Review: 11 Scents from Solstice Scents

I finally got hold of my Solstice Scents (SS) perfume samples!

SS is a company I've reviewed before, and now that I've tried 17 scents from them, here's my general review:

Perfume Oils General Review

You still have to get as close as intimate whispering distance to get the full scent of these perfumes, but you do get single notes floating up to casual conversation distance, and I still can't predict which of the single notes will go really strong. So that's a bit of a problem since sometimes, a scent smells amazing when you get close enough to whisper a secret to my wrists, but a stray note that smells horrible runs loose and assaults everyone sharing an elevator with me. By 1-2h into the scent, you have to get really close to the skin to catch a whiff.

SS is definitely good at getting that old, English lady sort of scents (like perfumed floral stationery, a very grandiose Victorian style living room, old lady powder, etc.), so if you're into those kind of scents, you'll love SS. Their gourmand scents are definitely prone to morphing around though, so if you're one of those people skin chemistry that goes iffy on caramels/vanilla/gourmands, you need to be careful. Their fruit notes also tend to be the artificial, tutti frutti/bubble gum sort of fruits scents, so if those are a turn off for you, it's best to be careful too.

Anyway, on to scent reviews. As always, they're done blind until the TL;DR's written. If anything in the notes surprise me, I write an overview.

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Blackburn Farmstead

"Blackberry Jam, Boysenberry Preserves, Vanilla Bean Accord, Creamy Vanilla & a Touch of Vanilla Musk."

Another artificial fruit scent. Darn it! I think it may be artificial blackberries, but it leans towards that artificial grape scent. The kind neon purple drinks/candy smells or tastes like. It's slightly creamy but by 10 min, the creamy bit turned into that metallic smell some creamy gourmands get. 

TL;DR: Metallic artificial purple fruits.

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Devil's Tongue

"Chypre, Brown Leather, Warm Tobacco, Woods & More."

Extremely dry citrus wood with a medicinal tinge. I think the medicinal bit is patchouli. The citrus fades after about 15 min, leaving behind this scent that smells like the living room in an old English lady's home. Old, rather powdery, and clean –even though the old wood smells rather dusty.

And you know it's the kind of room where you'll be judged on your manners.

Image courtesy of fanpop.com

This is another scent that's similar to SS' Manor's base. If you like Manor, you'll like this.

TL;DR: Old English lady's living room...with  a bit of citrus.

Overview: I had to look up the scent of chypre to figure out what it is. First of all, I found out it's pronounced "ship-r" with the "r" being the French "r" which sounds like the sound you make while clearing your throat. This is from Wikipedia:

Chypre, is the name of a family (or concept) of perfumes that are characterised by an accord composed of citrus top-notes, a middle centered on cistus labdanum, and a mossy-animalic base-note derived from oak moss and musk. Chypre perfumes fall into numerous classes according to their modifier notes, which include but are not limited to leather, florals, fruits, and amber.

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Foxcroft

"Ozone, Rustling Leaves, Rich Black Soil, Chimney Smoke & Woods."

This is a sweet, cool, earthy green that's pretty nice. It leans more towards a room scent rather than a perfume, but it'll be one of those subtle, elegant room scents from diffuser reeds. I can picture this scent in rooms that look like this:

TL;DR: Clean, green and earthy toned room.

Overview: I didn't get any smoke on me, and the scent is more sweet and wet rather than the dry scent I'd expect from those notes. I guess the ozone bit is dominant. 

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Gehenna

"Red Musk, Dragon's Blood Resin, Burning Wood, Somalian Myrrh & Egyptian Musk."

There's that cottony, baby oil scent, with something that smells old in a herbal way. Maybe it's patchouli. It ends up smelling like one of those Indonesian massage oils (smells woody, herbal in an Indonesian way and has faint whispers of florals) that's mixed with baby oil.

TL;DR: Indonesian massage oil with baby oil.

Overview: Ah..it's the Dragon's Blood. Cheryl from Midsummer Dreams Apothecary was nice enough to send me a single note of Dragon's Blood as part of the IMAM gift exchange. The particular Dragon's Blood she uses is the same Dragon's Blood SS uses –it's an Indonesian woody smell. If you've gone to Indonesia, you'll know what I'm talking about. It smells like a spicy, slightly aged wood, but has a sweet, rounded floral touch to it.

