Comparison Post: Cocoa Pink Strawberry Noel vs. Vampire's Lament

In comparison posts, I compare indie scents with similar notes lists. This allows me to cull my collection so that I have no repeats, and it may also be helpful for other people to decide which sounds most appealing.

The Contestants: 

Cocoa Pink Strawberry Noel (A perfectly balanced fresh strawberry that smells like real berries (not plasticy bubblegum strawberry), blended with VBN.)

Cocoa Pink Vampire's Lament (Luscious strawberry milkshake essence spiked with white amber, metallic white musk then finished off with a splash of creamy vanilla.)

How do they stack up? Strawberry Noel is very sweet, fruity in a fresh way, and a bit simple. It smells like you infused vanilla whipped cream with the essence of fresh macerated strawberries. Vampire's Lament smells exactly like strawberry ICE CREAM, which is missing from SN. It has a cold, creamy smell that is just exquisite. Less of a vanilla bean scent than in SN. VL also has a lot of musk and amber, which lend a more perfumey feel and make it feel a lot more sophisticated. SN is more of the type of scent a younger girl would favor, or maybe a good scent for a shampoo or bath product. It's very pretty, not synthetic or cheap-smelling, but less elegant. 

How similar are they? Not very similar at all! Besides having the basic foodie/berry notes in common, one smells like a lovely simple fruity lotion, and the other smells like a sort of sexy fruity, grown-up perfume. The strawberry in both is nice, but the strawberry in SN is very fresh, and the strawberry in VL is more like the flavor of strawberry ice cream.

Sillage: I have both in Cocoa Pink's EDP format, which is very high in sillage. Equally good.

Longevity: Ditto for above. Love Cocoa Pink's EDPs, they last forever.

Destashing any?: If I were to destash one, it would be Strawberry Noel. I like it enough to keep it for now, but I might destash if it gets no love come spring. I would definitely repurchase this in a hair or body product, though, as I feel it would be well-suited to that format. I do prefer Vampire's Lament as it's more sophisticated. 

Possets Strawberry Heart Review

Brand: Possets
Availability: General Catalog
Notes: Scrumptious strawberry untrammeled by anything other than the most perfect of vanillas.

First impression out of bottle: Synthetic watery strawberry

Freshly applied: Watery strawberry cough syrup

Drydown: Watery cough syrup. Very soft, even though I applied quite a bit.

After several hours: Aaaand it's gone.

This, but less intense

Longevity: Low
Sillage: Low

Would an [X] lover love this? A fruit lover might enjoy this- I've heard raves about it but it just dies a quick death on me.

Would an [X] hater love this? Meh if you hate fruit/berry scents don't even try this. Even if it has better throw on you than it did for me, it's very straightforward.

Where am I? Refusing to take my medicine as a child.

Where would I wear this? Nowhere.

Possets Eine Kleine Nachtmusik Review

Brand: Possets
Availability: Limited Edition (comes back with RETOUR)
Notes: Melon, mint, a schmere of marzipan, smoke, resin

First impression out of bottle: Sugary melon, more round and fluffy smelling than the melon in Possets' Triangulation

Freshly applied: Honeydew with a sort of squeaky-creamy almond marzipan. Oooh I get the barest whiff of beautiful green peppermint if I huff.

Marzipan infused with honeydew and a touch of peppermint

Drydown: Minty marzipan and melon. It smells kind of like…if you made a melon mojito and served it alongside marzipan candies. And that would be the weirdest cocktail party EVER. I had no idea how these notes would meld together, but it works. I don’t get smoke. The mint is now way more apparent, and the marzipan less so. After the initial realistic scent, it gets that pasty/creamy mouthfeel smell of marzipan, without the actual almond note. The mint is lazy, hazy, not super sharp or twinkly like the peppermint in Arcana Astrid’s Diadem. It’s more reminiscent of the patchouli in Wicked but obviously NOT dirty like patchouli. It’s a pure peppermint, but not wet or juicy. It smells like a freshly picked peppermint leaf, but not like a crushed leaf. The melon is hanging in there, yay! It’s a sweet, ripe honeydew note and it blends well with the creaminess and the mint. This reads seriously summer/spring to me, I don’t get any winter feels, but I love it nonetheless. Will get a lot of wear come springtime.

Picture this, plus a bit of creaminess

After several hours: Smooth sugar paste with mint, a hint of honeydew, and the smoke note peeks out. I love how Possets' smoke notes don't come out until later...it reminds me of a dinner party with the candles getting blown out at the end of the night! So cool.

Add a blown-out candle to the sweet mix

Longevity: Medium. For such a fluffy scent, this sticks around admirably. I like that the mint is grounded, so it isn't too fleeting!
Sillage: Medium. 

Would an [X] lover love this? I don't know who to recommend this to! A marzipan lover might be disappointed- the marzipan isn't prominent after the initial application. A mint lover would be a fan, as it's got a delicate peppermint note that I haven't found as long-lasting in other blends! People who love unusual gourmands and fruity scents should give this a whirl.

Would an [X] hater love this? I feel like this is a gourmand scent that isn't TRULY foodie. So gourmand haters might want to test this.

Where am I? At a bizarre dinner party where the host doesn't realize how mismatched their theme is, but somehow everything is delicious.

Where would I wear this? Daytime, work, summer, spring, maybe winter. It's fresh in a bit of a cool way, so I can see this working in winter, but definitely not for autumn, when I'm craving warm and spicy scents.