With my recent indie bath and body kick, Solstice Scents has been high on my favorites list. They are first and foremost a perfumery but also make wonderful whipped soaps, body butters, bath salts, and sprays.
Warning: Lots of praise and fangirl-ing ahead.
Some of these pictures may look familiar! A few of the packaging pictures have been reused from our review on the Solstice Scents Autumn Release.
Packaging:
The best. Hands down. The best.
Solstice Scents packs the box with enough cushion-y material to keep your goods safe. In the pictures above, it was festively-themed shredded paper but I've also gotten the more standard tissue paper. Small, themed additions (the wheat, tiny pumpkins, and moss) have consistently been in my packages.
Perfume samples come in standard vials, tucked in a plastic bag. Full-size perfumes come in blue glass roll-ons. Whipped Soaps, Body Ganaches, and Bath Salts are plastic-sealed and also come with safety seals under the lids.
I've heard some reports of the ink bleeding but I personally haven't had any issues even though I take my soaps with me into the shower. This may be isolated to just the perfume vials with the oils that tend to strip away any ink. This is an issue that the owner has addressed on their Facebook page. Though I wasn't directly effected, I thought this was a really great way to handle the issue.
Selection:
In addition to their seasonal releases, Solstice Scents offers the Manor Collection, the Foxcroft Collection, and the Night Collection along with their general catalog of scents.
The Manor Collection is a set of fragrances themed after the different rooms that one would expect to find in a historical manor. It began with the scent Manor but expanded with another five scents that focused on different rooms in the house. There are six scents in this collection.
The Foxcroft Collection is themed after the fictional town of Foxcroft, lovingly created by the owners of Solstice Scents. The scents in this collection take after different locales in the town. My personal favorite of the set (and possibly of Solstice Scents in general) is Blackburn's Parlor, set in the town's ice cream shop. The town of Foxcroft has its own map and with the purchase of anything from the Foxcroft collection, a shiny "newsletter" from the town will be tucked into your box. I love that they do this.
The Foxcroft Collection doubled in size with the second part of this last Autumn's release, the Foxcroft Autumn Festival which the owners have intention on adding to the permanent line. (XD)
The Night Collection is a set of six "In The Night" perfumes which I can only group together as "mysterious."
Solstice Scents also has a very large assortment in their general catalog but seems to be working more on their seasonal releases as of late.
Like Haus of Gloi, Solstice Scents' releases have been very popular as of late and often the bath products sell out quickly and sadly are not guaranteed to be restocked. Most of the general catalog is not usually offered in bath product form (or at least, not that I've ever seen) but the other collections often are (though if you see something you want, better grab it asap). The company has stated that they are primarily a perfumery and only have bath and body products in limited supply.
If you can grab them, the company usually puts out Whipped Soaps, Body Ganaches (the SS version of Body Butters), Bath Salts, and Burnishing Glaces with each release.
One of the more interesting products that Solstice Scents offers is the Burnishing Glace Mist which is advertised as a body spray but also has moisturizing properties. The product pages also say that they can be used in the bath "for a moisturizing and aromatic experience."
I've heard that in the past, Solstice Scents has also offered facial care products, like masks, as well as soaps in bar form but these particular items are currently not available.
The Manor Collection is a set of fragrances themed after the different rooms that one would expect to find in a historical manor. It began with the scent Manor but expanded with another five scents that focused on different rooms in the house. There are six scents in this collection.
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| Foxcroft "Newsletter" |
The Foxcroft Collection doubled in size with the second part of this last Autumn's release, the Foxcroft Autumn Festival which the owners have intention on adding to the permanent line. (XD)
The Night Collection is a set of six "In The Night" perfumes which I can only group together as "mysterious."
Solstice Scents also has a very large assortment in their general catalog but seems to be working more on their seasonal releases as of late.
Like Haus of Gloi, Solstice Scents' releases have been very popular as of late and often the bath products sell out quickly and sadly are not guaranteed to be restocked. Most of the general catalog is not usually offered in bath product form (or at least, not that I've ever seen) but the other collections often are (though if you see something you want, better grab it asap). The company has stated that they are primarily a perfumery and only have bath and body products in limited supply.
If you can grab them, the company usually puts out Whipped Soaps, Body Ganaches (the SS version of Body Butters), Bath Salts, and Burnishing Glaces with each release.
One of the more interesting products that Solstice Scents offers is the Burnishing Glace Mist which is advertised as a body spray but also has moisturizing properties. The product pages also say that they can be used in the bath "for a moisturizing and aromatic experience."
I've heard that in the past, Solstice Scents has also offered facial care products, like masks, as well as soaps in bar form but these particular items are currently not available.