I also notice that this is the 2nd "Egyptian musk" scent I've gotten that smells just like baby oil. This is something I may have to watch out for.

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Halloween Night

"Sweet Candy Corn, Chocolate Candy Wrappers, Melty Gooey Marshmallows, Sticky Caramels & Black Jelly Beans" 

I think a vanilla's going sour on me, because I'm getting a sour, clay-like scent. The sourness disappeared after 5 min, but it's still a clay-like vaguely vanilla scent. I'm also getting hints of waxy gasoline. No idea wtf is going on with this scent. 

TL;DR: Sweet, waxy clay with hints of gasoline.

Overview: I need to avoid anything with caramel from SS. I tried sniffing this again and I finally got the liquorice in the background for a short while, but that blended into everything else creating this chemical-ish, cloying bittersweet scent that smells like gasoline. 

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Heat of the Night

"Vanilla, Mango, Coconut, Orange, Sandalwood, Amber, Orange Blossom, Edge of the Night Base"

You know those perfumed paper? The one that typically has a faux aged look and features tons of florals? Like this:

I actually think this is pretty and you guys should totally check out the designer's blog, lilac-n-lavender.blogspot.com/, where she provides a lot of designs for free.

This smells like that. Sharp, powdery, very very old lady type of florals with an old, dry, papery scent. With citrus. 

The perfumed paper bit is the same perfumed paper scent I get from SS' Manor. So if you like Manor, you'll like this. 

TL;DR: Perfumed paper & citrus. 

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Kitchen

"Pumpkin, Sugar Cookies, Peach Preserves, Spice Breads, Danishes, Caramel, Vanilla & Sweet Wood Smoke"

This is Possets' Gelato: Vaniglia's shadow. It's the same creamy cinnamon with a raisin type of sweetness, but the creamy vanilla bit isn't as rich as Possets' vanilla and the sweet part gets searing at times. The sweet, fruity bit is definitely stronger here. While Possets' Gelato:Vaniglia only has hints of raisin in the sweetness, this is a fruity type of sweetness with creamy cinnamon.

Don't get me wrong, it's still a delicious scent, but I just keep comparing it to Gelato: Vaniglia and it's not as impressive. It's definitely a scent I would've fallen in love with if I haven't tried Possets.

As the scent dries down you get a searing, room-spray sort of fruity scent. 

TL;DR: Possets' Gelato: Vaniglia's less impressive sibling.

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Owl Creek Aleworks

"Sticky English Toffee Pudding, Blackburn's Parlor Vanilla Ice Cream, Caramel, Toasted Coconut & Hazelnut, Sugared Pumpkin Cream Stout."

Caramel watered down in a lotion. It's like a caramel scented body lotion, only they used too little caramel fragrance, so you get mostly lotion and a bit of a thin, watered down caramel scent.

TL;DR: Caramel watered down in a lotion.

Overview: It's definitely the coconut going all lotion on me. I find that coconut notes are often very iffy since they tend to smell like sunblock.

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Pumpkin Spice Latte

"Hot steaming coffee, sweet pumpkin, cinnamon, gingerbread whipped cream and a drop of Nutmeg. Contains coffee and nutmeg essential oil."

This is that spiced coffee scent that I'm starting to get bored of since so many perfumers do it. SS' version is a more bitter, watery & hollow type of coffee note, though. It ends up smelling like a really watered down spiced latte where it's 90% water, 7% coffee, 2% vague spice flavouring & 1% milk. 

TL;DR: Overdone spiced latte scent.

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Thornwood Thicket

"Sugared Blackberries, Black Agarwood, Aloeswood, Sweet and Smoky Guaiacwood & Amber."

A woody version of some kind of artificial fruit. The wood is slightly like that sharp, powdery perfumed paper scent again. The artificial fruit bit gets more and more searing as it wears on. If you're as sensitive as me when it comes to artificial scents, this scent will give you a headache. 

TL;DR: Perfumed paper and artificial fruit. 

Overview: This scent is an insult to agarwood. Real agarwood smells like rich incense-ish wood. It's a deep, rich scent that transports you to romanticized Arabian palaces. Not this perfumed paper bs. Whoever supplies this agarwood note need to be sent to the jungles of Indonesia to sniff real agarwood. 

