Alkemia Carmen 7 Review

Brand: Alkemia
Availability: General Catalog
Notes: Spiced Pear, Lychee Fruit, Praline, Vanilla, Magnolia, and Amber

First impression out of bottle: Fruit, musk, amber. Fresh and girlish.

Freshly applied: A beautiful soft feminine vanilla pops out and amber becomes more prominent. It’s starting to smell like a mainstream amber-vanilla blend (not in a bad way.) 

Drydown: The white florals are unfurling and there’s a sugared undercurrent that I think is the praline note mingled with the amber/vanilla. The fruits are also there now but it’s 30% fruity-floral and 70% vanilla-amber-sweetness. Very balanced. I love the magnolia in this. Overall, I’m reminded of some kind of sexy scent from Victoria’s Secret, only it’s more sophisticated and high quality. The amber is a very “clean” one and it smells of washed and powdered skin, not too sweet and a bit fresh. Almost like a clean cotton scent, but without the screechy laundry-detergent feel of that type of note. Reminds me of the "baby" undertone of certain Johnson & Johnson products, but NOT like baby oil. It really reminds me of that lavender baby body wash/lotion they sell in the purple bottle. 

Something fresh, clean, and comforting

After several hours: Complex sweet muskiness. 

Longevity: Medium high
Sillage: Medium high

Would an [X] lover love this? I think if you enjoy mainstream fruity-floral perfumes, or anything in the warm/amber/vanilla family, you will love this. Especially if you find yourself loving on some mainstream sweet/girly scents from the likes of Victoria's Secret or Bath & Body Works. It’s not strongly lychee or pear, so look elsewhere for true fruit scents of that nature. 

Would an [X] hater love this? If you are generally opposed to sweet, girlish scents, this might turn you off. If you exclusively wear witchy, dark stuff, this won’t appeal. But I like both dark AND light things, and this is a perfect, non-cloying girly scent. Great for any friends who are not yet inducted into the creepy-fun world of indie perfume and would want something non-threatening and beautiful. Also great as a stocking stuffer for younger friends or family, as it’s not Baby Prostitute perfume, but would be appropriate for anybody from the ages of 13 onward.

Where am I? I  feel like Gisele shooting a perfume commercial, wrapped in flattering golden pink lighting.

Where would I wear this? Daytime, weekend, probably out to dinner even because it's kind of sexy in a non-sexual way. Girly and super pretty.

Haus of Gloi Golden Corn Cakes Review

Brand: Haus of Gloi
Availability: Limited Edition Fall (recurring)
Notes: Corn cake baked to a golden perfection, topped with butter and honey

First impression out of bottle: Savory cornbread with a hint of sweetness.

Freshly applied: Honeyed butter and toothsome cornbread. Heavy on the honey.

Drydown: Honey with a hint of savory gourmand-ness. It's quite a bright golden scent, not super toasted or dark. Sweeter than I expected, which is nice. More honey than anything else. Like a gourmand, autumn honey with a rich baked goods background. 

Heavy on the honey and butter

After several hours: Mm I love the syrupy deep honey with slightly earthy golden bready cake background. It's a really balanced honeyed bread/cake scent that smells more homey and less exotic than Arcana Ganesh. 

Longevity: Medium
Sillage: Medium

Would an [X] lover love this? I love honey and gourmands, this ticks all my boxes. It probably will suit your tastes if you like Arcana Yellow Cake, Ganesh, or Aestas. If you like Solstice Scents' sweeter stuff, this will also be a hit.

Would an [X] hater love this? Gourmand haters could give this a try, though I'll say it's straightforward and unsurprising as far as sweet, foodie stuff goes. This is a good, non-spicy fall gourmand but if you dislike or have issues with honey notes, this won't be for you.

Where am I? Eating corn muffins at home on a brisk fall day.

Where would I wear this? Autumn, winter, daytime, work, home. It's really cozy and sweet. I would even wear this for a date, because I think sweet gourmands like this go over well with dudes in general. 

Common Brimstone Cake or Death Review

Brand: Common Brimstone
Availability: General Catalog
Notes: Luscious red velvet cake blends beautifully with elegant cognac for a delicious gourmand perfume experience

First impression out of bottle: Caramel

Freshly applied: Duncan Hines frosting- really cheap and with a food-coloring aftertaste/smell

Drydown: Stinky BO mixed with Duncan Hines chocolate frosting. Something super stinky and plasticky is making this turn awful on me. 

After several hours: I couldn't keep this on for more than an hour.

Longevity: ?
Sillage: Low

Would an [X] lover love this? I'm a gourmand lover who loves almost all food scents. This one sucks and I hate it.

Would an [X] hater love this? A gourmand hater will certainly not be converted by this.

Where am I? I don't even want to talk about it. Maybe eating frosting from the jar at the sleepover after a high school track meet. Where I'm stinky and dirty and I don't even want the frosting, it's just...there.

Where would I wear this? Nowhere!

Common Brimstone Abhaile Review

Brand: Common Brimstone
Availability: General Catalog
Notes: Rich notes of carrot cake and hot chocolate create a luxurious feel, while chestnut and cinnamon keep this from being too sweet. A base of French vanilla completes the gourmand experience

First impression out of bottle: Carrot cake

Freshly applied: Mm, dark sweet carrot cake with a bit of nuttiness.

