Company Overview! Midsummer Dreams Apothecary

By Unknown

Nothing to Disclose

Midsummer Dreams Apothecary delivers some of the most feminine packaging I've seen in a while!

There's something simultaneously exciting and rewarding about being among the early buyers for a brand new shop. Midsummer Dreams Apothecary hasn't been open very long, but I already knew when I read Cheryl's store-opening blog post that I needed to try everything! Pretty packaging, fairytale branding, and gorgeous perfume notes all sounds like a lovely-smelling recipe for fun.

Midsummer Dreams Apothecary

Cheryl gave me a little peek into what goes into her shop and how it came to be:

"I've been making perfume for four months and it has been an incredibly fun experience. I love art and science equally (I'm in school to be an RN) so it quickly became my new passion. I love playing mad scientist and creating something beautiful and unique. I have several vegan and vegetarian friends so it was important for me to offer vegan alternatives for everything. This can be a challenge, but I feel that it's important. I am a big animal lover so offering cruelty free products is another necessity. And all of my fragrance oils are phthalate free."

While I personally am not a vegetarian or vegan, I feel the standards Cheryl holds her products to are very important. People are growing increasingly aware of ingredients used in their cosmetics, and by delivering products that are not only vegan/vegetarian friendly but also are not tested on animals, you position yourself to reach an audience that sometimes feels excluded and frustrated.

Selection

Currently Midsummer Dreams Apothecary offers perfume oils and solids in five different scents. The FAQ on Midsummer Dreams Apothecary's page also claims that they sell cosmetics and jewelry, so I suspect there might be some exciting developments in the months to come as the shop establishes itself.

In my opinion, branding is an important part of setting up shop. Midsummer Dreams Apothecary does an excellent job establishing themselves from the get-go. The shop sports a fairytale theme, and between the perfume names themselves to the lovely Alphonse Mucha-esque label design they do a great job standing out and setting themselves up as something memorable.

Packaging

Bubble wrap and butterflies - how can you go wrong?!

Although I have not purchased any full-size bottles, I'm positively in love with how they look! Full size perfume oils come in a 5mL rollerball bottle, and judging by the images on the shop, they're also dressed up with a cute little charm.

If you want something a bit smaller and travel-friendly, they also come in 10ml rollerball bottles, and these are also precious. These rollerball bottles have a thicker, textured glass surface and a little gold flower detail on the top of the cap according to the photos on the site. Oh my goodness. I haven't exactly made it much of a secret - I'm such a tremendous sucker for packaging, and Midsummer Dreams Apothecary totally knocks it out of the park. While I don't own any of these sizes and can't remark on the durability, I can say that what I'm seeing is pretty gosh darn cute.

Solid perfumes come in .15oz twist-up tubes in both vegan and beeswax formulas. Samples were originally in small 1mL vials, but recently they were switched over to 1mL amber screw-top glass bottles due to some leakage reported by early buyers. While I was in the first round of shoppers that received vials, you can see images of the glass bottles on the site (since I have none to show).

Samples

You can see the caps for the vials are a little wet - there was some leaking, which is why samples are now in bottles.

As mentioned earlier, the packaging for the samples have changed. However, since there are only five scents in the shop currently, you can snag them all in one sampler pack at once for only $10, putting each sample bottle at $2 apiece. Samples are such a huge part of the shopping experience for me with perfume, and having something ready-made and affordable is a big plus in my book!

Quality

At this point I've had a chance to sample everything at least once (or in the case of a few items, many, many times). Here are my thoughts at a glance:

Beauty

Creamy sweet vanilla joins with sensuous warm amber amidst the fragrance of a garden full of rich full-bodied roses, earthy rosewood, and hints of oakmoss. This perfume is both rich and feminine with a balance of bold florals, earthy scents, and sweet vanilla.

My sister remarked that this could fit in with both "Beauty and the Beast" and "Sleeping Beauty" given the fairytale theme and use of roses. Beauty is hands down my favorite in the collection. I'm always a bit hesitant with rose-scented fragrances because rose tends to be a bossy little git on my skin and steals the spotlight. 

However, with Beauty the rose and vanilla seem to swirl together in something creamy, floral, and sweet all at once, while a nip of earthy wood keeps things grounded and elegant. It's almost... buttery in a non-gourmand sense. If I had to pick one for a full-size, Beauty would be it.

Mermaid

A blend of sweet vanilla, sea salt, and calming lotus blossom is accompanied by the Hawaiian puakenikeni flower and rounded out with elegant gardenia. This blend is delicate and feminine and smells like a seaside garden on a breezy, spring day.

I did some Googling, and the puakenikeni flowers are awfully cute, but until Google gets smell-o-vision, I'll just have to imagine their scent. Mermaid is unfortunately my least-favorite in the bunch. On my skin it turns into an awkward beachy-cough syrup medley. Bergamot is also listed as one of the notes, so I wonder if that's what's leading my nose astray. It's a salty-sweet floral on drydown though, but I definitely feel it's more of a breezy beachside scent rather than a bright spring day.

