Flowers and greens, oh my
So, I've finally finished testing out the fragrance oils I received a couple of weeks ago. That is, the Spring in the Highlands collection by SaraWen. Exciting! It's nice to be mucking around with fragrances again.
Overall, these were nice enough, but they don't have the wear time that I prefer. Also, I found that almost all of them smelled very similar at the end of their wear time. There weren't any that I disliked, however.
Favourites were: Lament of Trees, Georgina, and Highland Courage. Lament of Trees was also the most unique (it smells so GREEN). Haven't decided if I'll buy larger bottles of any of these; there is still quite a bit left in the sample bottles, so we'll see how I feel as I use them up.
Discussion of individual scents under the cut. I'd like to note that my sense of smell is actually not very good, so I can't detect a lot of the individual notes, and that does affect my impressions of fragrances. And of course, scents will smell differently on different people depending on their body chemistry.
01. Highland Courage
Main notes as described by SaraWen: oakmoss, musk, leather, forest greens, orris, heather
My impressions: First sniff was overwhelmingly floral. Lots and lots of heather. But when it dries, it does get that nice greens, leather, and musk scent. Very nice, not too heavy, but more floral than I was first expecting. It lasted for most of the day. This one took quite a while for it to mellow out to something that I appreciated, though.
02. Briar Rose
Main notes as described by SaraWen: Rose accord, tuberose, amber, lily, light woods
My impressions: First impression was FLORALS!!! again. Which makes sense, because of the description, but it's very in-your-face. I'm not a huge rose fan (flowers yes, rose not particularly; I have others that I prefer) so at first it was a little overwhelming. After a while, though, it calms down to something much less overpowering. Eventually, I get a note of something very sweet that sort of reminds me of vanilla, but can't actually be vanilla. As for this one... I'll finish the sample bottle, but I don't think I would buy a full-sized version of this.
03. Lament of Trees
Main notes: wet mosses, woods, bitter clove, labdanum
My impressions: On first application, it smells very green. The best comparison I can think of is "the trees and bushes section of a plant sales lot, shortly after the morning watering has been done". I used to have a summer job doing that; good fun. Anyway - once the scent calms down a bit, some spice comes in, probably the clove. This scent doesn't last all that long; I didn't time it, but it certainly didn't last all day. Applied at around 9, and by around 1PM, it had faded away to something similar to the last remnants of "Highland Courage". The same can also be said for "Briar Rose" - I found that at the end of their scents, all of these smelled very similar.
04. Georgina
Main notes: peach, black tea, mint, incense
My impressions: This one is not floral; rather it has a nice gentle sweetness. For those who dislike floral scents, this one might be something to consider (Lament of Trees is another). I don't detect peach, but I do get something which reminds me of fruit-flavoured desserts. This perfume goes on easy without being overpowering, and calms down quickly. It was not an all-day scent; it lasted about five hours, lingering after that but with barely any power at all.
05. Mari
Main notes: tea, jasmine, bergamot, aldehyde
My impression: On first application, strong scent of bergamot. Some tea in the bottle, but not on first application. A lingering sweetness - probably the jasmine. Settles to less overwhelming bergamot with more pronounced jasmine sweetness, and then I get the tea. As it fades, it leaves a scent that's hard to describe, but reminds me a bit of... ginger ale? It smells fresh, sweet, and carbonated. Unexpected, but nice!
06. English Heather
Main notes: heather, pale musk, oakmoss, orris, heliotrope
My impressions: In the bottle, it has a very strong heather scent with a hint of something mossy. The moss comes out more when it's applied. The musk is there too, and a sense of earthiness - again, probably the moss. It mellows out to something fresh but floral with a hint of musk and greenery. Dries to warm floral. Doesn't last all that long, but it's pleasant while it does last.
Bonus from extra samples; I received these as extra mini-samples with the order; they weren't part of the collection.
07. Vanilla Cake
Main notes: ... vanilla cake? I'm not sure. This scent does not seem to be listed on SaraWen's Etsy/Website.
My impressions: It is what it says on the tin. Vanilla cake! Once applied, it's VERY vanilla, but after drying a bit there is a little more to it. There's a hint of something that reminds me of baking soda. The vanilla scent is constant, but it has an artificial hint to it. In fact, the artificial note is so much that I can't say I prefer this one - it just doesn't smell like real vanilla to me. But, I will have to test it more to see if I change my mind. This is not a long-lasting fragrance; I put it on at 8 and by 1PM it was nearly gone.
08. Greenwood maiden
Main notes: gardenia, blackberries, ylang ylang, palmarosa, sandalwood
My impressions: flowers and fresh greenery. Not overpowering. More floral than green. Didn't detect any blackberries. As it dries down, there's a hint of sandalwood. This is a very unobtrusive scent, and while it was pleasant, it wasn't very long-lasting. As it wears off, the main scent remaining is sandalwood.