Drydown: There's something like spicy musk that's making this more than a simple "cake" scent. It's kind of a gingerbread scent but with a little twist. I like it a lot more than Possets' Mrs. Rabbit's Carrot Cake which was kind of rancid/buttery on me. The nuts and cinnamon are more prominent now. It smells like spicecake. 

After several hours:

Longevity: Medium
Sillage: Low

Would an [X] lover love this? If you enjoy spicy/sweet gourmands with a twist this is a good one. It smells expensive. I wish the sillage were higher, but that's my only complaint.

Would an [X] hater love this? I don't know if a gourmand hater would like this. It's a little different than a literal cake scent, so perhaps the musky spiciness would be appealing.

Where am I? Eating spiced cake and wearing expensive nighttime perfume

Where would I wear this? Daytime, nighttime, autumn, winter.

Common Brimstone Constance Review

Brand: Common Brimstone
Availability: General Catalog
Notes: a comforting bakery blend of cookie dough, fresh baked bread, rich butter cream, butter, and a cup of white tea with a sprinkling of sugar.

First impression out of bottle: Buttery, slightly salty cookie dough

Freshly applied: Cookie dough made with super salty butter

Drydown: Buttery cookies and baked bread. This isn't horrible but I've smelled a lot of gourmand/bakery blends and this is just not super special. If it were a little more "voluptuous" or strong, it might be a great perfume, but it's a tad thin-smelling.

After several hours: Butter cookies, but very faint.

Longevity: Medium
Sillage: Low

Would an [X] lover love this? If you're a gourmand lover with high standards, I don't think this will cut it. It doesn't smell sophisticated or particularly realistic. 

Would an [X] hater love this? I don't think gourmand haters will find anything new or exciting here.

Where am I? Sort of like sitting outside a kitchen where someone is baking a lot of different things. But not a very good depiction of it.

Where would I wear this? If it worked better on me, daytime, spring, fall

Common Brimstone Godfrey's Cordial Review

Brand: Common Brimstone
Availability: General Catalog
Notes: mixes poppies with honey, vanilla, cinnamon and clove.

First impression out of bottle: Powdery sweet baby oil

Freshly applied: Old-fashioned baby oil with a hint of spice

Drydown: There's a hint of soft gold honey, some spice, but it's mostly that round, musky sweetness that smells like really expensive baby oil. It's not gross and chemical-y or too sweet, but it smells SUPER babyish/old-fashioned. I actually don't hate it but I doubt I would wear this much. There's something more sophisticated and resinous that stops this from being a purely face-cream scent.

After several hours: Not much spice left, mostly sweet round baby oil. This is a very simple but expensive-smelling scent. It smells like a luxurious midcentury ladies cosmetic product.

Longevity: High
Sillage: Medium

Would an [X] lover love this? I think if you love the scent of baby oil, old-fashioned cosmetics (like Pond's Cold Cream, Nivea, etc), or powdery scents in general, you will love this. 

Would an [X] hater love this? If you hate powdery scents, this is not for you. I like it a bit, but I'm sensitive to powder and it's a little simplistic for me. I think with a touch more spice I would enjoy it more.

Where am I? Applying Nivea/Ponds before bedtime in a sophisticated powder room.

Where would I wear this? To bed, daytime, spring, summer

Sixteen92 Hecate Review

Brand: Sixteen92
Availability: Limited Edition Halloween 2015
Notes: Tart cranberry, benzoin, fir needle, dark chocolate, smoldering incense, dry leaves

First impression out of bottle: Dragon's Blood and chocolate-covered dried cherries

Freshly applied: Fruity and chocolatey incense. I loooove the Dragon's Blood note in here, it's a very warm red incense, almost fuzzy and slightly musky. 

Drydown: While the opening smelled like a jug of Kirkland brand chocolate-covered berries, the drydown is more sophisticated. This is now a combo of kind of fresh tart fruit, a woodsy dark chocolate note, and still that strong incense. I really love this- it's mostly incense on me, with nuances of earthy and foodie notes. The fir and dry leaves provide a slightly darker, earthier background, but they're not super apparent as individual notes. Something about the tart cranberry, which lends some astringency, along with the sweet soft chocolate, wrapped in dusky incense is really magical. This is one of my favorite incense perfumes and I have a ton.

Hot, red, and incensey

After several hours: Sweet incensey chocolate. This is way more complex and nuanced than Solstice Scents' Grey's Cabin, a chocolate incense smell which is one of the only SS scents I don't own in full size because it has a really flat feeling.

Longevity: Medium
Sillage: Medium

Would an [X] lover love this? I think anyone who enjoys berry scents, Dragon's Blood, incense in general, or even red musk (this has a similar warm fuzzy feel) will really love this.

Would an [X] hater love this? I think if you hate incense, this might be a good slightly brighter take on it. It's not ultra fresh or overly fruity, so if you particularly can't stand any incensey notes, this will likely not be for you. I find it far less headshoppy than I Saw Goody Procter With the Devil, so there's that.

Where am I? The cottage of a witch at Thanksgiving.

Where would I wear this? Daytime, weekend, evening. It's not super sexy but it has a dark feel that would work well at night. It feels very autumnal, I don't think I'd wear it come springtime.