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| Possets Haunting Music, olfactory melodies for your nose? |
Enter decanting circles. We talked about them briefly in the Beginner's Guide to Fragrances post, but in a nutshell it's where someone (or several someones) will buy full-sized bottles and decant them into sample vials to share or sell to others. Given the Possets business model, decanting circles seem to be the answer to my question! I decided to jump right in with Ajevie's Circles and picked out four of the Possets Haunting Music fragrances I absolutely had to try.
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| I'm a sucker for details, and this stamp is fantastic! |
Decanted sample vial: sample vial for $2.50 courtesy of Ajevie's Circle
Full size: 5mL glass bottle for $12.50
What would Halloween be without haunting music? Toccata and Fugue by Bach, anyone? Bwah-ha-ha-haaaaa! Possets has composed a holiday's worth of exceptional blends for you to play at full volume. From the Requia to the whimsical, we have it all. I think you will be highly amused!
I wasn't sure what to expect, as this was my first time ordering via decanting circle, and to be honest things have been so busy I completely forgot about my order by the time I arrived. It was such a pleasant surprise though! I was very impressed with how tidily Ajevie packed everything up, and of course the festive stamp on my package was an excellent finishing touch. My order was placed on October 8th, and I received my package on November 4th. Almost a full month for turnaround time, but considering these were decanted into sample bottles and whatnot (and... that I forgot I placed my order) it didn't bother me one bit. Everything was wrapped up neatly in bubble wrap to keep safe and the envelope had no tears or any damage.
I'd like to take a moment to talk about how much I love Ajevie's sample vial labels. These samples are actually some of my favorite packaging out of any sample vial I've received from an indie shop - the only way they could be even better is if they weren't paper, as I am most likely going to dribble some of the perfume down the side and get them stained. But aside from the material, they're perfect. They tell you the fragrance name, a rundown of the notes, the indie shop it's from, and even the year.
These are my ultimate labels! I love having all the notes listed at once, although at the same time it's kind of fun not knowing sometimes when I blindly grab a sample to try. I also love having the date as it allows me to keep track of how long I've owned it. If Possets lavished their products with the same royal sample treatment as Ajevie has done, I'd be throwing lots more money into my purchases.
So how do the actual fragrances stack up? I've worn each at least once so far, here's my at-a-glance impressions:
Partus (sToa)
Partus was a composition by a group known as sToa, a modern romantic classical music group from Germany. It's a haunting melody, a waltz which you could imagine dancing with The Devil in his most comely form. A grey almost smoky musk, a small hint of tea, and a bit of hawthorn bark, an almost rosy side musk, and an accord which smells like silk. This is a smooth and seductive perfume, very snugly and it has a hint of child to it yet it is totally adult.
I wasn't sure I'd like Partus, and I wasn't really all that hyped about the song by sToa either, but the description sounded so appealing! Sometimes I find myself disagreeing with the Possets descriptions and feel they're very off from what my own experiences are, but Partus is definitely a smoky, silky musk. I agree 100% with the Possets description, and on my skin it settles down to something smooth and sweet. This is not the sort of smoky scent that tingles at the back of my throat, and it lasts for hours.
The Thieving Magpie (Mozart)
All movement and merriment a highly amusing blend of: pink wintergreen, fruit, spearmint, Bourbon vanilla, and a crystal-white musk. Candy-like but refreshing, not cloying. I see this as a great blend to encourage someone to chase you, when you want to be caught! Very sexy in the fun mode. There is a winsome whiff of clean, cold outdoor air to this which sets it apart. I used the idea of frolicking during Trick or Treat as my inspiration! Gourmandy.
I don't pretend to be a classical music expert, but "The Thieving Magpie" was a familiar song to me... and a quick search shows me it was by Rossini, not Mozart. Is there some other version I don't know of? What's the deal? Musical questions aside, this is the girliest scent in my collection of four. Fruity fragrance lovers rejoice! The Thieving Magpie opens with a decidedly sweet, fruity concoction. I'm not picking up any sort of bourbon-y vanilla, although after an hour or two the sugary sweetness slips into something a little cold and almost nippy - the wintergreen mint? My younger sister tells me this smells like "fruit soap" though, so I'm not sure. I wouldn't classify this as a "very sexy in the fun mode" (what does that even mean?) but something more darling and innocent. That poor magpie just wanted to snatch up the sparklies, that's all!
