I figured that for my very first review I ought to reveiw the perfumes that pushed me down the rabbit hole of inde perfumerie. That would happen to be the fabulous Claire and her new joint sixteen92 Perfumerie. ...Well that and the fact that I'm still working my way through everything else I've bought.
Originally, I purchased a five sampler pack (with The Awakening, Mellifera, I Saw Goody Proctor With the Devil, Penny Dreadful, and Southern Gothic) during her initial preview sale in August. You can check out my raw first impressions over on reddit. Since then, I managed to swap for four more of the permanent line up, I purchased the entire fall sampler set, and I also picked a few of the new lotion samples. Today, I think we'll stick to the initial release scents.
The Awakening
Ocean Air, Dark Water, Damp Mosses, Gulf Mud, Saltwater Taffy
Unisex / Mossy Aquatic
In the bottle: Tangy but sweet
On my skin: Coming back to this one, I still get that saltysweet top note, but I can actually figure out what I'm smelling: caramel corn. This quickly transforms into a clean sea breeze.
Sillage: Good. My mother could smell it sitting next to me, but she didn't find it to be too strong.
Wear time: Like a dope I forgot to write this one down. I'm pretty sure it was between two and three hours.
Dullahan
Amber, Oakmoss, Rose, Funeral Lillies, Wood, Dirt
Floriental / Woody / Dark
In the bottle: Uh... weirdly cloying.
On my skin: It starts off earthy, with that weirdly cloying note. On the dry down, it turns into something that reminds me of nothing so much as gardening. I grow vegetables in containers, and this is the scent on my hands after I get done adding compost into to the existing soil in order to refresh it before I transplant my little seedlings. I could almost feel warm dirt under my nails and the sun on my back.
Sillage: Very light. You have to get very up close and personal to smell it.
Wear time: Very short. About an hour and a half.
Encantando
Flor de sal (sea salt), Brazilian lime EO, tobacco, Bay Rum
Aquatic / Marine / Citrus / Earthy
In the bottle: Sweet and citrusy
On my skin: In the beginning, it smells like sugar cookies frosted with lime. As it dries, the lime gains strength and the sweetness disappears. I'm not really detecting the tobacco or the rum as individual notes; I do catch a hint of something under the lime, but it's very well blended together. The overall impression this scent gives off is beachy and summery. This is me laying out on the beach, soaking up the sun, with a brightly colored drink that's topped with an umbrella.
Sillage: Moderate. I can lightly catch it with my wrists at my waist.
Wear time: About three hours.
Grimm
Cacao absolute, Tonka bean, tobacco, immortelle, wet forest moss & leaves
Unisex / Earthy / Dark / Woody
In the bottle: Huh. Floral maybe, but rich and very complex.
On my skin: Complex. It's hard to pick out notes at first. On the dry down the chocolate emerges. Mmm. Sadly, it doesn't last very long on me; I think it's just my skin's chemistry. This settles into an earthy floral. It feels like walking through a garden on a damp and foggy morning.
Sillage: Light. There's a hint of something in the air, but this is one you have to get up close to really smell.
Wear time: About two hours.
I Saw Goody Proctor With the Devil
Dragon's Blood, Champaka Flower, Exotic Spices, Ancient Spellbooks, and a Smouldering Cauldron
Unisex / Oriental / Smoky / Incense
If you went and read my original impression, then you know that originally this smelled to me like every New Age Bookstore ever. After allowing it to settle for a few days, this was still true. It just became easier for me to pick out the components. It felt sweetly spicey, with I think, anise and I definitely get the incense. Smoke emerges slowly now instead of jumping out of the jar. The champaka is also much more prominent.
Mellifera
Wildflower Honey Accord (not vegan), Violet, Jasmine Sambac, Vanilla Infused Sugar, Sandalwood
Feminine / Floriental / Sweet / Vanilla
Out of the jar: Grape Juice! Maybe with fizzies. Feels very effervescent
On the skin: When I first tried this, what I got the most was Honey! Now that it's settled down, this smells like a fizzy version of Welch's White Grape Juice. It's light and sweet with a hint of earth underneath it. I absolutely love it. Of course, considering that I've used some form of Mellifera almost everywhere I've gone online, this could have smelled like fermented ram's piss and I still would have bought it. Lucky for me, it's fabulous.
