Scented Musings

Atmospherics, ahoy! Just like the first part of my SS reviews, most of these were hits.

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.

Maine Moon*** (Crisp Fall Air, Wood Smoke, Leather Seats & Concessions of Root Beer, Popcorn & Chocolate Covered Caramels.) Full description here.

In the bottle: I fell in love with the description for this scent, especially since it conjured up mental images of a B-horror movie being played at a drive-in, and I love how it smells in the bottle too. Root beer, popcorn, and dirt are the main notes I’m getting.

On skin: Virtually the same as in the bottle, but the leather, chocolate, and caramel come out more. There’s also something slightly minty hanging out in the background as well. If you’re familiar with Foxcroft Fairgrounds, this is kind of in the same vein. They both have an incense-y, dirty, foody, autumnal atmospheric feel. The mint definitely caught me off guard, but I still love this. Something about this reminds me of Halloween as well, which is always a bonus.

Longevity: After about 4-5 hours, it settles down into primarily chocolate, caramel, and a bit of leather. It went through a phase after the first couple of hours where the popcorn was incredibly strong compared to everything else as well. Was still faintly detectable after 8 hours, and had about 6 hours of good wear.

Loggia (A Blend of Mahogany, Amber, Musk, Vanilla Bean, Allspice, Cardamom, Black Pepper, Cognac & Sandalwood.) Full description here.

In the bottle: There’s something in here that reminds me of.. pickles. It’s sharp and slightly briny, but I’m not sure what it is. For the most part, it’s incense-y and woody, but also sweet.

On skin: So we’ve gone from being reminiscent of pickles to being reminiscent of rum-soaked moth balls. This is so strange. I was really hoping I’d love this one, especially given its previous description when it was called Monster Mash, but this is not going well. The vanilla and spices are nice, as is the boozy kick, but there’s something in here that really doesn’t agree with my nose or skin. It smells old and not as woody as I’d hoped. I have Manor as well, which I’ve only smelled from the bottle as of writing this, and it smells more like how I expected Loggia to smell. I’m a bit disappointed. This was a scrubber, unfortunately.

Gibbon’s Boarding School** (Dusty Wooden Desks, Paper, Carefully Hidden Tobacco Pouch, Dying Fire, Dried Leaves, Leather Chairs, Autumn Breeze.) Full description here.

In the bottle: SUPER dusty wood, leather, fireplace embers, and a bit of tobacco. I expected this to be more.. I dunno, subtle, I guess? I’m definitely not complaining. It smells really interesting and atmospheric.

On skin: I really don’t even know how to describe this. It’s everything that was detectable in the bottle, but kind of warmed up and more complex. There’s a slight hint of apple, but it’s not the hair product apple I’m used to. It’s kind of like apple cider. There’s also a pretty heavy stone note in there somewhere, which I love. It’s definitely very bookish and evokes imagery of a sprawling brick school.

Longevity: After a few hours, something kind of vanillic comes out and warms everything up a bit. Lasted over 8 hours, but was still detectable after 10 hours.

Gunnerson’s Pumpkin Patch*** (Leaves, Vines, Autumn Air, Pumpkin Flesh, Lavender, Moss, Balsam, Tonka, Hay, Caramel, Dirt, Patchouli, Mushroom.) Full description here.

In the bottle: Truth be told, the first time I smelled my sample of this, I hated it. The lavender is very strong, and being that I’m not a fan of lavender at all really, it was a problem. The coumarin, or at least what I’m assuming is coumarin, is also very strong. But once it’s on the skin, it turns into this caramelized, dirty, herbal, autumnal atmospheric that’s really unique. It doesn’t really remind me of pumpkin patches as much as Foxcroft does, but I grew to love it after actually wearing it for a while. The dirt, caramel, and patchouli are detectable in the bottle, and it has sort of a warming quality when it hits your nose, which is fascinating.

On skin: As stated, the lavender and coumarin are very strong once on the skin. There’s a bit of viney greenery as well. I was a bit disappointed that there isn’t any mushroom detectable.

Longevity: Lasted for over 8 hours.

Thornwood Thicket** (Sugared Blackberries, Amber, Oud, Guaiacwood, Oakmoss.) Full description here.

In the bottle: Oh, boy. Very strong guaiacwood and oud, and a bit of blackberry. Guaiacwood has kind of a tarry scent, and I really don’t like it most of the time. I’m curious to see how this turns out once it’s on the skin. I’m hoping that the blackberry and woods kind of meld together and become something a bit more seamless than what’s first smelled in the bottle.

On skin: Fortunately, the guaiacwood blends in with everything else once it hits the skin, so it’s not just blackberries and tar. On the skin, it takes on a more berry incense vibe, which is really nice. I’ve read various reviews describing this as a berry version of Manor, which is pretty apt. The woods are softer here than they are in Manor, but they are very similar.

Longevity: Much like the full description, it did mellow out into a berry incense scent after a few hours. It lasted about 8 hours total.

Riverside Hayride*** (Moist Dirt, White Carnations, Fallen Leaves, Bare Branches, Hay & a Hint of Pressed Apples Carried on the Breeze from Corvin’s Apple Orchard.) Full description here.

In the bottle: I was worried about trying this, since apple tends to go into conditioner/shampoo territory on me, but after having several recommendations for it, I had to take the plunge. In the bottle, it smells like dirty apple cider, which sounds kind of gross, but it’s amazing. The carnations are very slightly in the background, and there is a hint of woods in there as well. I expected this to be sort of light and ethereal, but it’s very warm and festive smelling. Where I live, there’s a bonfire on Halloween every year, and they used to give out free hot apple cider to everyone who attended. This reminds me a lot of that, and it makes me so nostalgic. Assuming this performs similarly on the skin, this is going to be a huge hit for me. As I’ve mentioned several times in various reviews, Halloween nostalgia is a huge thing for me.

On skin: Virtually the same as in the bottle. If someone spilled hot apple cider in a bunch of dirt, this is what it would smell like, and I love it. As I mentioned, it reminds me a lot of the local Halloween bonfire, so it’s a definite win in my book. After the first hour, the apple mellows out a little and the carnation comes out more.

Longevity: Unfortunately, this became pretty faint after about 5 or 6 hours. It probably had about 5 hours of good wear, and was virtually gone after 7 hours.