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| Keeping things tidy with bubble wrap! |
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| The perfect sample vial label. |
So how do the actual fragrances stack up? I've worn each at least once so far, here's my at-a-glance impressions:
Partus (sToa)
Partus was a composition by a group known as sToa, a modern romantic classical music group from Germany. It's a haunting melody, a waltz which you could imagine dancing with The Devil in his most comely form. A grey almost smoky musk, a small hint of tea, and a bit of hawthorn bark, an almost rosy side musk, and an accord which smells like silk. This is a smooth and seductive perfume, very snugly and it has a hint of child to it yet it is totally adult.
I wasn't sure I'd like Partus, and I wasn't really all that hyped about the song by sToa either, but the description sounded so appealing! Sometimes I find myself disagreeing with the Possets descriptions and feel they're very off from what my own experiences are, but Partus is definitely a smoky, silky musk. I agree 100% with the Possets description, and on my skin it settles down to something smooth and sweet. This is not the sort of smoky scent that tingles at the back of my throat, and it lasts for hours.
The Thieving Magpie (Mozart)
All movement and merriment a highly amusing blend of: pink wintergreen, fruit, spearmint, Bourbon vanilla, and a crystal-white musk. Candy-like but refreshing, not cloying. I see this as a great blend to encourage someone to chase you, when you want to be caught! Very sexy in the fun mode. There is a winsome whiff of clean, cold outdoor air to this which sets it apart. I used the idea of frolicking during Trick or Treat as my inspiration! Gourmandy.
I don't pretend to be a classical music expert, but "The Thieving Magpie" was a familiar song to me... and a quick search shows me it was by Rossini, not Mozart. Is there some other version I don't know of? What's the deal? Musical questions aside, this is the girliest scent in my collection of four. Fruity fragrance lovers rejoice! The Thieving Magpie opens with a decidedly sweet, fruity concoction. I'm not picking up any sort of bourbon-y vanilla, although after an hour or two the sugary sweetness slips into something a little cold and almost nippy - the wintergreen mint? My younger sister tells me this smells like "fruit soap" though, so I'm not sure. I wouldn't classify this as a "very sexy in the fun mode" (what does that even mean?) but something more darling and innocent. That poor magpie just wanted to snatch up the sparklies, that's all!
Twee (Unknown)
Tho not strictly a musical term, please think of this as tweetish. Very very sweet and not in a gourmandy way, very innocent, childlike, but at the same time unbelievably voluptuous. This one ravishes its way through your mind. Sugar musk and hawthorne, a very small amount of rose, a very powdery amber, and a sort of a sugar haze accord that I make in house. This is for full on seduction and is about 10000% feminine. It is the sort of thing that those glorious Sicilian beauties would have worn in The Leopard. You know that Claudia Cardinale smelled just like this in the movie (see it...it's amazing). Twee is amazing. Not for everyone but, if it is for you....amazing.
What I am about to say is going to make me sound unforgivably creepy. When I was about 10 or 11, for only one shining year of my youth I was not the shortest in my class (this was short-lived, womp-womp) and one girl happened to be a few inches below me. She also was ahead of me alphabetically, so whenever we queued up she would stand in front of me. I don't even remember her face or name, but she had this clean and sweet scent to her hair... actually at the time I thought it was just radiating from her scalp, but I was ten.
Twee smells just like that little girl, perhaps grown up now though. Maybe it's because I associate it with her I couldn't consider this a sexy scent because there's something sweet-but-not-sugary about it. There's a dry "wood" undertone that weaves its way all throughout (the hawthorne?) that reminds me of an old set of wooden drawers. Is Twee amazing? Maybe not outrageously amazing, but I think I need to wear it a few more times to make up my mind.
Vide Cor Meum (Patrick Cassidy)
The haunting operatic fragment from Hannibal (the movie) is one of the most beautiful short piece of music I have ever heard. It was written by Patrick Cassidy Of course, it is suitably creepy in the setting of it all and that adds to the thrill. This is something of an experimental fragrance, with a faintly green accord, a very classy sandalwood, osmanthus, and a small amount of ginger. It's edgy and sophisticated, a bit daring, sharp on the top notes but cozies down to a very calming blend when it settles down on the skin.
