Solstice Scents Reviews, Pt. I

[femmenstein]

First Solstice Scents review, ahoy! Somehow, literally everything I tried in this batch was a massive hit for me, which very seldom happens. Witchcraft!

As usual, favorites are denoted with an asterisk. Solstice Scents’ storefront can be found here. They also stock with Femme Fatale in Australia and Pretty Indulgent in Canada. Both stockists ship internationally, as does Solstice Scents. I've also linked every scent's Indie Scent Library page for the full descriptions.

Smokewood Apiary***(Smoked Honey, Creamed Honey, Beeswax, Amber, Wooden Frames, Ginger & Vanilla.) Full description here.

In the bottle: Lots of honey, beeswax (yay!), and a tiny bit of amber and ginger.

On skin: Dripping honey, chewy beeswax, a little bit of wood, and a little bit of spice. I don’t get much smoke, if any, until an hour or two after application. I wanted to try this in hopes that it’d be super beeswax heavy, and it definitely is! Overall, it’s a pretty soft scent.

Longevity: Still detectable after 6-7 hours.

During the Rain*** (Petrichor, soaked Earth, limestone, loam, clay and wet concrete.) Full description here.

In the bottle: Wet dirt and stone. Reminds me of earthworms, which is really nice.

On skin: Largely the same, but the stone is sweetened a little bit by something else. I don’t know if this reminds me of petrichor and rain as much as it reminds me of cemeteries. Actually, this kind of smells like a cemetery after it’s rained, which is perfect.

Longevity: Lasted for 7-8 hours.

Halloween Night*** (Sweet Candy Corn, Chocolate Candy Wrappers, Melty Gooey Marshmallows, Sticky Caramels & Black Jelly Beans.) Full description here.

In the bottle: Licorice, candy corn, caramel, and chocolate. Definitely evocative of Halloween candy.

On skin: Virtually the same. The licorice candy is definitely the star of the show here. It’s worth noting that I’m not a fan of licorice at all, regarding both the taste and the scent. I’ve had scents featuring licorice that I’ve liked before, however, and Halloween Night definitely falls into that category as well. I’m also heavily biased, because anything that involves Halloween, especially Halloween-related nostalgia, sends my heart aflutter. This kind of reminds me of bulk candy bins more than Halloween, but I really enjoy it regardless.

Longevity: After an hour or so, the licorice mellows out a little bit and it becomes predominantly caramel, marshmallow, chocolate, and candy corn. This part is definitely more evocative of Halloween than the initial scent upon application. In the drydown after the licorice disappears, it reminds me of Alkemia’s Sweet Sorcery a little bit, which is one of my favorite autumnal gourmands. They’re both like bottled childhood Halloween nostalgia. Had about 6 hours of good wear, but was still detectable after 9 hours.

Foxcroft Fairgrounds*** (Cotton Candy, Cream Soda, Vanilla Taffy, Gridling’s Funnel Cakes, Powdered Sugar, Crisp Fall Air, Woodsmoke & a Tendril of Incense.) Full description here.

In the bottle: Something sweet and berry-like, incense, and something a bit dirty.

On skin: Virtually the same, if not a bit dirtier. I’m assuming the berry-like note I’m getting is a combination of the cotton candy, cream soda, and taffy. I don’t get the funnel cakes or powdered sugar at all, so my initial thought that this may be like Alkemia’s County Fair was quickly put to rest. This is sweet, woody, smoky, dirty, a little spooky, and definitely atmospheric, which is exactly what I was hoping for. Love this.

Longevity: Becomes very close to the skin after about an hour, which is also when the funnel cake note comes out. By the 3-hour mark, it’s very faint. I was kind of expecting this one to be longer lived, but it’s possible that it needs more rest. Throughout the whole thing, and especially during the sweet smoke and incense phase of the drydown, I’m still getting some sort of berry note. Lasted about 3-4 hours total, but was still very, very faintly detectable after 9 hours.

Jack & the Devil*** (A blend of sugared golden pumpkin, spices, oakmoss, sweet vanilla, aged patchouli essential oil and dried brown tobacco leaf.) Full description here.

In the bottle: Spiced pumpkin, patchouli, vanilla, and a bit of tobacco. Very warm.

On skin: The spiced pumpkin and vanilla are definitely the strongest on the skin. I get very little patchouli or anything else. It’s kind of like a grown up, creamy, dark pumpkin gourmand, which is what I was hoping for. The pumpkin is nice and spicy, but it’s not a pumpkin spice scent, if that makes any sense. This will be perfect for autumn, though I tend to wear autumnal scents year round regardless. This scent is really well-blended.

Longevity: This was probably most potent during the first 6 hours, but I can still smell it pretty strongly after 9 hours. It’s mellowed, of course, but it’s still there. I could also smell it after 10 hours, a hand wash, and through unscented moisturizer.

Inquisitor*** (A Dark Resinous Blend of Leather, Labdanum, Beeswax, Frankincense, Benzoin, Palo Santo, Vetiver & Fire.) Full description here.

In the bottle: Resinous, a bit sharp, and very foreboding. Reminds me of churches a bit.

On skin: The leather, resins, and something slightly sweet are very strong upon initial application. I wasn’t expecting this to be quite as spooky and intimidating as it is, and I love it. I had read various reviews about getting a root beer note in there, but I don’t get that at all. It’s mostly just leather and burning resins/wood. It’s very commanding and smoky. It reminds me of something, but I can’t put my finger on what it is.

Longevity: After about half an hour, the leather calms down a bit, and there’s a very faint impression of beeswax. It’s still got that burning feel from the resins and wood. After about two hours, the beeswax and amber come out a bit more and soften everything. The blend takes on a more “perfume-y” tone at this point. After about 5-6 hours, Inquisitor becomes a little dusty and sweeter. Lasted for 8-9 hours.

Winslow’s*** (Rows of Christmas Trees, Clove Studded Oranges, Bayberry Tapers, Handcrafted Wreaths & Mistletoe.) Full description here.

In the bottle: Looots of pine, clove, a bit of orange, and holiday greenery. I love this.

On skin: Largely the same, though the clove and orange are a bit stronger than the pine upon application. This is like the Christmas season in a bottle. As usual, this scent is very well-blended.

Longevity: Becomes pretty subtle after about 2 hours, unfortunately. Still detectable after 8 hours, but very faint. Mostly clove, orange, and a bit of pine at this point.

Foxcroft*** (Decaying Leaves, Rich Black Soil, Dry Leaves, Fall Air, Woods, Chimney Smoke.) Full description here.

In the bottle: Just what it says on the tin. It’s really remarkable that SS managed to somehow capture the essence of autumn and bottle it. All of the notes are detectable in the bottle.

On skin: Primarily leaves and dirt, and something that resembles fungi a little bit. There’s also something sweet and fresh in there. Very reminiscent of an autumn forest. This actually smells a lot like our local pumpkin patch does in October.

Longevity: As time wears on, the sweetness that was there on initial application tends to get amplified a little bit, but not in a gourmand way or anything. Still very much autumn personified. It gets a little bit soapy after 5-6 hours, and then changes to a tree and dirt scent after 7 hours. I don’t think I’ve ever had a fragrance that morphs this much, especially in the later phases. It’s fascinating. Lasted for over 9 hours.