Jessye Gets Bubbly! A Quick PSA!

I apologize for the delay in posts. There was a death in my family right as my backlog of posts ended, and I have been dealing with that. We should be back on schedule- please remember the blog takes a break December 25th-28th to celebrate the holiday with our family.

Jessye Gets Bubbly! Solstice Scents' Conjure Dark!

Purchased

Solstice Scents 
Conjure Dark Perfume Review

Amber, Frankincense, Sweet Incense Smoke, Dried Rose Petals, Sandalwood, Vetiver, Woods, Oud, Vanilla

I promised this was incoming, and here it is! Conjure Dark! If my memory is correct, this was one of the first new EDPs released last year when Solstice came back from vacation. When it came out, I decided against it because I have a jar of Conjure body ganache from last Autumn, and it aged to a vanilla scent that is just too sweet for my tastes. I assumed Conjure Dark was built on Conjure (it’s not), and I didn’t want to end up with a perfume that I hated. But then I went through a Solstice crave this summer, and bought 2 sample packs to try a bunch of scents. And the scent notes for Conjure Dark are all things I love. So hating a sample wouldn’t be a big deal.

I love this perfume. I love it so much, I bought it as a full size oil. And then this past July, I bought it as an EDP. This scent is a marriage of notes, drying down to basically exactly what you smell when you first apply it. It is masterful. It smells like a spicy amber to me with touches of woods and vanilla, which doesn’t sound nearly complex enough, but is ridiculously so and absolutely lovely. This perfume is the epitome of why we shop indie- I would never find this scent in a drugstore or a department store- this is a scent meant for the person who loves to smell a little mysterious, a little dark, and a whole lot unique.

To note, there is a difference between EDP and oil. I have no idea where it is. When I sniff both of them from the bottle, they smell exactly the same. When I use the EDP, the scent feels incomplete, like I’m only getting some of the notes. I thought maybe I just wasn’t using enough, but using more heavily hasn’t fixed the problem yet. It might be that I am still spraying the EDP on my skin and not on my clothes, so my skin just isn’t playing nice with the alcohol formula. I am beginning to really love the application of oils as oppose to EDPs though, so I can switch my scents daily (Don’t look at me like that- you don’t wear the same sweatshirt two days in a row? They’re comfy!).

To be clear- I LOVE this perfume. I don’t regret buying the EDP. It is probably the best perfume I’ve tried in the past 3 years, and I bought a Diptyque EDP a couple of years ago. I think the only perfumes that overshadows Conjure Dark are other Solstice perfumes that I've fallen in love with after they've spent some time quietly aging into an orgasmic scents of delight.

Jessye Nails It! Lucky 13 Lacquer's Base Coat and Top Coats!

Purchased

Lucky 13 Lacquer 
Part 3 of 3 - Top Coats and an Overall Review

End stretch! Time to talk formulas! In this post, we’ll cover the base coat, the two top coats, and a general review of the nail polish itself. And we will have covered all of Lucky 13 that I currently can cover! Let’s review things!

Pop & Peel Base Coat

This sounds like the worst idea in the world when you first see it. It lets your polish peel off? What the hell? Well, if perhaps, you swatch several nail colors a day, or hate trying to get glitter polishes off, or want your nail polish off the second it chips, this really isn’t such a bad idea. You apply the base coat, let it dry, and then apply your polish and top coat like normal. It will either peel on its own with time, or you can stick your nails under water and peel them off as soon as you like.

If you pick at your polish, this is great. It doesn’t affect your nail. It peels off cleanly without destroying the smoothness of your nail or anything like that. And mostly of them will peel off the whole nail cleanly- I hoarded all of my peels so you could see the results. The ones that had the hardest time peeling cleanly were the ones that I had problems getting them to dry in the humidity. They tended to peel in pieces, but otherwise it was a clean peel every time with the whole color to most of the color coming off.

Elemental Ward Top Coat

This top coat was made to be the best in top coats, not dulling the natural shine of the polish and cracking hard to prevent chipping as much as possible. It was great for both. I showed the matte top coat and the Elemental Ward top coat side by side with a bare nail, so you could see the difference. My index finger is bare; middle finger is the matte coat; and ring finger is the Elemental Ward. They are on top of Always Be a Princess. I think this top coat even added a little extra shine to the nail. This is a great top coat that will definitely help your polish from chipping.

