a mixer to harmonize disparate notes, but it's characteristic and lush on its own when it takes on a starring role.

The scent profile of osmanthus has some very distinctive components, that when blended together, yield a really pleasant and easy-to-like aroma. It contains some of the white floral nuances of jasmine (accounting for its lushness), some creamy apricotty notes that give it a fruity feel, and a touch of a powdery violet-like scent which makes for an inoffensive floral twist. Imagine sliced apricots and peaches, swaddled in light whipped cream and a dusting of powdered sugar, and you have the essence of osmanthus.

Perfumes featuring osmanthus:

• Cocoa Pink Paper Butterfly: This spring-y fragrance is entirely dedicated to showcasing the distinctive osmanthus scent. Its light, white amber notes underscore the powdery nuances, and the musk and cream complement the silky sweetness. This is a truly enchanting, innocent scent that gives you a great idea of what perfumers love about the osmanthus flower. Please note this is a seasonal fragrance, and is only available in Spring/Summer.
• Solstice Scents Attic: Here, osmanthus attar is used very sparingly to give a hint of sweetness and coziness to a primarily-wood blend. The main components of this scent are cedar and sandalwood, so it's a powerful, hearty scent, but the vanilla and osmanthus add a touch of natural sweetness that pulls it back from being a true lumberjack scent. Unisex.
• Cocoa Pink Faded Memories: In this scent, osmanthus is heady and syrupy, like candied apricot. It mingles with the deep honeyed resin notes of copal and amber and dances with the sweet lush vanilla. It's not tamed or restrained, in fact it's pushed over the top into sweet and vibrant. This can be overpowering in large doses, but applied sparingly it has a wonderfully juicy and complex sweetness.

What's That Smell? LINDEN BLOSSOM

In the "What's That Smell?" series,  I'll explain some of the less obvious perfume notes that crop up in many indie perfumes. Keep in mind my descriptions and comparisons are based on my own experiences and your impressions may not be the same. Perfume notes are NOT ingredients. They can be natural essences, artificial isolated compounds that imitate the natural substance, blended accords, or a combination. Therefore, the note you like in one perfume may be unrecognizable in another. As with all sensory, subjective things, your mileage may vary.

Linden blossom is one of the floral notes you won't find by visiting your local flower shop. Linden is also called "lime blossom." It's a beautifully bright, sunny, sweet, and sharp scent. It's reminiscent of honey, honeysuckle, and grass. As a perfume note, I think it needs to be balanced by deeper or smoother notes, as its honeyed vibes can tip dangerously into cloying or powdery when not used correctly. Used right, it smells like being outdoors in a park on a sunny spring day. It smells juicy, sharp, bright, and very sweet. Although it has a powerful sweetness, the greenish sap nuances make this note versatile, more so than honeysuckle in my opinion, because it can be used as a brightener in masculine blends too.

Perfumes featuring linden blossom: 

• Possets Linden Blossom Tea: Linden is the main note in this perfume, and it's at its most bright and honeyed. This doesn't actually smell like a cup of tea- it smells a bit grassy, green, and syrupy, like the pollen from a flowering tree. This blend really underscores the green vibrancy of linden, which makes the whole scent a bit more unisex. A woman or man could wear this, and it wouldn't be out of place.
• Deconstructing Eden Beloved: This is a more feminine scent, fruity, fluffy, and sweet. The apple and cucumber have a raw, vegetal juiciness that is only made more complex and interesting from the sweet green linden. I love how the linden functions as a fluffy sweet AND a bright green modifier here, because there are no contradictions or jarring combinations here, just seamless fruity-floral harmony.
• Deconstructing Eden Jealousy: Another DE scent, this one is far more masculine and powerful than Beloved. SO incredibly green, this fragrance is wild, jungly, fresh, and herbaceous. There's basil and figs, which have a raw green quality, and the touch of linden sweetens the blend without creating an overpowering floral impression. 

Common Brimstone Godfrey's Cordial Review

Brand: Common Brimstone
Availability: General Catalog
Notes: mixes poppies with honey, vanilla, cinnamon and clove.

First impression out of bottle: Powdery sweet baby oil

Freshly applied: Old-fashioned baby oil with a hint of spice

Drydown: There's a hint of soft gold honey, some spice, but it's mostly that round, musky sweetness that smells like really expensive baby oil. It's not gross and chemical-y or too sweet, but it smells SUPER babyish/old-fashioned. I actually don't hate it but I doubt I would wear this much. There's something more sophisticated and resinous that stops this from being a purely face-cream scent.