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Witch's Cottage

"Warm Baked Goods, Dried Herbs, Sweet Annie, Soft Woods & Fragrant Hearth Smoke." 

Soapy apples and a smoky nut scent. The smoky nut part in the beginning reminds me a lot of DC's Carny Wedding, but the soapy apple bit overwhelms it pretty fast. After 5 min, the scent also starts to develop a slightly cool scent. The scent is more of a soft apple with smoke. It's definitely a soothing, soft scent that makes you think of snuggling with a kitten in winter.

It's as cuddly as this scent feels like.
Awesome photography by Elena Shumilova

The apple bit kept threatening to go room-spray on me, but fortunately never does end up full room-spray.

TL;DR: Soft, smoky apple.

Review: Solstice Scents Foxcroft Collection & Ghost Body Ganache

I ordered the entire Foxcroft Collection and a body ganache from Solstice Scents some time ago! 

I finally got them from /u/minkishly (we combined shipping) and she also passed to me her Ghost body ganache since it didn't work out for her (the joys of knowing other beauty bloggers!). Anyway, I didn't get to see how the package arrived, but apparently I'm missing out since /u/speakstruth from indieknow.net posted these pictures of how pretty their presentation is!

Image courtesy of www.indieknow.net, reposted with permission from /u/speakstruth

Image courtesy of www.indieknow.net, reposted with permission from /u/speakstruth

So here are the reviews...

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Ghost Body Ganache

This is supposed to be scentless but it's definitely not scentless at all. There's a strong cocoa smell, which I personally like since it smells like actual cocoa instead of the artificial "chocolate" smell (actual cocoa smells like a dustier, more bitter version of chocolate), but people expecting an unscented lotion will definitely be surprised. I immediately messaged /u/daisyismydog since I remember her preference for unscented options.

Someone mentioned she found it drying on her. While I didn't find it drying, I didn't find it particularly moisturizing either. I really can't tell the difference after I put this on, and neither can my sister (who's forced to regularly grope me while I'm testing out body lotions). I think that's why my friend found it "drying" -if you're used to highly moisturizing body butters from other indies, this may not be enough for your skin. My skin is unfortunately spoiled, so after a while, I ended up with the dry patches on my elbows if I use this only.

The good thing is that the texture is very light, like slightly thickened whipped butter, and spreads easily. This gets absorbed really fast -in slightly under 2 minutes! Well, to be more exact, an average of 1min 47.5 seconds. Yes, I timed it with a stopwatch.

So now my tub sits in my office as my regular moisturizer since I use moisturizers as often as some people use hand sanitizers. It's so lightweight, I can put it on my hands and almost immediately start typing again.

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Perfume Oils Review

The throw's ok for these perfumes -within whispering distance with some notes wafting up to casual conversation distance. It stays this way for 1-2h, before the smell fades and can only be sniffed close to your skin. You can still smell faint traces lingering on your skin for up to 10 hours though.

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Blackburn's Parlor 

"Vanilla Waffle Bowl, Vanilla & Chocolate Ice Creams, Banana, Caramel, Whipped Cream"

Oh I definitely smell banana in this! It smells like a banana rum with whipped cream on top. I smell a sugared plum sort of smell in the banana rum, but some caramel notes turn into tart sugared plums on me. So I'm not sure what note it's supposed to be. After 25 min it's mostly sugared plums with cream. Delicious smell and I love it! Still not sure if it's what it's supposed to smell like though.

TL;DR: Banana rum giving way to sugared plums

Overview: I knew it wasn't supposed to smell like sugared plums! Violette Market's Caramel Sugar Kettle Corn also turned into sugared plums on me. I guess some caramel notes just turn into sugared plums me.

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Covered Bridge 

"Woods, Moss, Leaves, Wood Smoke, Dirt, Ozone, Fir Absolute"

This has that burnt wood smell again, only the burnt smell isn't too strong so it smells like a cologne featuring smoked wood as a note rather than something on fire. After 10 minutes, there's a masculine musk smell and a bit of a leather sort of bite to the scent, but the smoked wood is still prominent. The smell is a bit overwhelming, like a brand new leather chair in a very smoky cigar lounge with tons of wood panels.

