I finally finished trying out the 13 scents I got from Possets' Cocktail Party collection. I'm going to have to split this review into 2 because writing everything out and editing took longer than expected, so for this review, I'm only reviewing 6 scents. For my previous Possets review, you can either click here or on the tag on the right.
So on the reviews! Done blind as always until I finish the entire review up to the TL;DR. I only write an overview if the notes surprise me. I've also started adding a "Final Verdict" section to help me keep track of my perfumes and figure out what to destash, since my perfume collection is starting to get messy. Here are the categories I came up with for my "Final Verdict":
"When one has their own title which they have inherited from their family and not married into, it is referred to as "in her own right". So, if one is allowed the title of Lady, and it was not through marriage, then you are referred to as "A lady in her own right". This is considered far finer than to marry into a title. Neroli is one of the most precious flower essences and always denotes a refined sense of taste in scent. Combined with a light kiss of beeswax, and sandalwood to round out things. A drop of myrtle, and a white musk backdrop should round out this splendid perfume which has enough gravitas to pass muster but with a wink to cause trouble. Ladies are actually known to do that."
I got clean, green sort of florals that almost leans towards herbal in the beginning. The green florals are very light, almost bitter, very elegant and refined. It's definitely not a young scent, but it's not old lady either. It's more of a mature, self-assured woman in her late 20s sort of florals. There's also a honey scent to this and a scent in the background that reminds me of these Asian sweet peanuts snack for some reason. I call it Asian because it's something from my childhood, but I can't seem to remember where I've had it or what brand it is.
The scent ends up smelling like you're talking to a very refined, elegant lady you're trying to impress (possibly for a job opportunity because she's definitely a high powered lady as well), but you're distracted by the sweet peanut snacks sitting invitingly next to her.
As the scent wears on, it does get more and more creamy on me. Yup...it's a peanut candy sort of peanut snack. I still can't place exactly what snack it is though!
TL;DR: Talking to an elegant, high powered lady standing next to sweet Asian peanut snacks.
Overview: I'm really not sure what's causing the sweet peanuts scent. Maybe it's a combination of beeswax and sandalwood?
Final Verdict: Interesting
"A sharp amber to start combines with a smoother and more caramel-like amber and a great shot of my fabulous lavender on top of it all. Somehow this one manages to be soothing and edgy at the same time. Lavender, amber."
The first thought that came into my head when I sniffed this was that it smells "crystalline". There's hints of a purple soda sort of scent, but it's never obvious enough for me to hate it. I do smell lavenders in this, but it's more of a watery, clean, toner sort of lavender rather than the powdery kind. I love, love, love this scent. It's calming, but has a hard, crystalline edge to it. I definitely think of precious stones when I sniff this, but it reminds me of brilliant, large sapphires instead. Maybe because the cool, watery quality makes me think of deep, still lakes.
The dry down does get kind of dusty, but I don't really mind it since it's a gorgeous scent for close to 2h on me.
TL;DR: Brilliant, large sapphires.
Overview: Nothing caramel-like on me. And it's definitely soothing & edgy at the same time.
Final Verdict: Like
"Blue musk plays a savage dance with some very sweet jasmine which veers into the "dirty" category then comes back massively sensual. A hint of anise recalls a seed mixture, and a bed of black musk keeps it all together."
Ok, there's something at the base of this scent that goes straight to my throat and makes me feel nauseous. It's like a clay-like "fruity" flavoured chewable calcium supplement. It's also mixed with liquorice, which I really, really can't stand. I hate liquorice.
After about 5-10 min, this scent becomes this unique scent that's cool, elegant and airy, yet musky at the same time. I can still smell the liquorice and chewable calcium supplements though, so ugh. No.
TL;DR: Cool, elegant and airy, yet musky....but totally ruined by liquorice & chewable calcium supplements.
Overview: The liquorice part definitely came from the anise, but I have no idea what's causing the chewable calcium supplement scent. Usually it's osmanthus that's to blame, but I don't see it in the notes.
Final Verdict: Destash
"Apricot, and smoky Tahitian Vanilla (aged to perfection). A very small amount of black tea, and an edge of mahogany essence."
"Green tart leafy base with a long squeeze of lime layers over a kiss of brass in the background for balance."
