Cocoa Pink Green Apple Noel Review

Brand: Cocoa Pink
Availability: General Catalog Autumn/Winter (N/A in Spring/Summer)
Notes: Sweet, juicy crisp granny smith apples with lashings of vanilla bean noel

First impression out of bottle: Sweet vanilla (most Cocoa Pink EDPs smell strongly of alcohol and not much else in the bottle, this is not a good indicator of what happens on the skin, as the alcohol scent dissipates very quickly.)

Freshly applied: Bright green apple, like the type in caramel apple lollipops.

Drydown: Same bright green candy apple with hints of soft purring vanilla bean. Smells a lot like a green apple Jolly Rancher, only with a hint of something pretty and sweet. There is less vanilla in this than in Strawberry Noel, which I find is 70% vanilla 30% strawberry. This feels like it's 30% vanilla 70% apple.

After several hours: Settles to 50% apple 50% vanilla, which is fine by me. The apple quiets down a bit, and while it retains a hint of candy, it becomes a fresh green apple scent. This is nothing like Arcana Apples Crave Vanilla, but it's quite lovely. The vanilla also develops from its initial plain Jane-ness to become the fuzzy voluptuous VBN I know and love.

Becomes a more sophisticated apple candy with warm sweet vanilla

Longevity: High
Sillage: Medium

Would an [X] lover love this? Apple lovers who are ok with a candied vibe will enjoy this. Apple lovers who crave realistic/fresh fruit scents will probably not like the green apple note.

Would an [X] hater love this? I don't actually love apple scents (IMAM BETRAYAL) unless the apple is blended with a lot of heavier notes. I find something really flat and uninteresting about plain, fresh red apple in perfumes. So I think I prefer this green version, but I don't think other people with apple aversions would share this sentiment. I know a lot of people dislike apple because they find common blends to be too GREEN APPLE CANDY and this won't address that problem.

Where am I? A candy store, but a really expensive one where they make luxurious green lollipops from real apples.

Where would I wear this? Daytime, to hang out with kids because they would think I smelled awesome, warm weather, work. I think this would be amazing in a body/hair product.

Cocoa Pink Strawberry Noel Review

Brand: Cocoa Pink
Availability: General Catalog Autumn/Winter (N/A in Spring/Summer)
Notes: A perfectly balanced fresh strawberry that smells like real berries (not plasticy bubblegum strawberry), blended with VBN.

First impression out of bottle: Yummy fresh strawberries

Freshly applied: Fresh strawberries and creamy vanilla bean

Drydown: Same as above. I like the strawberry in this, it's certainly not fakey. I think the vanilla is overpowering the berry though because I get more of a berried-vanilla than a berries + vanilla vibe. 

After several hours: Still fruity vanilla. I love the vanilla in this. I prefer it to the real Vanilla Bean Noel (from Bath & Body Works) and I would say it's a hybrid of a musky vanilla like NAVA's Crystalline and a really foodie creamy vanilla like the one you find in Solstice Scents' mallow blends. With an added hint of actual vanilla bean. 

Like strawberries and vanilla cream, but light on the strawberry

Longevity: High
Sillage: Medium

Would an [X] lover love this? Vanilla lovers will like it! Cocoa Pink makes quite a few "VBN" blends, so you'd probably only choose this if you were a huge strawberry fan (I am.) The strawberry is not super unique/different, but it is realistic, which is important enough for me. 

Would an [X] hater love this? I think it's a pretty simple fruit and vanilla scent, and unless you've never smelled VBN before (or Cocoa Pink's version) you don't need to try this if you're averse to vanillic or food scents.

Where am I? I'm me as a young teenager, slathering myself with products from a giant Bath & Body Works gift basket

Where would I wear this? Daytime, weekend, spring, summer. Despite the "Noel" name, which is really just an adaptation from the B&BW winter scent, it's very much a fresh warm weather perfume!