This is Bibliotheque in Jakarta, one of the most beautiful bars I've ever seen. Unfortunately, they don't have a website and I can't find a single good-quality picture without people in it. This is actually the best picture I can find, which is a pity because it doesn't do it any justice. Their architect & interior designer are brilliant!
Image courtesy of jakarta100bars.com

After close to 2h, there's a bit of a BBQ smell to it.


TL;DR: Drowning in smoke in a cigar lounge, while sitting in a brand new leather chair.

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Maine Moon

"Crisp Fall Air, Wood Smoke, Leather Seats & Concessions of Root Beer, Popcorn & Chocolate Covered Caramels"

This starts off as a cool,  chocolate covered jellybeans smell, with a smokiness that clings close to my skin. While I don't really like the smoky scents, the smokiness in this isn't overpoweringly strong and stays close to my skin instead of wafting around, so I don't mind it.

This scent has the best milk chocolate note I've ever encountered. It smells like actual milk chocolate instead of the artificial cheap kind. And I swear I smell jellybeans, there's that jellybean smell every jellybean seem to have, regardless of flavour. I'm torn on the jellybean flavour though. For the first 5 minutes, it smells like the root beer jellybeans I usually get, but by 10 minutes, it smells more like the buttered popcorn or caramel corn jellybean flavours. There may be toasted marshmallows in there too, but now I'm just listing all the flavours I often get.

This starts drying down in about an hour, which is faster than the other SS scents. The note that lasts the longest is unfortunately the smoky note, so that's what's left on my skin as it dries down.

TL;DR: Chocolate covered jellybeans in Popcorn, Caramel Corn, & Root Beer flavours.

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Maplewood Inn

"Maple, Woods, Amber, Benzoin, A Roaring Fire & A Hot Cup of Frothy Vanilla Chai"

The maple smell is strong in the bottle but once it's on me, it's mostly a bitter smell that smells like burnt wood or coffee. There's also a wood resin bite that's floating above the bitterness and fighting it. If you power through, the bitterness calms down after 7-10 min, and it ends up smelling like fried, maple-coated, wood smoked bacon with burnt bits. This has a bitter, medicinal smell as it dries down. 

TL;DR: Fried, maple-coated, wood smoked-bacon with burnt bits

Overview: I tried this layered with the Ghost body ganache and it's amazing! It smells like chocolate covered, maple-drizzled wood-smoked bacon. Unfortunately, the chocolate smell fades the fastest and after an hour, it amplifies the burning smell that smells like balsam or Chinese muscle relief patches to some people.

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Minister

"Sandalwood, Amber, Cassia, Elemi, Sweet Smoke & Somalian Frankincense"

There's this citrus dryness to this scent that makes me think of either one of those car perfumes that comes in a tin, or Chinese dried orange/lemon peels. It looks like this:

I like snacking on them but it smells so acrid and the smell pierces your nose.
Image courtesy of www.esgreen.com

As a car perfume it's the kind that's in a yellow/orange tin that'll have pictures of citrus fruits and flowers on it.

The dry smell is the kind of dryness that makes you feel as if all the moisture is being sucked out of the air and pierces your nose. After 1h more floral but still bone-dry citrus. As it dries down, there's a bitter medicinal smell to it, so I'm leaning towards Chinese dried orange/lemon peels. 

TL;DR: Chinese dried orange/lemon peels.

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Sycamore Sugarworks 

"Caramelized Pear Tarts, Banana Apple Muffins, Spice Cakes With Rum Glaze, Cream Puffs & Maple Walnut Pastries"

Oh yum! This smells like something fruity and something vanilla-ish and edible. Either vanilla fudge or vanilla burnt toffee. I caught a whiff of banana in the beginning, but it disappears into the scent fast. Pretty sure there's caramel in this since I smell that sugared plum smell some caramels turn into on my skin.

There's also a "clean" type of smell that makes you think of white rooms and bright white lights -kind of like a See's Candies store. It's like going into a lab that specializes in making edible goodies.

Baker's bakery by Studio 180 in Tel Aviv...I may need to visit Tel Aviv just munch on those tempting pastries...
Image courtesy of retaildesignblog.net

The clean smell unfortunately gets stronger and sometimes, this smell tethers on the brink of smelling like a bathroom in an expensive office building, that's right next to a dessert store. 

TL;DR: A lab specializing in making desserts.

Overview: I'm guessing it's the pear note that starts smelling clean and almost office bathroom-ish.