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| Solstice Scents has some new fragrances for this spring! |
I love spring and summer scents - this is no secret! I already took a look at last year's Spring 2013 offerings in two parts (see part one and part two) from one of my favorite indie perfumers, Solstice Scents! This year some familiar faces make a return and there are a handful of brand new fragrances as well.
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| Cameo from Solstice Scents |
Cameo
Full size: 0.35oz glass roll-on bottle for $15.00 USDSample vial: $2.50 USD
Before applying Cameo, I thought I had it all figured out. "This is gonna smell like a whole lot of cake, then turn into a basic sweet vanilla-ish scent. Yep." I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Cameo was anything but dull! The almond notes at the beginning are VERY apparent. This is like a creamy almond pastry that smells good enough to eat, but it's not overly gourmand either. The best part is that the cakey notes are unlike the other cake-themed indies I've tried in the past. The cake notes here aren't as fleeting, they are far more robust but not dominating either. It's an excellent complimentary pair with the almond.Almond, Rose, Yellow Cake, Tonka Bean, Coconut, Ginger and Green OrangeCameo is a delicious gourmand fragrance blended with rose. Almond, rose, yellow cake, tonka bean absolute, coconut flakes, creamed ginger and a light top note of bitter green orange EO combine to create a sweet feminine floral.
The coconut here is more of a suggestion than "HEY GUYS, I'M COCONUT" and then assaulting you with a coconutty shampoo scent. It balances out the sweetness and blends so nicely that you might not even notice it. Everything is blended so expertly that it's challenging to pick out much beyond the almond and somewhat-cakey-cake notes.
Duration: After an hour or so of wear, something magical happens to Cameo - it turns into a creamy floral! I suppose I should have seen that coming considering the ingredient lineup, but for some reason it blindsided me. It turns into what I'd imagine a child's tea party smells like - no real tea to speak of, but a vase of flowers and lots of sweet, soft and fluffy cookies for feeding to your animal guests. At this point, Cameo has lost most of the almondy top notes and the rest is smooth, creamy sailing. After applying this at 7AM, I was still enjoying it come 4PM in the afternoon.
Score: 4/5
I'm not big on gourmand scents, but I like how Cameo somehow manages to transform from cookies to creamy flowers. Even better, it isn't an "aged" scent and would be an excellent perfume for someone young and just getting interested in fragrances. It's soft and gentle but the opening almond notes give it a bit of sass that make it more memorable compared to other creamy florals.
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| Chrysalis from Solstice Scents |
Chrysalis (Premium Fragrance)
Full size: 5mL glass roll-on bottle for $15.00 USDSample vial: $2.50 USD
I can always tell which offerings Solstice Scents is proud of by their descriptions, and I suspect they're all very pleased with Chrysalis. Having only spent a brief amount of time in Florida, I have no firsthand experience with what springtime ought to smell like. My own experiences in New England are far wetter and muddier! However, Chrysalis gives you a tantalizing glimpse into what life in Florida must smell like this time of year.Orange Blossom, Grass, Bitter Green Orange, Vetiver, Patchouli, Amber, Yellow Mandarin, Rose de Mai Absolute, Sandalwood and Indian AttarsChrysalis is a fragrance to represent the emergence from a bleak winter into the bright season of spring, teeming with new life, warm sun and clear skies. The first fragrances that permeate the air in our area of North Florida are sweet blossoms from a variety of citrus trees, primarily the orange tree, fresh cut grass and warm earth.
I love how Chrysalis manages to capture that sharp, bitter greenness that hovers in the air during a hazy springtime day. It's hot enough that it feels unusual compared to an average day, but it's not a summery burn. In many ways Chrysalis feels like a more outgoing and confident sibling to Haus of Gloi's Honeybelle from this year's spring release.
Where Chrysalis really shines though is about 30 minutes after the initial sharpness softens out. When I think floral perfumes, the first thing that comes to mind are creamy lilies and carnations. But Chrysalis turns into a different sort of floral. This is very fresh and green with just a whisper of gentle warmth that keeps things grounded. I suspect if I did have some experience with orange blossoms this might be more familiar to me, but this feels a little alien to me at the same time. I enjoy it, but I can't quite place it.
Duration: Chrysalis is probably one of the weakest fragrances I've tried from Solstice Scents. However, considering how intense many of their fragrances are on my skin, this is not a huge problem in the least. I applied Chrysalis at 7am and was struggling to detect much of anything come 3PM in the afternoon. It clings closely and would be an excellent "date night" scent to try if you want something that's bright and green to change things up without worrying about crazy silage.
Score: 3.5/5
If Chrysalis lasted longer for me I think I may enjoy it more. But I really love how it manages to conjure up the "feel" of a warm and heavy spring day. I think considering that I've never even experienced spring in Florida, that's a pretty impressive feat!
