Deconstructing Eden Alice in Wonderland Review

Brand: Deconstructing Eden
Availability: General Catalog
Notes: Candied lemon peel and sugared violet and rose petals

First impression out of bottle: Floral marshmallows

Freshly applied: Floral marshmallows with a citrus twist

Pretty much exactly this

Drydown: Powdered sugar with a hint of flowers and lemon. This is a really great floral gourmand. I like it far better than Solstice Scents Violet Mallow, which is insanely sharp and a bit grassy on the opening. This is like the slightly purpler version of Solstice Scents Rose Mallow Cream. But where that has a very vanilla-marshmallow quality, this is more like powdered sugar marshmallow fluff. The violet is quiet and very well behaved here. It's melded with the rose into some sort of fantasy flower that smells like both and neither. 

Something fluffy and powdery (in a good way)

After several hours: Sweet powdered sugar and flowers with a gooooorgeous sweet candy lemon. The violet becomes way more "violet"y after drying down more and smells a bit purplish. Still well-behaved, but the scent reminds me of those violet candies from Italy. More violet than rose on the drydown.

Such a sweet, perfect lemon

Longevity: High
Sillage: Medium

Would an [X] lover love this? Gourmand lovers would really like it. I think fans of Solstice Scents' Mallow blends will enjoy this different spin on a candied floral scent. There's really no vanilla in this, which I think makes it different and interesting. Violet lovers will enjoy the tamed and lovely violet.

Would an [X] hater love this? Gourmand haters will probably find this too fluffy. Violet-haters (I count myself among you) will probably actually be fine with it. The violet is totally tolerable and not sharp or grassy. It actually works with the scent instead of competing with the other notes, which is often something I dislike about violets.

Where am I? Having an elegant tea party with a bunch of rich children

Where would I wear this? Daytime, afternoon, girl's day out, weekend. It's a bit too sweet for work, but it's perfect to wear out shopping or something. Springy/summery. 

Cocoa Pink Wildberry Cobbler Review

Brand: Cocoa Pink
Availability: General Catalog Autumn/Winter (N/A in Spring/Summer)
Notes: Freshly picked wildberries baked into a delicious warm cobbler topped with a generous dusting of confectioners sugar complete with a heaping scoop of vanilla bean ice cream

First impression out of bottle: Buttery gourmand with some dark purple fruit

Freshly applied: Purple berries overlaid on cakey sweetness. Reminds me of OHWTO Blackberry Buckle, which is very similar in its weird wateryness. (like it's not a full, rich scent, but watered down.) A bit more cake comes out, still predominantly a watery berry smell though. This is not super sweet or syrupy, which is what I would expect from a cobbler scent. If they had replicated the syrupy heavy feel of Blueberry Skies this would be perfect. Instead I get a 50/50 juicy berry and plain yellow cake type scent. Nice but a little subtle for me. I'm the queen of too-sweet gourmands. 

Drydown: Ah it gets a bit more syrupy and rich/spicy like Blueberry Skies. I get a dark feel like crystallized brown sugar on top of a cobbler, and rich dark berry juice. 

I don't get the vanilla ice cream though

After several hours: A little flat. I prefer Blueberry Skies over this for a berry-gourmand. It reminds me of OHWTO Blackberry Buckle which also goes flattish on me.

Longevity: High
Sillage: Medium

Would an [X] lover love this? Gourmand/berry lovers might enjoy it, but my skin chemistry didn't favor these notes.

Would an [X] hater love this? A gourmand hater probably wouldn't find anything extraordinary about this blend.

Where am I? Eating not-so-delicious cobbler at a friend's house, trying to be polite and complimentary

Where would I wear this? Daytime, if it were nicer and less flat maybe for special winter occasions or at night.

Cocoa Pink Apple Cinnamon Funnel Cake Review

Brand: Cocoa Pink
Availability: General Catalog Autumn/Winter (N/A in Spring/Summer)
Notes: inspired by a quaint little shop in the Georgia Mountains.  We just had to make a scent based on their fabulous apple cinnamon funnel cakes topped off with a dusting of powdered sugar.

First impression out of bottle: Apple donuts

Freshly applied: Fresh crisp red apples

Drydown: A bit of cakeyness, mostly fresh red apples. Not a lot of cinnamon, definitely not a "cinnamon sugar" scent, but there's a hint of the nice powdered sugar note that Cocoa Pink does well. Meh I was expecting WAY more funnel cake/donut type scent and this is almost entirely fresh apple, and I barely get any spice. 

After several hours: Same sweet soft apple. Reminds me of the apple in OHWTO The Girl Who Waited. Or even Arcana Apples Crave Vanilla. I definitely prefer Arcana Apples Crave Cake over this one because it packs more punch and has a stronger dessert smell. 

Longevity: Medium
Sillage: Low medium

Would an [X] lover love this? An apple fiend might find something here to love, but like I said, compared to other similar perfumes, it's nothing special. I especially think the throw is nothing to write home about, which would prevent me from getting it in a larger scent.

Would an [X] hater love this? Nah, apple haters won't find this interesting.

Where am I? Eating a fresh apple next to a bakery. I sort of smell baked goods, but I'm not eating them.

Where would I wear this? If it had better throw on me, as a daytime scent to work.

Cocoa Pink Country Kitchen Review

Brand: Cocoa Pink
Availability: General Catalog Autumn/Winter (N/A in Spring/Summer)
Notes: With a slight chill in the air the delicious fragrances of cocoa and vanilla infused rum raisin cookies dipped in powdered sugar combined with just a touch of freshly baked bread warms you from the inside out.

First impression out of bottle: Sweet buttery bakery scent

Freshly applied: Buttery baked goods scent at first, a lot like Potluck. The wheaty bread note starts to come out, and it really reminds me of whole grain levain. 

Lovely crisp and chewy brown bread

Drydown: Still mostly brown bread with a hint of something sweet. I was expecting a more sweet rich cookie scent than the predominantly-bread one I'm getting. I don't smell any raisin really. I get a hint of powdered sugar mixed with cocoa powder and just an eensy pinch of spice.

After several hours: Soft baked bread with a bit of cocoa sweetness. I think I prefer this to Potluck. There isn't a strong butter presence, so it's mainly soft brown bread and some small hints of dessertyness. Yummy! Almost makes me think of Le Pain Quotidien's amazing cocoa spread that you can put on their delicious bread. (Chocolate makes me rhyme, apparently?)

Longevity: High
Sillage: Medium

Would an [X] lover love this? This is a weird one. I'm a gourmand lover and ended up enjoying this A LOT. But I was iffy at first. I like how the bread note mingles with the cocoa note in the drydown. At first it was all bread on me, and I wasn't sure about it.

Would an [X] hater love this? It's kind of a subtle, strange gourmand that grows on you. If you find most gourmands are too sweet, this one might be interesting to you. Even the drydown with the chocolatey bits isn't overly dessert-like.

Where am I? Sitting in Le Pain Quotidien, ordering bread with a side of more bread.

Where would I wear this? This is a really comforting scent, but it's also wearable for work or out on the weekends. Not a sexy nighttime perfume, but otherwise I think this is pretty versatile. 

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.