We’re All Matte Here Top Coat

If you’ve ever wanted to keep your mattes matte and still use a top coat, this is the solution for you. You can also put it on a glossy finish polish to mute it a little. I’m a little iffy on theory vs. execution. I notice particularly with the shiny finish polishes, there is a distinct color change, which makes me a little shy on the idea of using it regularly. You can see in the photo that the pink is actually quite dulled next to the Elemental Ward Top Coat. On a more matte finish, it seems to be less affected, so it will be great for my naturally matte polishes, but I probably won’t use it on the glossy finishes.

Nail Polish Formula

I have used a few indie nail polishes to date. Many of them haven’t been reviewed because I was either displeased with the formula, they were passed off to me by someone who had already reviewed them or I am just notoriously forgetful about remembering that I can review these and I’ve passed them off. This is a solid 2nd place for me in terms of formula. It was too thin for my tastes. I much prefer Black Phoenix Trading Post for nail polish, which is nice and thick. One of these polishes actually chipped in the time it took me to walk to our rooftop dog park from our apartment to take photos. I prefer to not top coat most days. It’s a weird hold over from dance, and I want something that’s a little less likely to chip so quickly.

Final Thoughts

This is a really fun company. They have so many selections on finish and color and funny little things like thermals and ones with huge chunks of glitter in them! If you’re looking for a unique nail polish that will make your nails stand out ahead of the crowd, this is absolutely the way to go. What’s your favorite indie nail polish company? Let us know in the comments!

Jessye Nails It! Lucky 13 Lacquer's Always, Always Be a Princess, and Always Be a Fairy!

Purchased

Lucky 13 Lacquer 
Swatch Post  Part 2 of 3

More swatches! Part 1. Stay tuned for Part 3 where we review stuff!

Always 

Sheer silver-y topcoat with aqua microflakes that glows bright blue in the dark.

Personal Thoughts: Okay, this is going to be a long one. I put this first on top of base coat because I wanted to see how it looks on its own. It is a clear coat with the lightest sheen of blue glitter. They glow more like a traditional green glow in the dark. You can see how the bottle looks more blue.

Then I layered it on white and matte black.  I love how it makes the matte black shine blue-black. I stuck my hand in a lamp for about 30-45 minutes and then locked myself in the bathroom again to see the glow. There was no glow on the black, and the white turned the glow much closer to green than blue.

Out of Stock

Always Be a Princess

Rose pink linear holo with rose/copper/gold color-shifting shimmer.

Personal Thoughts: This is a darling pink. A bright happy pink that will cheer you up just looking at it. I love pink in the summer and this will easily be my go-to nail color for those sunny days.

Purchase Link

Always Be a Fairy

Lavender linear holo with aqua/blue/violet color-shifting shimmer.

Personal Thoughts: This was a gift to me from AG when she went to Pride here in Seattle. She said of all the colors from the collection, this was absolutely the one I had to have (I’m a bit of a fairy princess). And she was right. Guys, this is gorgeous. I was told it would look really lovely over black (as shown over my very badly chipped black nails), but I love it all by itself. I think it is darling as just a sheer shimmer on my nails. I love the color. In my bathroom, it’s a lovely glittering lilac (Sorry, I was in the tub. No photos). Outside, it’s a sheer glitter bomb. It looks just like I want fairy wings to look with the sun shining through every iridescence. A perfect color.

Purchase Link


Stay tuned for Part 3 where we review the base coats, top coats and the polishes themselves!

Jessye Nails It! Lucky 13 Lacquer's I am No Man, Murder Mystery and Mayhem, Misfits of Mayhem, and Do As You're Told!

Purchased

Lucky 13 Lacquer 
Swatch Post Part 1 of 3

I spend so much time discussing how great my friends are, and this definitely stemmed from them. At Pride Fest this year, AG picked a bottle of “Always be a Fairy” for me. Obviously, I had to get more to try even more awesome nail polishes! So this will be a 3 part series of 2 swatch posts, and then a review of Lucky 13’s polish longevity products (base coat and top coats) as well as a brief overview of how I felt the polishes performed over all.

All nail polishes were swatched over Lucky 13’s Pop and Peel Base Coat, two coats of polish, and NO top coat unless otherwise noted. All photos were taken in shade or full sun unless otherwise noted. Photos of bottles were taken in a lightbox.

I Am No Man

Emerald green jelly with teensy gold flecks, fine and medium gold, and medium emerald glitters.