So I've never seen Hannibal - horror movies just don't do it for me. I also misread the description when I first saw this listing and thought it had a "green accordion" note. But I saw "ginger" and wanted it, so this was my impulse buy. It reminds me very strongly of Marianne from Sweet Anthem Perfumes despite the fact that none of the notes described match. Vide Cor Meum starts off sharply green, almost nose-wrinklingly green. But something magical happens as everything settles. The sandalwood "toasts" things up and rounds out the green notes, and it turns into something remarkably cozy. I can see this being sophisticated for sure! There's just the tiniest nip of ginger, just enough to give it a bit of spice. I wound up liking this scent a lot more than I thought I would because the dry-down was so lovely, and it lasts forever! I applied some at 6:30AM and still smelled it on my wrists after a run at 5PM.
I'm so pleased with my first decanting circle experience - the Possets fragrances I tried were very lovely, and had there been no decanting circle, I never ever would have tried them. Between the clean packaging, fantastic labels, and overall painless experience, I can't wait to buy again!
Tho not strictly a musical term, please think of this as tweetish. Very very sweet and not in a gourmandy way, very innocent, childlike, but at the same time unbelievably voluptuous. This one ravishes its way through your mind. Sugar musk and hawthorne, a very small amount of rose, a very powdery amber, and a sort of a sugar haze accord that I make in house. This is for full on seduction and is about 10000% feminine. It is the sort of thing that those glorious Sicilian beauties would have worn in The Leopard. You know that Claudia Cardinale smelled just like this in the movie (see it...it's amazing). Twee is amazing. Not for everyone but, if it is for you....amazing.
What I am about to say is going to make me sound unforgivably creepy. When I was about 10 or 11, for only one shining year of my youth I was not the shortest in my class (this was short-lived, womp-womp) and one girl happened to be a few inches below me. She also was ahead of me alphabetically, so whenever we queued up she would stand in front of me. I don't even remember her face or name, but she had this clean and sweet scent to her hair... actually at the time I thought it was just radiating from her scalp, but I was ten.
Twee smells just like that little girl, perhaps grown up now though. Maybe it's because I associate it with her I couldn't consider this a sexy scent because there's something sweet-but-not-sugary about it. There's a dry "wood" undertone that weaves its way all throughout (the hawthorne?) that reminds me of an old set of wooden drawers. Is Twee amazing? Maybe not outrageously amazing, but I think I need to wear it a few more times to make up my mind.
Vide Cor Meum (Patrick Cassidy)
The haunting operatic fragment from Hannibal (the movie) is one of the most beautiful short piece of music I have ever heard. It was written by Patrick Cassidy Of course, it is suitably creepy in the setting of it all and that adds to the thrill. This is something of an experimental fragrance, with a faintly green accord, a very classy sandalwood, osmanthus, and a small amount of ginger. It's edgy and sophisticated, a bit daring, sharp on the top notes but cozies down to a very calming blend when it settles down on the skin.
So I've never seen Hannibal - horror movies just don't do it for me. I also misread the description when I first saw this listing and thought it had a "green accordion" note. But I saw "ginger" and wanted it, so this was my impulse buy. It reminds me very strongly of Marianne from Sweet Anthem Perfumes despite the fact that none of the notes described match. Vide Cor Meum starts off sharply green, almost nose-wrinklingly green. But something magical happens as everything settles. The sandalwood "toasts" things up and rounds out the green notes, and it turns into something remarkably cozy. I can see this being sophisticated for sure! There's just the tiniest nip of ginger, just enough to give it a bit of spice. I wound up liking this scent a lot more than I thought I would because the dry-down was so lovely, and it lasts forever! I applied some at 6:30AM and still smelled it on my wrists after a run at 5PM.
I'm so pleased with my first decanting circle experience - the Possets fragrances I tried were very lovely, and had there been no decanting circle, I never ever would have tried them. Between the clean packaging, fantastic labels, and overall painless experience, I can't wait to buy again!
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