Samples:
Only perfume samples are offered. With each purchase, you get to choose a free perfume sample. They also offer perfume samples in sets of three, five, or groups of full collections. In the past, they've offered individual perfume samples but that seems to be missing from their site now.
Quality:
When people describe perfumes, they often tell a story for the perfume to describe what the scents remind them of or how the perfume changes. Solstice Scents products tell their own story. Angela, the owner, is a master at scent layering and complexity.
With some companies, I go looking for the scent notes that are listed in the product blurb. Sniffing here, trying to get a whiff there. But Solstice Scents writes out long descriptions with details on how the scent changes and it's always so spot on that I never have to look anywhere, the smells just come out on their own.
As for the bath and body products themselves, they make me sad that Solstice Scents doesn't have a larger staff. The Whipped Soaps are fluffy and lather up wonderfully on both a loofa or on the hands. The Body Ganaches absorb completely into my skin and are great for more complex scents. I've also tried their Bath Salts and though I haven't felt any physical properties from the salts, they dissolved completely in the bath and are great for aromatherapy.
AG adds: My skin tends to make the majority of perfume oils disappear within two or three hours, but Solstice Scents perfume oils last ages on me. Even the flightiest floral top notes stick around for hours. I'm convinced it's sorcery, but we don't have a section for that, so I'm putting it here as further evidence for the high quality of these products.
Cost:
My orders from Solstice Scents always end up a little pricey-er than orders from other companies but mostly because there are no samples here.
Perfume Samples: $2.50
Full Sized Perfumes: $10-$15
Body Ganache (Body Butter): $9 for 4oz
Whipped Soap: $9 for 8oz
Burnishing Glace (Spray): $14-$15 (one oddball at $20) for 4oz
Bath Salts: $10 for 8oz
I think their products are priced reasonably and very on par with other indies. Definitely worth it for the quality.
Perfume Samples: $2.50
Full Sized Perfumes: $10-$15
Body Ganache (Body Butter): $9 for 4oz
Whipped Soap: $9 for 8oz
Burnishing Glace (Spray): $14-$15 (one oddball at $20) for 4oz
Bath Salts: $10 for 8oz
I think their products are priced reasonably and very on par with other indies. Definitely worth it for the quality.
Customer Service:
I have personally not needed to contact Solstice Scents with any issues but they are very active on their Facebook Page and have recently created a Facebook Group for casual discussion on the products. They are also very active in the group.
AG adds: I had a really fantastic customer service experience with Angela. My fellow scent lovers may know the pain of losing a product in your hoard, discovering it a year later, falling head over heels in love with it, and then finding out it was discontinued months earlier. Totally normal, right? Right. This happened to me with Garden Gate, a gorgeous, long-lasting lilac and wisteria blend which totally captivated me. I wrote an email to Angela asking if she had any leftover products. Though I didn't expect much - I'm positive these small brands don't have the storage or financial overhead to keep old products around - I was absolutely delighted when Angela let me know she had a bit of the perfume concentrate left and was willing to make me a perfume oil. She made me a custom listing and sold it to me for the normal price; I even got to pick out a free sample. I'm so grateful Angela went above and beyond for me to get my hands on one of her favorite scents!
AG adds: I had a really fantastic customer service experience with Angela. My fellow scent lovers may know the pain of losing a product in your hoard, discovering it a year later, falling head over heels in love with it, and then finding out it was discontinued months earlier. Totally normal, right? Right. This happened to me with Garden Gate, a gorgeous, long-lasting lilac and wisteria blend which totally captivated me. I wrote an email to Angela asking if she had any leftover products. Though I didn't expect much - I'm positive these small brands don't have the storage or financial overhead to keep old products around - I was absolutely delighted when Angela let me know she had a bit of the perfume concentrate left and was willing to make me a perfume oil. She made me a custom listing and sold it to me for the normal price; I even got to pick out a free sample. I'm so grateful Angela went above and beyond for me to get my hands on one of her favorite scents!
TAT:
FAST. The website states that most orders are shipped within 48 hours or less. I have consistently gotten shipping notices the day after a purchase with the package in my hands within three/four days.
Shipping:
If you can keep your order under 13 ounces, shipping is cheaper since your package can ship first class. However, if you order bath and body products, it will definitely be over that weight limit. Anything over 13 ounces, Solstice Scents ships with 2-Day Priority Flat Rate (usually $11.30 in the US).Personal Thoughts:
I love this company. Is it obvious yet? I usually pick up a Whipped Soap in the scents that I think I'll like and I'm sad that products sell out so quickly since it means that if I want to go back for the Body Ganache, it probably won't be around. But on the flip side, I'm glad that they're doing so well!Stay tuned for an overview of the Solstice Scents Winter Collection Part 1!
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