Sillage: Light. This doesn't have a lot of throw; it stuck very close to my wrist.
Wear Time: Sadly, this lasted only two hours on my wrist. I can an extra half hour or so if I apply it to my inner elbow or behind my ears.
Penny Dreadful
Ambergris Accord (vegan safe), Labdanum, Oakmoss, Immortelle, Bulgarian Rose Absolute, Black Orchid, Wormwood
Unisex / Victorian Chypre / Woody / Herbal
In the bottle: Elegant, old fashioned roses, with a hint of... I can't decide if it's wood or musk. Maybe both.
On my skin: Definitely an old fashioned kind of perfume. Soft flowers that felt very poignant. Old Garden Rose and something else I can't put my finger on. Very delicate. At first, I thought it didn't have much sillage (I love that word so much), but then I realized I was still smelling it while standing with my hands at my sides. It's just a very faint fragrance; it's almost more like a memory of a scent. Fades down slowly to reveal it's under pining of a very feminine musk.
Wear Time: This was the longest lasting one on me. I got about four hours out of it.
Southern Gothic
Tart Mandarin, Juicy Red Apple, Natural Coconut Pulp, Magnolia Grandiflora & Jasmine Sambac Absolute, over a base of Sweet Balsam and a touch of earthy White Sandalwood
Fruity Floral / Feminine / Citrus / Tropical
In the bottle: Tart oranges like whoa with a tiny bit of floral underneath.
On the skin: It smells like dessert: fruity, but more orange than apple-y, with a bit of milkiness from the coconut. The fruit fades very quickly on me, and then it's just coconut milk with the flowers slowly starting to bloom. They reach a sort of equilibrium before the Magnolia comes out and takes over. It lingered for quite a long time before fading to reveal a green musky earthiness.
This scent feels like making myself a cup of Vanilla Chai tea sweetened with coconut milk and then going to sit out on the patio some late spring night. It also reminds me of the day I literally followed my nose for two blocks trying to figure out what that amazing smell was before finding the most beautiful, blossom covered Star Magnolia tree.
This scent feels like making myself a cup of Vanilla Chai tea sweetened with coconut milk and then going to sit out on the patio some late spring night. It also reminds me of the day I literally followed my nose for two blocks trying to figure out what that amazing smell was before finding the most beautiful, blossom covered Star Magnolia tree.
Sillage: Moderate. Nice bit of throw without being too overwhelming.
Wear Time: I got a good three and a half to four hours out of this one.
Swarm
Beeswax Absolute (not vegan), Amber, Vanilla Absolute, Orchid Blossoms, Spanish Lavender
Feminine / Floriental / Sweet / Resinous
In the Bottle: A soft sweet floral
On My Skin: I can definitely smell the beeswax and vanilla with a bit of lavender hiding in the background. This is a light, sweet floral with a hint of powder. Very lovely.
Sillage: Moderate, then light. At first it has nice range without being overwhelming, then it dries down to stick close to the skin.
Wear Time: Two and a half hours.
In summary, this might be a new shop, but you'd never know it. The level of care and professionalism that Claire puts into not only the perfumes, but every aspect of her business - the labelling, the packing materials, the images she uses, the fact that she has a stand alone site to go along with her Etsy shop - is amazing. She offers her perfumes in 2 ml samples (which come as singles for $4.50, trios for $12, or a five pack for $18) and full sizes of either 1.5 drams (5.5 ml) for $13 or 10 ml roll ons for $20.
As far as the scents themselves, while my favorites are Mellifera, The Awakening, and Penny Dreadful, there were absolutely none that I didn't love and haven't worn multiple times. They are all rich, complex, incredibly well blended, and wearable scents. I really need to get my hands on the rest of the general catalouge.
As far as the scents themselves, while my favorites are Mellifera, The Awakening, and Penny Dreadful, there were absolutely none that I didn't love and haven't worn multiple times. They are all rich, complex, incredibly well blended, and wearable scents. I really need to get my hands on the rest of the general catalouge.
~M
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