Perfume Review: Conjure Oils Arsenic Ambrosia

By Unknown

Purchased

Conjure Oils has a series of poison-themed general catalog perfumes in a category called "Pick Yer Poison." I've tried a few of these and enjoyed them all--the one I'm sharing with you today is called "Arsenic Ambrosia," modeled after the retro fruit salad dessert named ambrosia, a combination of whipped cream, pineapple, mandarin oranges, coconut, and marshmallows.

Price: $15 for a 5 mL amber glass bottle of perfume oil with polyseal cap, $25 for a 10 mL roll-on or apothecary bottle.
Samples: $3.50 for a 1/32 oz vial.
Description from the website: "Ahh... ambrosia. The immortality bestowing food enjoyed by gods and demi gods alike! Our ambrosia may not be on the menu on Mt. Olympus, but that doesn't make it any less divine - though you can probably forget the immortal part - ours has a little secret ingredient added to ensure that!

Billows of whipped cream ooze between layers of toasted coconut meat, crushed pineapple, candied walnuts, fresh mandarin orange slices and sweet tiny marshmallows and topped with a light dusting of nutmeg, cinnamon and something sinister."

There's a healthy wallop of a pretty realistic-smelling pineapple note right out of the gate here, backed with mandarin orange. It smells pretty much exactly like ambrosia tastes, or maybe a retro jello salad laden with fruit chunks. I'm often not very good with dealing with cream notes, but the fruit overpowers the sweet/creamy notes, and the coconut and marshmallow come across stronger to me than the cream or nut notes. The canned pineapple and mandarin orange combo gives me a nostalgic feeling, and I'm trying to think of why--my grandma never made ambrosia or jello salads, and yet the scent has a nostalgic, "retro" feel to it that makes me think of her nonetheless.

The spice notes, not noticeable to me at first, become more prominent as the scent dries down, and a sort of sweet, cinnamony coconut-vanilla base studded with walnuts and almonds, like the filling of a candy bar, starts to round out the initially brightly fruity perfume.

It settles into a cinnamon-laced coconut and vanilla marshmallow cream confection with just a slight splash of pineapple. Although most of the notes read "tropical drink" to me at this point, I think the cinnamon note tips it back into a cozy, homey, winter-spice territory so that it doesn't just smell like a pina colada or sunscreen--it's more of a baked good scent at this point, but the fruitiness freshens it up so it's not too heavy or rich.

All in all, I find this scent very comforting and pretty, and it settles into a sweet gourmand scent that hugs the skin without being too overpoweringly sugary or creamy for my tastes. To be honest, I'd neglected this sample vial until I decided to review it, but I think I'll have to wear it more often now that I've realized how much I like the drydown stage.  

For other reviews of Arsenic Ambrosia, check out the Conjure County forums or Hottie Mcnaughty's blog.

Note: this scent is vegan.