Solstice Scents Pumpkin Spice Latte Review

Brand: Solstice Scents
Availability: Fall Limited Edition (Recurring)
Notes: Hot steaming coffee, sweet pumpkin, cinnamon, gingerbread whipped cream and a drop of Nutmeg

First impression out of bottle: Savory coffee beans and spice

Freshly applied: Deep earthy coffee with a background of beautiful dark spice cake

Autumn perfection.

Drydown: Gingerbread muffin with a bit of brown sugar crust, yummy milky coffee, and a touch of fluffy whipped cream. I love autumn, but IDGAF about PSL's in general. I don't drink them nowadays or remember what they smell like (though I can guess) but this is heavenly. The coffee essential oil is like true dark coffee, not like the plasticky cold scent I get from Cafe Mallowmel. It's sweetened up by the gingerbread/cake notes and a dusting of scrumptious, non-generic fall spice. Not too sugary and definitely deepened by the coffee.

Such a great gourmand coffee scent

After several hours: Gingerbread with a hint of coffee and a lot of marshmallow-y vanilla cream. The whipped cream note gets stronger and it's gorgeously creamy and edible, like the light notes in Solstice Scents' many Mallow blends. The strongest spice note to me is nutmeg, with some cinnamon but no anise/cardamom/clove which means this is NOT a chai-type scent at all!

Amazing combo of dark cakey and light fluffy gourmand notes

Longevity: High
Sillage: Medium

Would an [X] lover love this? I think anyone who enjoys spicy or gourmand scents will ADORE THIS. I blind-bought a full size because 99% of Solstice Scents stuff works for me, and the description seemed like a no-brainer.

Would an [X] hater love this? I think even people who hate spicy bakery scents will like this, as it doesn't tip over to a "fall candle" scent, and it's definitely a sophisticated, ultra-realistic gourmand. 

Where am I? Sitting in a coffee shop, wrapped up in an orange or dark green scarf, sipping coffee and writing a mystery novel or something.

Where would I wear this? Daytime, autumn, winter, weekend, work. It perks me up in the morning but is very comforting throughout the day.

Cocoa Pink Cozy Cabin In the Woods Review

Brand: Cocoa Pink
Availability: General Catalog Autumn/Winter (N/A in Spring/Summer)
Notes: White Cedar trees heavily laden with soft piles of snow, sweet sandalwood, crackling freshly chopped firewood roaring from inside the glowing fireplace with the heavenly aromas of creamy sugared vanilla and gingerbread floating through the air.

First impression out of bottle: Cedar and pine

Freshly applied: Wooo hickory wood and pine. Almost like BBQ smoke (but not too smokey, just that same sweet savory thing.) Then pine pops out, it's really green and sappy. Almost makes me think of citronella. 

Citronella candles

Drydown: Yes, still citronella, but overlaid on really sweet warm woodsy notes. I can't decide if I like this because...it's basically citronella and woods. Oh god do I LIKE smelling like citronella?

After several hours: Sweet, piney woods, smoke, and citronella. I'm disappointed I get no  really distinct/differentiated foodie notes, but honestly the combination smells really good. I think the gingerbread and vanilla must be tempering the sharper notes, because it all smells awesome.

Longevity: High
Sillage: Medium

Would an [X] lover love this? This is weird, so even if you like woodsy scents, proceed with caution.

Would an [X] hater love this? If you hate smoke, fresh wood scents, and citronella, then this will probably be like death to you.

Where am I? For some reason, burning citronella in midwinter.

Where would I wear this? Camping, outdoors, daytime, nighttime. It's weird but I like it.

Cocoa Pink Naughty Gingerbread Review

Brand: Cocoa Pink
Availability: General Catalog Autumn/Winter (N/A in Spring/Summer)
Notes: Naughty begins with two of our bestselling fragrance oils specially formulated just for CocoaPink: Spiritueuse Double Vanilla and our exclusive triple amber blend that we call “CP Black”.  Then we added a dash of gingerbread and a splash of sugar. 

First impression out of bottle: Dark gingerbread

Freshly applied: I managed to splash this all over my arm AND my face...it smells like really dark, not super sweet gingerbread. 

Not light fluffy gingerbread, but dark and spicy!

Drydown: Still retaining that not-so-sweet spicy gingerbread smell. The spices in this are nearly savory, almost like there's cardamom and anise mixed in with a touch of caraway and ginger. A fairly exotic spice blend, not yo typical Christmas Candle(TM) spice. The vanilla peeks out more on the drydown, which brings a touch of lightness and creaminess, if not sweetness, to the blend. 

After several hours: Same beautifully spiced cake smell. Definitely a great solid gingerbread scent. This doesn't smell like grandma's cookies, nor is it a really sexy or unusual perfume. It's a standard gourmand, but with less sugar than you'd usually find, and it uses spices in an interesting but wearable way.

Longevity: High
Sillage: Medium high

Would an [X] lover love this? Spice and gourmand lovers will definitely enjoy this, although if I had my way it would be more sugary!

Would an [X] hater love this? If you hate spice I don't think this will be your cup of tea (bread? Your cup of bread?) But if you find yourself recoiling from typical clove/cinnamon scents, then this could be a nice alternative.

Where am I? Eating spiced gingerbread from a secret old family recipe (not my family, we don't make gingerbread, but somebody's family.)

Where would I wear this? Daytime, autumn, winter. Not sexy/sweet enough for nighttime. I could see this getting a nice kick from some of my sweeter Solstice Scents perfumes (Maplewood Inn or Buttered Rum Mallow?) so I will give that a shot.