After several hours: Not much spice left, mostly sweet round baby oil. This is a very simple but expensive-smelling scent. It smells like a luxurious midcentury ladies cosmetic product.

Longevity: High
Sillage: Medium

Would an [X] lover love this? I think if you love the scent of baby oil, old-fashioned cosmetics (like Pond's Cold Cream, Nivea, etc), or powdery scents in general, you will love this. 

Would an [X] hater love this? If you hate powdery scents, this is not for you. I like it a bit, but I'm sensitive to powder and it's a little simplistic for me. I think with a touch more spice I would enjoy it more.

Where am I? Applying Nivea/Ponds before bedtime in a sophisticated powder room.

Where would I wear this? To bed, daytime, spring, summer

Deconstructing Eden Legare Review

Brand: Deconstructing Eden
Availability: General Catalog
Notes: Mahogany, magnolias, gardenias, spanish moss, iced tea and petitgrain

First impression out of bottle: Cologne and bergamot 

Freshly applied: Mmm floral but green cologne smell. Sophisticated and unisex like something in a fancy hotel shower.

Drydown: The soft white florals are blossoming (har) now and making this way less green/cologne like. The petitgrain (which generally smells like bergamot) is prominent but it's not a citrusy scent. I can smell a really true, golden brown iced tea. I can smell the flowers from the garden, the mossy-woodsiness of the trees lining the drive, and a fresh pitcher of iced tea straight from the fridge. I think if you love Lady Nada, this is like a slightly less frilly/girly version. It combines a certain citrus freshness with a pillowy white flower vibe.

Drinking tea in a flower garden in the South

After several hours: Still cold brown tea and white florals. I would say at this point the white florals are more voluptuous and prominent, comprising at least 50-60% of the scent. The iced tea in this really provides the perfect fresh/cold background, but is maybe only 25-30% of the entire scent. It's not zingy like lemon tea or over the top, just cold and dark and sweet. The moss and mahogany are giving an earthy but not dirty foundation. I don't think this is masculine, but I can easily see a man wearing it because it kind of melds with the skin's natural scent. It smells glorious but if I didn't know the notes, I might not be able to say with certainty that it was floral tea. It's not a literal gourmand, much more of an atmospheric one. 

Longevity: High
Sillage: Medium

Would an [X] lover love this? I think somebody who likes white florals would really enjoy this, as it's a fresh but NOT green take on the theme. If you like unisex perfumes that aren't your basic hurr-durr Green Fresh Cologne, this would also be interesting. Finally, if you're a tea fan you will probably love it, but be warned it doesn't literally smell like tea leaves. The scent gives the suggestion of the temperature, briskness, and color of iced black tea without being overtly astringent or herbaceous.

Would an [X] hater love this? I think white floral/tea haters would definitely like this, as it's a very clever mixture of the two, and it's not too obvious. Tea scents can be sour/bitter, and this is neither. White florals can be too sweet or heady, and this doesn't have that issue either.

Where am I? Drinking iced tea on a pristine white porch.

Where would I wear this? Definitely a great spring/summer scent. It's too bad it's winter, or I would really want to wear this a lot. I see this as a daytime scent. It's perfect for work or weekend as it's inoffensive but whimsical enough to be fun. 

Sarawen Mina Review

Brand: Sarawen
Availability: General Catalog
Notes: rose accord, musk, rosewood, incense, myrrh

First impression out of bottle: Rose and tea

Freshly applied: Lush juicy rose

Like a beverage made from rose petals.

Drydown: Very pleasant deep pink rose scent with a hint of warmth. I think the myrrh is well-placed here as it lends a fruitiness that isn't fruit. You will sometimes see raspberry mixed with rose and that can go a bit Kool-Aid-y or too RED, but the myrrh makes this bright/juicy without tipping into very edible territory. If I inhale VERY deeply I get the fuzzier deep incense and soft wood notes, but it's very heavy on the musky rose and myrrh. I get the sense of a cosmetic product, like a rose face cream.

After several hours: Myrrh and wood with a bit less of the musky rose. I enjoy this at all stages actually. I do wish that there was a stronger rosewood/wood note but I think it will be great layered with a sandalwood perfume such as NAVA's Santalum.

Longevity: Medium
Sillage: Medium

Would an [X] lover love this? I think lots of rose lovers will enjoy this. It's a pretty, kind of old-fashioned interpretation of rose. Very Crabtree & Evelyn/Yardley's-reminiscent which I enjoy.