Personal Thoughts: This is a really smooth green that looked lovely. The glitter settles in bottle and needs a little extra manipulation to get on the brush completely.

Purchase Link

Murder, Mystery, and Mayhem

Purple crelly with silver shimmer and silver glitters in all sizes.

Personal Thoughts: This plays very similar to I Am No Man in appearance, just purple. It is a little richer in application. The glitter also settles to the bottom in the bottle and will need to be manipulated as well.

Purchase Link

Misfits of Mayhem

Dark red (warm) to blood red (cool) thermal with electric blue and silver holo micro shred glitters.

Personal Thoughts: (Taken in Shade and Partial Sunlight) This had a very odd, almost rough finish to it. I didn’t realize there was blue glitter in it until just now when I read the notes from the website. The silver glitter looked red to me. I used an ice cube to show you the thermal color. It was a much darker red where the ice cube was laid on the polish, and I really loved that darker color.

Out of Stock

Do As You’re Told 

Deep wine red with burgundy shimmer and black undertones.

Personal Thoughts: (Taken in Shade and Partial Sunlight) This was one of my favorites. This didn’t photograph that well for me, and I apologize. I was having problems getting a good photo of it, which sucks because I really love it. This is a great mid-tone burgundy for those days when you want a red that that exists between bright red and deep dark red. It will easily change between daytime and nighttime.

Out of Stock

We Missed Our Own Birthday?! It's Time For a Giveaway!

Happy (Belated) Birthday Indie Know!

We totally missed our own birthday, but never fear! There will still be a giveaway!

But first some news:

Jessye Gets Bubbly is now on Instagram! @jessyegetsbubbly

Jessye Gets Bubbly is now on Twitter! @bubblyjessye

AG has been on Instagram forever, and it’s an awesome place to go check out eye looks! @agshells

You may have noticed that since about January, I am the only one reviewing. This is going to continue for the foreseeable future. You may on occasion see AG or Kristin pop in, but for the time being, it will largely be just me reviewing. So, let me know if there are new indie bath and body brands you want me to try out that I haven’t yet. Feel free to contact me via comments on the blog or at jessyegetsbubbly@gmail.com!

Now onto the Giveaway:

Thank you, all of you, for your patience, your readership, and your support.

We love having you and want to continue to do our best to bring you reviews on companies we’re buying from. You guys are the reason we do this, and without you, we wouldn’t be here.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Jessye Gets Bubbly! Solstice Scents' Summer 2016!

Purchased

Solstice Scents 
Summer 2016

In some parts of the country, summer has already come and gone. But I am just now getting to tell you all about the awesome-ness that is the Solstice summer release. Backlog says what? I only bought two whipped soaps, but I’m really excited to tell you about both of them. So onward!

Tropical Moon Whipped Soap

Coconut, Tuberose, Tahitian Gardenia, Lime Essential Oil & Pink Lotus Attar.

This is lovely. It is such a clean creamy scent. And a total beach scent. I want to be in one of those open beach houses, showering off the sand in the sun in this scent. It is heavy on the coconut for me with little hints of white florals and the tiniest touch of citrus to add a hint of sunshine for you. I adore this in soap form, and I have a coconut friend that I think would adore this as a perfume. This is much more a coconut/white florals/creamy beach scent than highly citrus/pineapple beach scent. Consider that if you prefer one tropical scent more than the other.

Manor Whipped Soap

Woody-Vanilla Musk, Vanilla, Agarwood

I have Manor as a perfume oil and as an EDP. And I am so blah about both of them. It’s a lovely scent, but it is just woody vanilla. There’s nothing else for me when it hits my skin. I understand that the love for Manor is like cult-level, and I want to have the same love too! But it just falls a little short for me in complexity. So I’d never bought it as anything else. I should have bought it as a whipped soap sooner.

The very first thing I smell is oudh. And then the woods and vanillas come to play. It is a more complex scent for me as a soap than it is for me as a perfume. You better believe I’m grabbing it as a lotion during the Autumn release. I would caution using this soap after scrubs that don’t always meld scent-wise- they do not always play nicely when you first open the whipped soap- there is occasionally a weird tang that you smell while your brain switches over between the two. But otherwise, it is wonderful. I’ll have to grab another jar or two at Autumn too. Because this one just might be gone by then.


