Today we're going to get into the Halloween part of this quarter's Circle release... because that's the bag I opened first. The theme for these five perfumes is famous witches and goddesses of witchcraft. Very appropriate inspiration for Halloween. And also because I still maintain that Claire is so good at Perfuming because of Witchcraft.
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| Unless you're in the Illuminati like Smelly Yeti, I suppose. |
Aradia
Tobacco leaf, tonka, crushed cacao pods, aged vanilla, red woods, dried spices
(premium fragrance)
In the bottle: Creme Brûlee
On my skin: It's funny, it smelled so vanilla in the bottle, on my skin it smells chocolate... Like chocolate mousse with a boozy vanilla drizzle to top it. The chocolate only lasts about thirty minutes, then it turns into a boozy vanilla float. After about an hour and a half, the scent faded down considerably. By four hours it was mostly gone, but there was a woody/spicy something left lingering on my skin for another two hours.
Baba Yaga
Fiery dragon’s blood incense, sweet woodsmoke, dried herbs, dripping candle wax, forest dirt
In the bottle: Incense and wood
On my skin: Starts out with a strong dirt scent, dirt and candle wax. Reminds a bit of BPAL's Graveyard Dirt '08, but without the musty cellar undertone. On the dry down, the incense begins to come out. After it fully dries, I smell a light, dried herbal incense, if that makes sense: It's not as heavy as a resin only incense and it's not overtly smoky. It also smells a little foresty. This is a big, bold perfume with a lot of throw that lasted just under four hours for me. All in all, I quite like it.
Black Annis
Absinthe, black honey (vegan), raw sugar, balsam, labdanum, crushed fern
In the bottle: Boozy and spicy
On my skin: Smells like spicy black licorice when wet. I'm guessing that's the absinthe. No me gusta. It doesn't help at all that this has a very strong throw. Gets a bit less licorice-y and more green wood like as it dries, thank all gods (I really hate licorice... about as much as I hate German Chocolate Cake). When fully dry, it's a slightly spicy blond (?) wood with a bit of a green note mixed in. The base is sweet herbal and lightly woody. I'm glad I powered through the licorice stage because this part is absolutely lovely. After about an hour and a half it fades down to honey with a bare hint of wood. This (and Aradia too, once she dries down) was probably the most office appropriate of the lot. Once it dried on me, it hung very close to my skin. It was also the shortest lived: I got just shy of three hours' wear time.
Hecate
Tart cranberry, benzoin, fir needle, dark chocolate, smoldering incense, dry leaves
In the bottle: Cranberries!
On my skin: Cranberries and chocolate! with a bit of something spicy &/or maybe incensey under the food. When it dries, the cranberry goes away and the chocolate merges with the incense and I start to smell fallen leaves. When it's fully dry it's this lovely dark chocolate dusted incense. This is another big perfume that lasted a good five hours.
Morgan Le Fey
Black patchouli, amber resin, vanilla bean, warm gingerbread
In the bottle: Sweet pumpkin
On my skin: This is soft and sweet but it has bite. I get pumpkin pie spices, and a bit of vanilla with a boozy edge to it. ...OK. Now I'm confused. I thought I was smelling pumpkin, but I'm beginning to think it's more of a gingerbread. Something more along the lines of gingerbread flavored cream or pudding than actual gingerbread - there's a creamy vanilla to this scent that softens the ginger and spices. The throw on this is a bit more moderate, but still noticeable. This is also another long lasting perfume: I got five hours and it
lingered close to my skin for another hour at least before I fell asleep.
If you've followed along with my perfume adventures than you already know that I have problems burning through scents rather quickly. So much so, that sometime last winter I stopped bothering to comment on longevity unless it was really short. I consider a minimum of two hours of wear to be acceptable, three to be average, and four hours to be outstanding. Indie, or mainstream, the longest lasting perfume I've ever come across before now was BPAL's The Other Mother's Right Hand, from which I get a shocking six hours of wear. Y'all can imagine my surprise when (with the exception of Black Annis) every one of these lasted me at least four to five hours, and did it smelling almost as strongly as when first applied for the majority of its duration. I knew Claire had changed up her carrier oil formula after some longevity complaints, and with this collection, it definitely shows.
~M
The Halloween Collection is limited edtion and will be available from October 1st to 31st at sixteen92.com.
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