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. 

Cocoa Pink Twist of Lime Noel Review

Brand: Cocoa Pink
Availability: General Catalog 
Notes: Twist of lime blended with VBN.

First impression out of bottle: Sweet lime candy

Freshly applied: Sweet lime with beautifully fluffy vanilla

Drydown: Same sweet, candied lime with fluffy Vanilla Bean Noel. I love this! It's a perfect sweet lime scent. I had tried Lime Sugar and it was too astringent and sharp. Key Lime Clouds was too fluffy and not lime-y enough. This is what I wanted Key Lime Clouds to be! Hnng I really love the VBN note, because it's deep enough to be interesting and a bit caramely, but not so deep as to be smoky or sexy. It's still a very youthful, daytime-appropriate note.

Key lime marshmallows

After several hours: Vanilla fluff with a hint of key lime

Longevity: High
Sillage: Medium- I find some of the VBN blends to be a little lower in sillage. They don't scream as loudly but they do linger a long time.

Would an [X] lover love this? Lime or vanilla/marshmallow lovers would go crazy for this. If you have ever looked for a key lime scent with no crust/graham cracker, then this is it!

Would an [X] hater love this? This avoids the pitfalls of lime. It's not super zesty, sour, or cleaning-product-like. I find it super pleasant and easy to wear, and if you hate lime, this might change your mind.

Where am I? Making fancy marshmallows for someone's summer wedding.

Where would I wear this? This is definitely a summer scent to me. It is light enough for hot weather and the notes are perfect for summertime. I don't think I will wear this in the Winter, but I will DEFINITELY break it out come spring. Good for work or for weekend/date stuff!

Cocoa Pink Marshmallow Candy Cane Noel Review

Brand: Cocoa Pink
Availability: General Catalog Autumn/Winter (N/A in Spring/Summer)
Notes: made with marshmallow sugar and vanilla bean noel, it has real spearmint & peppermint oils

First impression out of bottle: Sweetened, warm peppermint (warm, like, not bracing and fresh like Buttermint)

Freshly applied: Peppermint with a hint of caramel

Drydown: Now this is what I wanted from Buttermint. Good thing I got both! The peppermint and spearmint are complemented by the beautiful smooth caramel-vanilla of Vanilla Bean Noel. This is a sugary peppermint smell. Sort of like peppermint Torani syrup that you'd put in a coffee.

Maybe you also put peppermint schnapps in your coffee, I don't know your life

After several hours: Still fluffy caramel-vanilla peppermint. Mmm I love this one. One of the best uses for the awesome Vanilla Bean Noel note. Super Christmassy and festive.

Longevity: High
Sillage: High

Would an [X] lover love this? Anybody who likes sweet mint scents will find this excellent, although it may be a bit plain if you are  used to the fanciful Arcana peppermint perfumes that combine different herbal and food smells with the herb. This is straightforward.

Would an [X] hater love this? I don't think a mint hater would love this...there's no plastic or weirdness in here, so maybe if they were just a mint lover in disguise and didn't realize it yet?

Where am I? Asking for a double shot of peppermint syrup in my coffee at Starbucks

Where would I wear this? Work, parties, to decorate the Christmas tree. Daytime or night. Definitely great for the holidays, but I could probably wear this in warmer weather if I ignored the candy-cane-ish-ness.

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 Midnight Hag Review

Brand: Cocoa Pink
Availability: General Catalog Autumn/Winter (N/A in Spring/Summer)
Notes: Tart Blackberries, Vanilla Bean Noel, and a splash of Spiritueuse Double Vanilla.

First impression out of bottle: Can I just say I love the name of this one? I want someone to ask me what perfume I'm wearing so I can yell MIDNIGHT HAG. I smell plain tart blackberries out of the bottle. 

Freshly applied: Tart AND sweet blackberries. Like a mixture of fresh mashed blackberries and blackberry jam.

Drydown: Ooh, a nice lush vanilla starts to weave in and out. It's spicy without being...spice-y. Kind of sweet and fuzzy and cozy. Definitely not a summery fruit smell. This reminds me of that Bath & Body Works scent, Black Raspberry Vanilla, but more sophisticated. The berry is less synthetic, and the vanilla is a bit more grown up. 

After several hours: Same sweet berried vanilla.

Sexy fruit jam

Longevity: High
Sillage: High

Would an [X] lover love this? I consider myself a lover of berries or general fruit smells but I often find indie perfumes to be synthetic-smelling when it comes to these notes. This is a perfect blackberry scent. Combination of fresh and preserved, sweet and tart, just great. Vanilla lovers will like this for something different- a jammy vanilla. 

Would an [X] hater love this? I think this is a very straightforward scent and won't convert someone who dislikes berry smells. On the other hand, if you've had my experience and thought that other indies produced fake-smelling berry scents, this will make up for those bad experiences!

Where am I? Spooning fresh blackberry compote over vanilla ice cream so I can chow down.

Where would I wear this? For a fruity smell, this has a kind of darkly sexy vibe, so I'd wear this at night, definitely. I'd wear purple and gold with it and try to look sultry. And fail probably. There's nothing in this that specifically makes it a nighttime perfume, though so I can easily see wearing this to work. It's a good hybrid scent, combining fresh and warm smells, so it will be nice in warmer weather and cold.