Haus of Gloi: General Catalog Review (Elevenses, Litchi Milk Tea, Imp)

By Unknown

Elevenses, Litchi Milk Tea, and Imp from Haus of Gloi

What's your favorite kind of scent? Something you'd enjoy smelling all day without any complaints? Mine are sparkling, tart citrus scents, especially grapefruit (yum yum). Maybe it's because my mother was a tad bit neurotic with the orange-lemony cleaners growing up, but something about them is very comforting to me.

There's also some interesting (albeit debatable) research behind citrus scents: some studies say "clean" scents actually inspire people to be more charitable, and the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation claims that the scent of citrus fruits, particularly grapefruit, cause others to perceive the wearer as being younger (although if you're blessed with a baby face and love grapefruit... this might be bad news to you).

Either way, if your nose enjoys citrus scents, you're in luck!  Haus of Gloi offers several enjoyable scents with a citrusy tang, and they're part of the general catalog, meaning they're always around and not limited or seasonal.  My top three favorites are Elevenses, Litchi Milk Tea, and Imp.

Elevenses by Haus of Gloi

Elevenses

Full size: 5ml amber glass bottle for $12.00 USD
Sample vial: $2.50 USD

Not quite breakfast and not quite lunch, it's the little sip and nibble in between! Bring out the old cracked china! Tiny, little, fluffy orange cakes, sugar coated toasty almonds and a wee steaming cup of black tea.

What initially drew me to Elevenses was not the orange,  but how positively quaint and adorable the description was.  The mental image it conjures up is irresistible!

A whiff straight from the vial is instantly, nose-crinklingly tart, almost a bitter tartness that seems a bit heavy on the orange rind.  The tart orange actually sticks around for a while, which surprised me because I thought it'd be the first to go.

After a while the orange does mellow out some, but it's still there in the background, making sure to give your nose a good poke so it doesn't forget about it. This is when your olfactory tea party really gets started.  While I don't really notice much in the way of tea (although I supposed they warned me; it's only a wee steaming cup), Elevenses slowly morphs into a soft, toasty yet tart almond-and-citrus blend. It's hard to tell if it's the orange's tartness softening, or if the "sugar" part of the "sugar coated toasty almonds" is coming forward.  I imagine it's a little of both.

The orange scent in Elevenses isn't as "bright" as the other citrus scents.  There's something heavier, darker, and tarter about it - but it isn't too weighed down because the toasty almonds balance it out.  Something about it reminds me of an orange biscotti I had once. I really enjoy this scent, although I have to be in the mood for it and would find it overwhelming if I wore it everyday.

Duration: This is definitely one of the more "hardier" scents in Haus of Gloi's catalog.  Even by the end of the day I was still able to catch a whiff of orange. It softens out considerably and loses much of its initial bitterness, leaving a gentle, soft and sweet odor behind.

Score: 4/5
It's unique and certainly unlike most of the sparkling citrus fragrances I gravitate towards.  It's not too bitter or too sweet, which I like. It has a strong character though and can be a bit overwhelming. It's not an instant full size-buy, but I will continue to dip into my sample vial regularly.

Litchi Milk Tea by Haus of Gloi

Litchi Milk Tea

Full size: 5ml amber glass bottle for $12.00 USD
Sample vial: $2.50 USD

Tart lychee fruit and black tea met with a splash of coconut milk.

Litchi Milk Tea seems to be the darling of the Haus of Gloi catalog.  When I first started exploring indie scents (and scents in general), this was the scent most people would suggest. I've never actually had lychee milk tea,  but I'm familiar with the lychee/litchi taste. I also happen to love tea and coconut milk, so clearly this was meant to be.

Instantly it starts of bright, cheerful, and citrusy (yay)! There's no hesitation, it lets you know it's a chipper, tart scent.  But there's no puckering or nose-wrinkling.  I don't really notice anything coconutty, but behind the scenes something soft and sweet is preventing the tartness from bursting out of control, and I'll wager a guess that it's the coconut milk.

I think what makes this such a winner for so many people is that it has a healthy balance of tartness and sweetness.  It's not sickeningly, syrupy-sticky sweet, nor is it nose-wrinklingly tart.  There's almost something sizzly and frothy about it, like the foam at the top of your lemon soda.  Although this is part of the general catalog, I think it is well-suited as a sunny summer scent.

Duration: Another winner! The nice thing about Litchi Milk Tea is that it doesn't go through any crazy morphing stages as it wears on your skin.  Even at the end of the day you still can detect a hint of tartness, although the sweet, coconutty tea creeps in and softens everything. Like Elevenses, it doesn't cling extremely close, but you aren't leaving a haze wherever you go either.

Score: 5/5
I'm still not sure why I haven't picked up a full size bottle; I think it's because I feel secure in knowing it's always in their catalog and I'm trying to much else at the same time. If you're a fruity-scent lover, this is for you!  However, if you aren't, I'd still check out the sample because there's a lot of interesting stuff going on. I made a habit of shoving my scented wrists into my perfume-picky-sister's face, and Litchi Milk Tea was very well received.

Imp by Haus of Gloi

Imp

Full size: 5ml amber glass bottle for $12.00 USD
Sample vial: $2.50 USD

This little fellow longs to be your bath time companion! Peculiar passion fruit mingling with sun cured apricots, perfectly pink grapefruit juice and innocent whispers of wet mimosa blooms.

Ahh, Imp, you can be my bath time companion any time! I love you so much. If not buying a full size bottle of Litchi Milk Tea is a shame, not buying a full size bottle for Imp is a crime.

Our relationship didn't start out so nicely. This is a great reminder to give your oils a little shake if they've been sitting on the bottom of your drawer for days and days. When I first tried Imp, I disliked it.  I was reminded of the middle school girls' locker room - where everyone is using that same stupid bath and body spray that smells like a citrus medley doused in saccharine syrup cloud. Ugh! Who would want to wear something like that?

Luckily, I gave Imp another chance (and a little shake), and I was pleasantly surprised on my second (and subsequent) wear. Grapefruit is one of my favorite fragrances, and I picked up on it right away.  However, it wasn't overpowering, and there was still a sparkling zine of passion fruit. It triggered happy memories of a trip to Australia, where I spent every breakfast at a little Korean cafe drinking passion fruit soda with a little grapefruit slice and bowl of soup.

Similar to Litchi Milk Tea, there's no "you just got punched in the face by a lemon" tartness that makes your eyes water. I'm guessing that's thanks to the apricots or those little whispering mimosa blooms. It's definitely bright and bubbly though and is a nice complimentary fragrance if you want some zing but don't feel like Litchi Milk Tea.

Duration: Marvelously robust. It lasts all day. It "softens", but don't misunderstand - it still retains every bit of bright cheerfulness. Even after a shower at the end of the day I still had little sweet grapefruit notes twinkling on my wrists (how dainty!) although a full 24 hours later I can assure you it was gone.

Score: 6/5
Sparkling, zingy, twinkling citrus flavors with a subtle floral suggestion underneath. This would be the perfect summer cookout punch, the perfect post-beach-visit shower scent, where you're sitting on the porch listening to crickets and drinking a frothy passion fruit smoothie. If you enjoy citrus scents, this is the one to check out.

As with all Haus of Gloi samples, you can stock  up on as many sample vials as you want without paying shipping... this is so dangerous, but so wonderful. Their turnaround time is fabulous, and I usually receive my package only 3 days later.