This entry was originally posted at http://yuuago.dreamwidth.org/3381623.html. You can comment here or at the original entry.
Overall, these were nice enough, but they don't have the wear time that I prefer. Also, I found that almost all of them smelled very similar at the end of their wear time. There weren't any that I disliked, however.
Favourites were: Lament of Trees, Georgina, and Highland Courage. Lament of Trees was also the most unique (it smells so GREEN). Haven't decided if I'll buy larger bottles of any of these; there is still quite a bit left in the sample bottles, so we'll see how I feel as I use them up.
Discussion of individual scents under the cut. I'd like to note that my sense of smell is actually not very good, so I can't detect a lot of the individual notes, and that does affect my impressions of fragrances. And of course, scents will smell differently on different people depending on their body chemistry.
01. Highland Courage
Main notes as described by SaraWen: oakmoss, musk, leather, forest greens, orris, heather
My impressions: First sniff was overwhelmingly floral. Lots and lots of heather. But when it dries, it does get that nice greens, leather, and musk scent. Very nice, not too heavy, but more floral than I was first expecting. It lasted for most of the day. This one took quite a while for it to mellow out to something that I appreciated, though.
02. Briar Rose
Main notes as described by SaraWen: Rose accord, tuberose, amber, lily, light woods
My impressions: First impression was FLORALS!!! again. Which makes sense, because of the description, but it's very in-your-face. I'm not a huge rose fan (flowers yes, rose not particularly; I have others that I prefer) so at first it was a little overwhelming. After a while, though, it calms down to something much less overpowering. Eventually, I get a note of something very sweet that sort of reminds me of vanilla, but can't actually be vanilla. As for this one... I'll finish the sample bottle, but I don't think I would buy a full-sized version of this.
03. Lament of Trees
Main notes: wet mosses, woods, bitter clove, labdanum
My impressions: On first application, it smells very green. The best comparison I can think of is "the trees and bushes section of a plant sales lot, shortly after the morning watering has been done". I used to have a summer job doing that; good fun. Anyway - once the scent calms down a bit, some spice comes in, probably the clove. This scent doesn't last all that long; I didn't time it, but it certainly didn't last all day. Applied at around 9, and by around 1PM, it had faded away to something similar to the last remnants of "Highland Courage". The same can also be said for "Briar Rose" - I found that at the end of their scents, all of these smelled very similar.
04. Georgina
Main notes: peach, black tea, mint, incense
My impressions: This one is not floral; rather it has a nice gentle sweetness. For those who dislike floral scents, this one might be something to consider (Lament of Trees is another). I don't detect peach, but I do get something which reminds me of fruit-flavoured desserts. This perfume goes on easy without being overpowering, and calms down quickly. It was not an all-day scent; it lasted about five hours, lingering after that but with barely any power at all.
05. Mari
Main notes: tea, jasmine, bergamot, aldehyde
My impression: On first application, strong scent of bergamot. Some tea in the bottle, but not on first application. A lingering sweetness - probably the jasmine. Settles to less overwhelming bergamot with more pronounced jasmine sweetness, and then I get the tea. As it fades, it leaves a scent that's hard to describe, but reminds me a bit of... ginger ale? It smells fresh, sweet, and carbonated. Unexpected, but nice!
06. English Heather
Main notes: heather, pale musk, oakmoss, orris, heliotrope
My impressions: In the bottle, it has a very strong heather scent with a hint of something mossy. The moss comes out more when it's applied. The musk is there too, and a sense of earthiness - again, probably the moss. It mellows out to something fresh but floral with a hint of musk and greenery. Dries to warm floral. Doesn't last all that long, but it's pleasant while it does last.
Bonus from extra samples; I received these as extra mini-samples with the order; they weren't part of the collection.
07. Vanilla Cake
Main notes: ... vanilla cake? I'm not sure. This scent does not seem to be listed on SaraWen's Etsy/Website.
My impressions: It is what it says on the tin. Vanilla cake! Once applied, it's VERY vanilla, but after drying a bit there is a little more to it. There's a hint of something that reminds me of baking soda. The vanilla scent is constant, but it has an artificial hint to it. In fact, the artificial note is so much that I can't say I prefer this one - it just doesn't smell like real vanilla to me. But, I will have to test it more to see if I change my mind. This is not a long-lasting fragrance; I put it on at 8 and by 1PM it was nearly gone.
08. Greenwood maiden
Main notes: gardenia, blackberries, ylang ylang, palmarosa, sandalwood
My impressions: flowers and fresh greenery. Not overpowering. More floral than green. Didn't detect any blackberries. As it dries down, there's a hint of sandalwood. This is a very unobtrusive scent, and while it was pleasant, it wasn't very long-lasting. As it wears off, the main scent remaining is sandalwood.
This entry was originally posted at http://yuuago.dreamwidth.org/3381623.html. You can comment here or at the original entry.