Cocoa Pink Coconut Rum Cake Review

Brand: Cocoa Pink
Availability: General Catalog Autumn/Winter (N/A in Spring/Summer)
Notes: A scrumptious bakery arrangement beginning with almond extract, chopped almonds, and dark rum followed by sugar cane, coconut milk, vanilla extract, and heavy cream topped off with flaked coconut.

First impression out of bottle: Sharp rum and coconut

Freshly applied: Straight coconut Malibu rum

Smells like...lemon cake??

Drydown: Something kind of lemony. Almost smells like OHWTO The Cake Is a Lie. Weird! Now I get a lovely crumbly cake scent, kind of like cake covered in brown sugar. There is still a steeped-in-rum feeling and a nice tropical feel like flaked toasty coconut. I'm so confused why this smells like lemon cake though. I guess my nose could be interpreting sharpness from the rum as citrus, but it's  bit unnerving!

After several hours: The coconut becomes beautiful and silky, almost like you made an icing from coconut milk and powdered sugar. Very tropical smelling. Still smells like lemon cake!

Longevity: High
Sillage: High

Would an [X] lover love this? This is definitely a successful gourmand scent. I am bewildered by the lemon but I still enjoy this.

Would an [X] hater love this? Cake haters need not apply. This is a very sweet gourmand with prominent cake notes.

Where am I? Drinking a rum cocktail and eating lemon-coconut cake at someone's destination wedding.

Where would I wear this? Summer, daytime. Especially considering I get such a fierce lemon cake smell, this reads warm weather to me. Not like a heavy dark Christmas rum cake. Oh well!

Arcana Astrid's Diadem Review

Brand: Arcana
Availability: General Catalog
Notes: Madagascar vanilla, Bourbon vanilla, sugared lavender creme, citron, lemongrass, peppermint, and a touch of stately patchouli

First impression out of bottle: Minty lemon with some grassiness

Lemongrass mint dessert, a little creamy and a little fresh

Freshly applied: Initially I get all lavender and peppermint, with a bitter twist of citrus rind. As it dries, I get the paradoxical bright/bitter citrus (smells like lemon juice now) with that herbal/dusty lavender that smells like real lavender buds, with a bit of grassiness of lemongrass and an obvious helping of peppermint. This is such a cool, herbal scent. It’s very fun and confusing to my nose, but at the same time very pleasant. Like your nose CANNOT perceive all the scents at once, so it goes through an arpeggio of lavender, lemon, lemongrass, peppermint before settling onto a bed of sugared vanilla, then back to the beginning. A kind of weird wild ride. I LOVE IT.

Love the bitter citrus twist 

Drydown:  After drying down completely, there’s a more “sugared lavender-peppermint creme” sensation, with the citrus/lemongrass nestled on top. Thank god the patchouli is simply grounding the peppermint. There’s no rubber or mustiness here, just a surprisingly long-lasting mint note. The vanillas are keeping everything swathed in softness. I'm happy that the notes all pop out and this isn’t turning into a same-y vanilla. 

Lavender cream with touches of sparkling peppermint and citron

After several hours: Same thing as the drydown, a sugared lavender cream with some sparkling peppermint and grassy citrus. 

Longevity: High, especially considering that the herbal notes are ones that usually dissipate quickly. This lasts more than 6 hours on me. The patchouli extends the mint notes, in my opinion.
Sillage: Very high at first, remains fairly good throughout the life

Would an [X] lover love this? I think anyone who likes herbal notes and vanillas needs this scent. It's super unusual and funky. It's a bit cacophonous at first, but it dries down into something just as charming and probably more wearable.

Would an [X] hater love this? I think someone who vehemently hated vanilla might still be ok with this. It's not a syrupy or overly sweet vanilla. If you don't like lemongrass or peppermint, it will be a nonstarter. Lavender haters might be surprised though, as the lavender is used very subtly here.

Where am I? In a spotless white kitchen with Ina Garten, making eight different types of meringues and creams at once.

Where would I wear this? Work, weekend, sleep. Not for a night out, too playful and zesty. But I think this can work well as a winter perfume (it has a frozen, ice creamy feel) and also it's refreshing enough to be great in hot weather.

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.