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Solstice Scents Reviews, Pt. IV
Nov. 8th, 2021 07:06 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
femmensteinBlackburn Farmstead (Blackberry Jam, Boysenberry Preserves, Vanilla Bean, Creamy Vanilla & a Touch of Vanilla Musk.) Full description here.
In the bottle: Lots of berry and ice cream-y vanilla. Smells a little bit grape-y and very 90s.
On skin: Man, this thing has a huge throw straight after application. It's like a cloud. There's some sort of vague green note among the berries and vanilla, which gives the impression of the greenery of a berry bush, which is cool. There's something about this that reminds me of the scent of plastic/rubber Halloween witch noses from the 90s, which is something I've said in several reviews before as well. It reminds me of berry Lip Smackers a bit as well, along with 5 cent berry gummies, and it's very nostalgic smelling. It's kind of like various happy parts of my childhood in scent form. I love this so much.
Longevity: I took a 3-hour nap after wearing this for about 5ish hours and it was mostly gone by the time I woke up, so somewhere between 5 and 6 hours. The scent that's left after the nap reminds me of Foxcroft Fairgrounds.
Mountain Vanilla (Sweet Clover, Coumarin, Vanilla Musk, Fresh Green Accord, Poplar Buds, Morning Dew.) Full description here.
In the bottle: Wow, this is green. I don't know what green clover and poplar smell like, but this is super fresh and vine-y. Something about it reads almost vegetal too, but it's on the cusp. The dew note is beautiful as well.
On skin: This has a very strong wet hay note (coumarin, I'm assuming) that kind of dominates everything else. It smells like wet hay, wet grass, and a very fresh, non-foody vanilla. Probably one of the greenest scents I've ever smelled. I appreciate the composition and how well this is blended, but I'm not sure if I like it or not. The coumarin is a tad overwhelming for me.
Longevity: Unfortunately, this is really astringent and sharp on my skin, and it gets into laundry detergent territory after about an hour. It lasted for over 6 hours.
Russian Caravan (Amber, smoked black tea, leather, pine resin, Earth, smoke, black currant, black pepper.) Full description here.
In the bottle: Uh oh.. this has the same weird pickly note that Loggia had. Great.
On skin: Annnd that note translated onto the skin, with an added bonus of smelling like melting plastic. Absolutely not for me, and was a scrubber. Major bummer, because I was really looking forward to this. It smells almost identical to Loggia on me, which I also really didn't like. Womp womp.
Sea of Gray (Vanilla rain, saltwater, seaweed, ambergris (vegan), white amber, roasted seashells, white sandalwood, frangipani.) Full description here.
In the bottle: The seaweed almost reads like Solstice's dirt note, which I'm incredibly fond of. It's basically just dirt/seaweed and a bit of vanilla in the bottle. I don't get any sort of aquatic notes or anything else mentioned in the description.
On skin: Largely the same as in the bottle, but the vanilla comes through a lot more, and the ambergris becomes detectable. It really does conjure up imagery of a little ice cream shop on the beach, and it's amazing. It's sweet, aquatic, a bit dirty, a bit salty, and a bit somber. This is going to get a lot of use during the warmer months.
Longevity: As the scent wears, it becomes a bit warmer. It morphs a bit, and the salty notes take center stage for a while, then the vanilla cycles through, followed by the seaweed note. This is phenomenal. Lasted over 6 hours.
Smoky Mountain Mallow (Wood Smoke, Fossilized Amber Resin, Lapsang Souchong CO2, Guaiacwood, Labdanum, Nutmeg EO, Marshmallow.) Full description here.
In the bottle: Before I let this rest, it smelled like suntan lotion, somehow? After a few days' rest, it reminds me of those mini marshmallows people use in ambrosia. Not nearly as smoky as I'd expected.
On skin: Charred wood (really nice charred wood) and untoasted marshmallow. I've had the same experience with SMM that I had with Gunnerson's Pumpkin Patch, in which I didn't like it much at first and borderline hated it, but then it grew on me. The marshmallow kind of goes between toasted and untoasted. I have a complicated relationship with this one. Sometimes I love it, and other times I'm indifferent toward it.