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| Courtyard from Solstice Scents |
Courtyard (Premium Fragrance)
Full size: 5mL glass roll-on bottle for $15.00 USDSample vial: $2.50 USD
Don't be misled - Courtyard might sound a bit girly to the untrained eye (or nose?) but this is very much a masculine scent. I'm not as well-versed in the masculine side of fragrances, but this is most certainly not a soft, feminine floral by any means!Lavender, Oakmoss, Sandalwood, Sweet Clover, Coriander, Lime, Labdanum & MoreCourtyard is an all natural elegant sweet fougere blend consisting of the most exquisite Bulgarian Lavender Absolute which smells just like lavender buds and has no astringent or medicinal profile at all.
Courtyard opens up with a jolt of sharp lavender on my skin. The lime gives it a bit of a biting edge. The scent reminds me of a teacher I had when I was younger - he was fresh out of college and meticulous about keeping a cleancut appearance. He would often wear a similar fragrance that smelled similarly and had that same "impeccable poise" and presence.
I expected the sandalwood to be strong on the drydown, but it melds into the other ingredients so expertly that I really can't pick it out. But I know it's there though because it reminds me of warm earth. The drydown tickles the back of my throat, which I'm not very fond of. Something about it reminds me of a spicy sachet to stuff in your sock drawer in hopes of keeping things smelling fresh, but that's for my socks, not for me--!
Duration: After an hour or so things finally "quiet" down, but Courtyard is constantly teeming. I know I use a lot of movement and motion-centric words when talking about fragrances, and I'd describe Courtyard as having a pulsating quality, as it feels like it sits on the surface of my skin and quivers in excitement. The sharper "lavender" stage is superior to the drydown, but overall I get about 6 hours of wear.
Score: 2/5
I would never buy this for myself, and I wouldn't be crazy about it on my boyfriend either. I admire it as a well-blended fragrance, but it just rubs me the wrong way and I don't find myself enjoying it very much.
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| Whispers in the Night from Solstice Scents |
Whispers in the Night
Full size: 0.35oz glass roll-on bottle for $15.00 USDSample vial: $2.50 USD
My initial reaction to Whispers in the Night was not a very mature one. As soon as the applicator wand left my skin, a ripple of fear went up my spine. "I smell like an old lady mixed with a Kmart bathroom air freshener!" There was definitely a distinct "old lady white floral" element to this for the first few minutes. I was waving around my arms in a panic hoping that they were the top notes that would evaporate quickest.Jasmine, Tuberose, Vanilla Orchid, Coconut, White Amber, Sandalwood, Amber & Ylang Ylang on a base of Edge of the NightThe night breeze laced with the essence of jasmine, tuberose and ylang ylang, caressed by whispers of vanilla orchid, white amber, coconut and sandalwood blended with a light base of Edge of the Night and amber.
Luckily, things turn pleasant after the first 30 minutes pass in a geriatric haze. In fact, this second morphing stage smells exactly like the lobby of a hotel I stayed at last summer in Orange County California - a clean, creamy floral with an underlying almost-smoky-but-not-in-the-tingly-way-you'd-expect scent.
I can definitely pick up the Edge of the Night base, but this is like a creamy floral version of it, all dressed up for a ladies night out on the town. There are notes of amber wrapped up in creamy, vanilla-tinged flowers (lilies?) and the entire thing smells really lovely. Even after the second level of florals evaporates, there's still very much a feminine imprint left upon the Edge of the Night base, making it a unique enough fragrance in that family to stand alone.
Duration: This stuff lasts, man. I applied some around 4PM, took a shower around 8PM, woke up around 6AM... and I still smelled some on me. But then again, Solstice Scents holds the record for most robust fragrances I've encountered so far on my smelly journey, so this really doesn't surprise me in the least.
Score: 4/5
This is unique, robust, and very expertly blended fragrance that clearly has a lot of love that went into it. I don't think it's for everyone, and there's definitely that "old person smell" risk you take in the beginning depending on your nose's memories! I think it's a far more grown up and mature fragrance compared to something like Cameo, and it would make for a good scent to wear when out on a date...or bumming around the house playing video games in sweats. Which may or may not be how I tested Whispers in the Night.
Final Roundup
Spring 2014 Collection count:
- 8 sample vials
Price:
- $19.50 for the full collection (excluding the Gardenia Enfleurage)
- $2.43 per sample (a little less than the $2.50 price per individual vial)
- 8 sample vials
Price:
- $19.50 for the full collection (excluding the Gardenia Enfleurage)
- $2.43 per sample (a little less than the $2.50 price per individual vial)
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