Would an [X] hater love this? I think someone who hates rose will find this pretty grating and standard. I personally embrace the more old-fashioned/grandmotherly associations with the flower, but if you dislike that aspect, I don't think this is an updated twist that will change your mind.

Where am I? A fancy expat grandma's apartment- mix of Western beauty stuff with something a bit Eastern.

Where would I wear this? Daytime, weekend, work. I would wear this to sleep after taking a bubble bath and moisturizing. 

Deconstructing Eden Lady Nada Review

Brand: Deconstructing Eden
Availability: General Catalog
Notes: Pink lemonade jasmine, pink roses and udambara blossoms

First impression out of bottle: Pink lemonade, like the ultra concentrated sweet and slightly tart stuff from a chain restaurant.

Mmm zesty.

Freshly applied: Delicious pink lemonade mixed with a lush soft floral. The florals in this are mostly rose with a bit of soft white jasmine mixed in at first. Overall absolutely reminds me of a department store perfume but less obnoxious. Like the kind of scent I would have adored as a 15 year old. This shouldn’t be perceived as an insult, it’s lovely and super yummy.

Drydown: Now that the initial fizzy pink lemonade has faded, I get way more jasmine in a sweet, girly, and romantic way. I am surprised by how much I like this interpretation of jasmine. It’s got the creamy lushness I like along with a really beautiful foodie fruit note, and it almost has the effect of feeling tropical. 

After several hours: Fluffy pink and white florals, creamy and lush, with a zesty spark of juicy pink lemonade.

Longevity: Very high, especially on hair and clothing.
Sillage: Medium-high, this is a perfume you can't smell if you sniff your wrist. You have to let it waft about you.

Would an [X] lover love this? Jasmine lovers need to try this fruity tropical take on the note. It's unusual and not indolic/super sexy but it's flirty and cute.

Would an [X] hater love this? I think jasmine haters would actually be fine with this- it isn't stinky or hard to wear like many jasmines. It's really creamy and fresh at the same time.

Where am I? I'm me, as an annoying 15 year old, on a beach vacation, thinking I'm hot shit (I AM THO.)

Where would I wear this? I have worn this during the daytime, summer, fall, and on dates. It's a great all-purpose scent. I think I'll have to retire it during cold weather but maybe I'll take it out when I'm missing summer. 

Solstice Scents Heart of the Night Review

Brand: Solstice Scents
Availability: General Catalog
Notes: Moroccan & Bulgarian Rose, Chocolate, Vanille, EoTN Base (Edge of the Night Base: blend of amber, oakmoss, aged patchouli, bergamot, black vanilla, a touch of red musk and buddha wood and a delicate blend of organic clove EO, star anise EO and cinnamon)

First impression out of bottle: Soft rose like in Rose Mallow Cream.

Freshly applied: Sweet lush red roses and chocolate.

Drydown: This is like a more assertive version of Rose Mallow Cream, with a kick of sexy amber and spice. It's like Rose Mallow Cream was Sandra Dee at the beginning of Grease and then morphed into Heart of the Night (all-leather-clad Sandy at the end of Grease.) There's the teensiest bit of chocolate, but not much. The chocolate keeps darting in and out but it's not a major player.

Incredibly lush sexy rose

After several hours: Still sexy creamy rose with hints of cocoa. Lovely amber and spice base which becomes dominant after a few hours (as in all SS Night perfumes.)

Longevity: Medium
Sillage: Medium

Would an [X] lover love this? I think a rose lover would fall in love with this. I was expecting a deeper, richer chocolate scent but after it dried I didn't get any. So chocolate lovers would be disappointed.

Would an [X] hater love this? Rose haters would probably dislike this, unless they had only smelled very powdery/fake roses. But if you dislike Rose Mallow Cream, chances are you will not enjoy this.

Where am I? Laying in a bed of rose petals

Where would I wear this? Nighttime, date, but it would be good for daytime too. It's honestly not that strong or brash, just very lush and pretty.

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.