Rapunzel

Fields of fragrant sweet grass warmed by rich amber, with hints of delicate honeysuckle vines, climbing roses, and night blooming jasmine swirl together in this delicate blend. This is a delightfully fresh and feminine perfume that smells like a sunny, grassy meadow covered in wildflowers.

My sister initially tried this before me, and while we both enjoyed it, Rapunzel is so quick to evaporate! She described it as "baby powder grass and flowers," and I'd say she's pretty much on the mark. Rapunzel is one of the most youthful scents in the set. I wish it was just a smidge less powdery and maybe a teeny bit more creamy - perhaps that would aid its staying power.

Snow White

Sweet apple, juicy pear, and crisp fig mingle with the floral scent of sweet ylang ylang and earthy scents of balsam cedar, and rosewood. This is a delicious blend of fruity and forest scents that is fresh and crisp.

Snow White is my absolute favorite fairy tale, so I was super pumped for this one! It opens with a very similar "juicy apple" scent to the OHWTO apple fragrances, wet and sweet. This floats off pretty quickly though (within about 15-20 minutes) and then things start getting spicy, like cinnamon and cedar. I find this humorous because Sultan's Daughter claims to be a spicy scent (and on my skin it isn't in the least), and Snow White is supposedly crisp - on my skin the reverse is true! The drydown for me is woodsy with a spicy tingle. I actually can see this working very nicely as a unisex/masculine scent. I suppose when you're sharing close quarters with seven other men it's inevitable!

Sultan's Daughter

Sultry, warm amber blends with sweet vanilla and is surrounded by a palace garden filled with rich jasmine blossoms, hints of fragrant and sweet ylang ylang, and fig. This is a feminine but slightly spicy blend that is warm and bold.

I received both an oil and solid perfume version of Sultan's Daughter, and I'm a bit confused. Sultan's Daughter is neither spicy, sultry, nor warm and bold on my skin (maybe a bit "snuggly-warm" but not "sultry-warm"). Instead it's like a squeaky clean, soapy floral with a bit of sweet vanilla to round it out. I've been applying the solid version to my wrists every evening just to be sure I'm not imagining things. I really like this scent, I'm just perplexed because it doesn't smell like what I anticipated.

Cost

Midsummer Dreams has affordable samples and solids and slightly more expensive than average full-sized oils. But given the branding and packaging, I can understand the markup. 

Perfume Oils

• $30 USD for 15mL rollerball bottle
• $18 USD for 10mL rollerball bottle
• $10 USD for 5 1mL amber glass sample bottles

Solid Perfumes

• $7.50 USD for 15oz Vegan or Beeswax twist-up toggle applicator

Customer service

I sent Cheryl a short message inquiring about the sample pack that was sold out at the time. She responded quickly and let me know a new batch was being processed and that I could pay for it in advance and she'd shoot me one in the mail. It was sent out on Monday and I received it Saturday (one day late since my mail carrier accidentally delivered it to my neighbor). She also quickly switched over to bottles instead of vials for the samples because people were experiencing some leaking. Professional, prompt, and approachable!

TAT

The FAQ page states the official TAT is 2 weeks, although my order arrived pretty quickly. For international orders, delivery time can take between 2-12 weeks depending on the country.

Shipping

Shipping rates aren't as transparent as TAT and a bit tricky to find out until you start putting things in your cart and calculating it out. I loaded up my cart and domestic shipping was still $2.50 for me, but rates will vary depending on your location.

Personal Thoughts

I think Midsummer Dreams Apothecary is off to an excellent start and has some great things going for it. Between its branding, packaging, attention to detail, and of course the products themselves, this is one indie I'd keep an eye on.

The solid perfume's initial shape 

I do wish the perfumes had stronger staying power. My shortest-lived scent was the perfume solid (2-3 hours), the longest lasting scent was Snow White at 4-5 hours. Also, I think the perfume solid formula could be tweaked a little bit. The tube I received had the product settled in a concave shape, leaving a big gap in the middle. I had to shave the edges down before it was comfortable enough to use. It also was not very smooth to apply until I had let it warm up in my pocket for a while.

I think the fairytale branding provides a really exciting opportunity. I'd love to see unique label designs for each scent line. I can also envision a line of men's fragrances modeled after fairytale princes ("Sea-Fairing Man - a breezy blend of amber, musk, salty oak and a squeeze of lime and rum"). Maybe even a line of gourmand scents ("Hansel - pine, vanilla, cinnamon, and a pinch of anise" or "Gretel - sugared peppermint and graham crackers with a drizzle of white chocolate") or something more unisex ("Frog's Kiss - cool green moss, aquatic notes, grassy mud"). I could go on. And on. But seriously, this could be so much fun, and I get the feeling there's going to be more in store in the future!