This is a cool, airy green or blue sort of scent, with citrus. I'm not sure whether it's green or blue since it's one of those green/blue notes that are cool and close to each other. It starts off light, green and leafy, but as it wears on, it starts turning into a cool, sweet, and deep blue –the kind of blue note people would use to capture the scent of deep, blue lakes. I smell hints of white florals, but I'm not sure if I'm confusing it with the sweet, blue scent.
The scent almost reminds me of room sprays, but it's definitely room sprays in very classy, majestic hotels. It's one of those hotels with towering, artistic flower arrangements and can easily host the typical Indonesian/Indian wedding, where 300 guests is considered a "small" wedding.
TL;DR: I'm typically not a fan of blue scents but I actually like this!
Overview: The scent of classy, majestic hotels.
Final Verdict: Like
So on the reviews! Done blind as always until I finish the entire review up to the TL;DR. I only write an overview if the notes surprise me. I've also started adding a "Final Verdict" section to help me keep track of my perfumes and figure out what to destash, since my perfume collection is starting to get messy. Here are the categories I came up with for my "Final Verdict":
- Love: Most awesome perfume ever. Need endless supplies of it and will swap my first born child for the last drops of it if it's limited edition.
- Like: Like it, may buy a full size of it, but it's not urgent.
- Interesting: I don't really like it or I don't think I can wear it in public, I appreciate the artistry of the scent. It's like a beautiful but unwearable runway piece you won't buy on your own, but don't mind owning.
- Meh: It's okay. May destash for a good price.
- Destash: Kill it with fire.
- Age it: Maybe it will smell good one day. One day. Just wait.
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A Lady In Her Own Right
"When one has their own title which they have inherited from their family and not married into, it is referred to as "in her own right". So, if one is allowed the title of Lady, and it was not through marriage, then you are referred to as "A lady in her own right". This is considered far finer than to marry into a title. Neroli is one of the most precious flower essences and always denotes a refined sense of taste in scent. Combined with a light kiss of beeswax, and sandalwood to round out things. A drop of myrtle, and a white musk backdrop should round out this splendid perfume which has enough gravitas to pass muster but with a wink to cause trouble. Ladies are actually known to do that."
I got clean, green sort of florals that almost leans towards herbal in the beginning. The green florals are very light, almost bitter, very elegant and refined. It's definitely not a young scent, but it's not old lady either. It's more of a mature, self-assured woman in her late 20s sort of florals. There's also a honey scent to this and a scent in the background that reminds me of these Asian sweet peanuts snack for some reason. I call it Asian because it's something from my childhood, but I can't seem to remember where I've had it or what brand it is.
The scent ends up smelling like you're talking to a very refined, elegant lady you're trying to impress (possibly for a job opportunity because she's definitely a high powered lady as well), but you're distracted by the sweet peanut snacks sitting invitingly next to her.
As the scent wears on, it does get more and more creamy on me. Yup...it's a peanut candy sort of peanut snack. I still can't place exactly what snack it is though!
TL;DR: Talking to an elegant, high powered lady standing next to sweet Asian peanut snacks.
Overview: I'm really not sure what's causing the sweet peanuts scent. Maybe it's a combination of beeswax and sandalwood?
Final Verdict: Interesting
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Amethyst
"A sharp amber to start combines with a smoother and more caramel-like amber and a great shot of my fabulous lavender on top of it all. Somehow this one manages to be soothing and edgy at the same time. Lavender, amber."
The first thought that came into my head when I sniffed this was that it smells "crystalline". There's hints of a purple soda sort of scent, but it's never obvious enough for me to hate it. I do smell lavenders in this, but it's more of a watery, clean, toner sort of lavender rather than the powdery kind. I love, love, love this scent. It's calming, but has a hard, crystalline edge to it. I definitely think of precious stones when I sniff this, but it reminds me of brilliant, large sapphires instead. Maybe because the cool, watery quality makes me think of deep, still lakes.
The dry down does get kind of dusty, but I don't really mind it since it's a gorgeous scent for close to 2h on me.
TL;DR: Brilliant, large sapphires.
Overview: Nothing caramel-like on me. And it's definitely soothing & edgy at the same time.
Final Verdict: Like
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Animal Rampage
"Blue musk plays a savage dance with some very sweet jasmine which veers into the "dirty" category then comes back massively sensual. A hint of anise recalls a seed mixture, and a bed of black musk keeps it all together."
Ok, there's something at the base of this scent that goes straight to my throat and makes me feel nauseous. It's like a clay-like "fruity" flavoured chewable calcium supplement. It's also mixed with liquorice, which I really, really can't stand. I hate liquorice.