NAVA Alyssum Champagne Crystalline Review

Brand: Nocturne Alchemy/NAVA
Availability: General Catalog
Notes: Egyptian Alyssum, Effervescent Champagne White Grape, a drop of Silver Sandalwood-Musk Accord and Crystalline Vanilla Bean whole

First impression out of bottle: Powdery sweet flowers at first, a teensy bit honeyed and green like linden blossoms. This reminds me of linden blossoms crossed with jasmine

Freshly applied: There’s a hint of sugary floral like what you get from gardenia. This also has quite a clean-laundry feel, a little bit of the cotton blossom vibe, like that Bath & Body Works scent from years ago. It’s like 70% beautiful white floral and 30% fabric softener. It settles into something truly heavenly- the fabric softener becomes a more natural bright fizzy green (from the champagne I believe) that nuzzles into the fluffy white sweet blossoms, and it’s a very intoxicating but strangely innocent white floral. For those of you who haven't smelled alyssum, I would describe it as: 

• 60% jasmine (pillowy, white)
• 10% linden blossom (a little honeyed and green and an eensy bit sharp)
• 30% gardenia (mature, a bit sugary, tropical)

Beautiful fresh floral alyssum scent

Drydown: As it dries, it’s basically the alyssum along with a pillowy, marshmallow like vanilla musk. The Crystalline note is used fantastically here- it melds with the flowers so I don’t get the delineated notes, I get a musky floral enveloped in creaminess. All the laundry scent is GONE as the linden-type scent has decreased, which is awesome. It’s so soft, so sweet, romantic but innocent. This is probably my favorite floral I’ve tried in months.

The florals are later joined by a beautiful fluffy creamy vanilla

After several hours: More of the same, the pillowy white vanilla musk and beautiful white florals are seamlessly intertwined and neither takes over the other.

Longevity: Crazy high. I can smell this on my wrist (where I applied then washed it off) and on my hair (where I didn't even specifically apply it) more than 8 hours later.
Sillage: High. I can smell it when I'm walking around, which is my favorite. I know a lot of people like subtle scents, but I love to smell my perfume.

Would an [X] lover love this? A white floral lover would LOVE this. It's something slightly different- less polarizing than jasmine, less traditional than gardenia or tuberose. I think the initial laundry scent might be off-putting, but that phase is gone after a few minutes, and what it turns into is worth it.

Would an [X] hater love this? I think a white floral/sweet floral hater would find this too sugary. I think it has less potential to be cloying than, say Solstice Scents Nightgown (one of my favorites) but it could still be too sugary on someone who likes earthier scents.

Where am I? I'm in a secret garden surrounded by white flowers

Where would I wear this? Everywhere...I would wear this daytime, nighttime (it's sexy in a purring way), and though it would be perfect for spring and summer, I know I'll still break it out in cold weather because it's just that gorgeous.

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.

Blooddrop Jade Review

Brand: Blooddrop
Availability: General Catalog
Notes: white amber, matcha powder, vanilla, sandalwood, cyclamen, fern, and green tea

First impression out of bottle: Mostly fern, which is a slightly earthier green note than grass. More like moss, a bit dirty and mucky and fuzzy.

Freshly applied: Still mostly fern, with some green tea poking out now. More citrusy than it ought to be, considering matcha is a dusty, earthy smell with no "brightness." This is almost a soapy green tea, like the kind of green tea you get in a body wash.

Drydown: The cyclamen shows its pale face as it dried down. Cyclamen is kind of a watery, fresh floral that smells a lot like tulips, daffodil, or somewhat like hyacinth. A bit juicy and more green in character than a rose, for instance, which smells very pink. It all ends up smelling like crushed flower stems, combined with a soft sweetness from the amber/vanilla. 

After several hours: Same green, soft floral. Like a flower shop. Not at all the matcha scent I would have hoped for. It's beautiful for a fresh green floral.

Longevity: excellent, especially considering its light nature. Watery florals aren't usually long-lasting but this lasts 5+ hours.
Sillage: See longevity, this has much higher sillage than I'm accustomed to from fresh florals.

Would an [X] lover love this? I think any lover of fresh or green fragrances would love this. It's not heavy on the floral notes, so people who don't like "girly" scents would definitely enjoy it. It's not masculine though, just a lovely fresh green scent.

Would an [X] hater love this? I'm a fresh/aquatic "hater" and I don't love this. It doesn't tip me over or change my mind. It smells like a beautiful rendition of what it's meant to be, and I'm not here for it. I miss my luxurious, obnoxious heavy florals.

Where am I? I definitely feel like I'm in a flower shop that specializes in very stately, green bouquets. No riotous color, lots of trailing ferns and pale petals.

Where would I wear this? I don't wear stuff like this myself, but I imagine it would be an awesome work scent or something to wear during yoga or your morning walk. (YOUR morning walk, the only morning walk I do is a zombie shuffle from my bed to my bathroom.)