Longevity: After about an hour, the marshmallow mellows out a bit and everything actually takes on a smoky tone. It's still mostly charred wood, but I'm not opposed to that.
In the bottle: Lots of berry and ice cream-y vanilla. Smells a little bit grape-y and very 90s.
On skin: Man, this thing has a huge throw straight after application. It's like a cloud. There's some sort of vague green note among the berries and vanilla, which gives the impression of the greenery of a berry bush, which is cool. There's something about this that reminds me of the scent of plastic/rubber Halloween witch noses from the 90s, which is something I've said in several reviews before as well. It reminds me of berry Lip Smackers a bit as well, along with 5 cent berry gummies, and it's very nostalgic smelling. It's kind of like various happy parts of my childhood in scent form. I love this so much.
Longevity: I took a 3-hour nap after wearing this for about 5ish hours and it was mostly gone by the time I woke up, so somewhere between 5 and 6 hours. The scent that's left after the nap reminds me of Foxcroft Fairgrounds.
Mountain Vanilla (Sweet Clover, Coumarin, Vanilla Musk, Fresh Green Accord, Poplar Buds, Morning Dew.) Full description here.
In the bottle: Wow, this is green. I don't know what green clover and poplar smell like, but this is super fresh and vine-y. Something about it reads almost vegetal too, but it's on the cusp. The dew note is beautiful as well.
On skin: This has a very strong wet hay note (coumarin, I'm assuming) that kind of dominates everything else. It smells like wet hay, wet grass, and a very fresh, non-foody vanilla. Probably one of the greenest scents I've ever smelled. I appreciate the composition and how well this is blended, but I'm not sure if I like it or not. The coumarin is a tad overwhelming for me.
Longevity: Unfortunately, this is really astringent and sharp on my skin, and it gets into laundry detergent territory after about an hour. It lasted for over 6 hours.
Russian Caravan (Amber, smoked black tea, leather, pine resin, Earth, smoke, black currant, black pepper.) Full description here.
In the bottle: Uh oh.. this has the same weird pickly note that Loggia had. Great.
On skin: Annnd that note translated onto the skin, with an added bonus of smelling like melting plastic. Absolutely not for me, and was a scrubber. Major bummer, because I was really looking forward to this. It smells almost identical to Loggia on me, which I also really didn't like. Womp womp.
Sea of Gray (Vanilla rain, saltwater, seaweed, ambergris (vegan), white amber, roasted seashells, white sandalwood, frangipani.) Full description here.
In the bottle: The seaweed almost reads like Solstice's dirt note, which I'm incredibly fond of. It's basically just dirt/seaweed and a bit of vanilla in the bottle. I don't get any sort of aquatic notes or anything else mentioned in the description.
On skin: Largely the same as in the bottle, but the vanilla comes through a lot more, and the ambergris becomes detectable. It really does conjure up imagery of a little ice cream shop on the beach, and it's amazing. It's sweet, aquatic, a bit dirty, a bit salty, and a bit somber. This is going to get a lot of use during the warmer months.
Longevity: As the scent wears, it becomes a bit warmer. It morphs a bit, and the salty notes take center stage for a while, then the vanilla cycles through, followed by the seaweed note. This is phenomenal. Lasted over 6 hours.
Smoky Mountain Mallow (Wood Smoke, Fossilized Amber Resin, Lapsang Souchong CO2, Guaiacwood, Labdanum, Nutmeg EO, Marshmallow.) Full description here.
In the bottle: Before I let this rest, it smelled like suntan lotion, somehow? After a few days' rest, it reminds me of those mini marshmallows people use in ambrosia. Not nearly as smoky as I'd expected.
On skin: Charred wood (really nice charred wood) and untoasted marshmallow. I've had the same experience with SMM that I had with Gunnerson's Pumpkin Patch, in which I didn't like it much at first and borderline hated it, but then it grew on me. The marshmallow kind of goes between toasted and untoasted. I have a complicated relationship with this one. Sometimes I love it, and other times I'm indifferent toward it.
Longevity: After about an hour, the marshmallow mellows out a bit and everything actually takes on a smoky tone. It's still mostly charred wood, but I'm not opposed to that.
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