After about 5-10 min, this scent becomes this unique scent that's cool, elegant and airy, yet musky at the same time. I can still smell the liquorice and chewable calcium supplements though, so ugh. No.
TL;DR: Cool, elegant and airy, yet musky....but totally ruined by liquorice & chewable calcium supplements.
Overview: The liquorice part definitely came from the anise, but I have no idea what's causing the chewable calcium supplement scent. Usually it's osmanthus that's to blame, but I don't see it in the notes.
Final Verdict: Destash
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Arbitrage
"Apricot, and smoky Tahitian Vanilla (aged to perfection). A very small amount of black tea, and an edge of mahogany essence."
Initially, I got what smells like clinical fleshy fruits with vanilla. The fleshy fruits bit smells like one of those Lipsmackers sort of peach/apricot, that's very little girly. I find that a lot of Possets' non-citrus fruit notes tend to remind me of Lipsmackers scents. The overall scent smells like a hospital grade disinfectant came in a peaches/apricot & vanilla scent.
After about 15 min, the disinfectant bit starts smelling more like plastic, and the scent becomes the scent of fruit scented, girly plastic toys. It's hard to identify the fruits, and it almost smells like powdery cherries. It reminded me of the scent of a toy I used to have. It's how you imagine a plastic toy set that looks like this would smell like:
TL;DR: Powdery, fruit scented plastic toys.
Overview: I'm not sure what's really creating that plastic sort of smell, but I'm guessing it's a combination of mahogany and tea since I couldn't really pick them out.
Final Verdict: Like
After about 15 min, the disinfectant bit starts smelling more like plastic, and the scent becomes the scent of fruit scented, girly plastic toys. It's hard to identify the fruits, and it almost smells like powdery cherries. It reminded me of the scent of a toy I used to have. It's how you imagine a plastic toy set that looks like this would smell like:
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| Well, this is actually felt, but it's so pretty! Found on Pintrest. |
TL;DR: Powdery, fruit scented plastic toys.
Overview: I'm not sure what's really creating that plastic sort of smell, but I'm guessing it's a combination of mahogany and tea since I couldn't really pick them out.
Final Verdict: Like
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Fijian Broach
"Green tart leafy base with a long squeeze of lime layers over a kiss of brass in the background for balance."
This is a cool, airy green or blue sort of scent, with citrus. I'm not sure whether it's green or blue since it's one of those green/blue notes that are cool and close to each other. It starts off light, green and leafy, but as it wears on, it starts turning into a cool, sweet, and deep blue –the kind of blue note people would use to capture the scent of deep, blue lakes. I smell hints of white florals, but I'm not sure if I'm confusing it with the sweet, blue scent.
The scent almost reminds me of room sprays, but it's definitely room sprays in very classy, majestic hotels. It's one of those hotels with towering, artistic flower arrangements and can easily host the typical Indonesian/Indian wedding, where 300 guests is considered a "small" wedding.
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| I'm specifically thinking of Mulia Hotel in Jakarta. If you've been there, this scent smells like it. Image courtesy of asiatraveltips.com |
TL;DR: I'm typically not a fan of blue scents but I actually like this!
Overview: The scent of classy, majestic hotels.
Final Verdict: Like
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Georgetown
"A small amount of the finest leather, a tiny bit of tea, a whiff of a basic chypre note. Dark brown and sharp to the nose but with a magical refinement which makes its haughtiness somehow lovable."
This is so clean and gorgeous. I get hints of that rather watery sort of leather note, but it’s faint and just sitting in the background, giving this scent a masculine sort of bitterness. There’s also that L’Occitane green tea scent, that smells almost like a floral, blue note. The resulting scent is a clean, blue and slightly masculine scent I can see on young, professionals. It’s young (as in 20s sort of young), clean, professional yet not boring. I can see it on a guy who looks like this:
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| This photographer's descriptions are so detailed...this image is captioned with: "Laughing young man makes a funny and dangerous selfie with a compact camera against grey background" Awesome photography by Gianluca D.Muscelli |
As the scent wears on, the L’Occitane green tea part gets stronger on me, and the scent starts leaning towards feminine.
TL;DR: Masculine, almost floral blue note.
Overview: The scent's actually not that sharp on me, and maybe it's because the tea part is most prominent.
Final Verdict: Like
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