Shown but Not Reviewed: Estate Rosewood

I had every intention of reviewing this for you guys, but there is something in Solstice’s tobacco note that causes one of two reactions- I either get a mild allergic reaction of a mass sneezing attack, or it makes my head swim. I was so excited to try this, and I couldn’t leave it on my skin long enough to get past the first initial sniff. This was a total head swim, and I just couldn’t get it to settle down in time to try and smell anything. My apologies for it being in the photo, but lacking a review.

Final Thoughts

Solstice Scents always delivers. They have tried and true scents that will absolutely beguile you into love and happiness. They are absolutely one of my favorite indie brands (probably tied for 1st with Future Prim). And I am anxiously awaiting next release. Just to let you know, they have said that come 2017, they will no longer be carrying whipped soap and will begin to focus on just perfumes, EDPs, and Burnishing Glaces. Sea Salt Soaks and Body Ganache Cream were not explicitly discussed, but assume the worst and hope for the best! If you are part of their Facebook group or have liked their Facebook page, you will have seen this already. We will miss you, Whipped Soap! You are, by far, my favorite of the indie whipped soap crowd. You will be missed!

Jessye Gets Bubbly! Future Primitive's Autumn 2016!

Purchased

Future Primitive 
Autumn 2016 Review

Last year when Future Prim’s Autumn release rolled around, I was trying to not spend a ton of money so I only bought a bar of soap and some perfume samples. This year, I had a better idea of what I wanted, but still managed to only buy a few things. It’s bath season, and I have more soap and lotion than I’m pretty sure I can get through. So I bought bathing grains! All in Pumpkin ‘Ead and Bell, Book and Candle. Bell, Book and Candle was originally part of the Autumn release cycle but as of this year has been moved to General Catalogue.

I also got a sample of Owlett’s End. So I thought we could go over all of these again. I have noticed some differences between this year and last year, probably mostly due to the fact that these are all in different products from last year. Let’s smell things!

Pumpkin ‘Ead

Earthy, sun-warmed pumpkin flesh, dry cider apple & pear nectar finished with an Autumn spice syrup.

Last year, when I used this as bar soap, it was just a magical shower of mulled cider happiness. It was phenomenal and wonderful and everything I could want in an autumn scent, and I was so disappointed I didn’t manage to get my hands on more things in this smell.

This year, I planned on getting a couple bags of bathing grains and a lotion. But then I found out Bell, Book and Candle was coming to GC and would be in stock at the same time. That was so much more important as a lotion than Pumpkin ‘Ead. I really love jasmine. So I only bought bathing grains. And I’m kind of glad I did.

Until last year, I had been under the impression that I loved autumn and pumpkins and apples and clove and allspice and all those autumn scents. Turns out I love all of those things EXCEPT pumpkin. I don’t think I’ve ever actually smelled pumpkin until a Blooddrop perfume last year. It’s kind of gross, guys. It has the most naturally occurring gourmand scent without vanilla in it that I’ve ever smelled. I guess what I really love is mulled cider and falling leaves.

Turns out, the bathing grains feature pumpkin quite prominently at the top of the scent. I was very unhappy. But it turns out, it’s actually quite pleasant once the autumn spices blend into it. I wouldn’t say I love this scent as much as I did last year, but it is a wonderful autumn scent that I’m glad I’m bathing in. I’ve used it so much: my first bag is almost gone.

Bell, Book & Candle

Mystical aromas of subtle patchouli leaf, seductive trails of night blooming jasmine, a swish of blonde sandalwood & sweet arabian musk.

Jaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaasmiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnne. That is all.

(To expound: this is the headiest, most wonderfulest jasmine I have ever smelled. It is like a perfect high end jasmine scent without the high end cost. I don’t even care that I can’t smell the rest of it. It is glorious. I have not detected a scent change between products or between this year’s and last year’s products. Just glorious, glorious jasmine.)

Owlett’s End

A barley field long past its cutting date, an empty old house, simmering black tea, clary sage & coriander leaves, nutmeg dust, cinnamon sticks, sticky dark orange oil, blackened cardamom pods, and dried tears.

So I bought this last year as a perfume sample. I remember having problems with all of the perfumes samples last year, which admittedly was probably more on me than on the perfumes. I get impatient sometimes; and when top notes really don’t work for me, I often won’t give them time to dry down. I was actually pretty excited to see this as my sample. In theory, it sounds really interesting, and I just didn’t get a good chance with it last year.

In actuality, I discovered I don’t like cardamom. There has always been something about chai that has caused me pause. I can now officially say it’s the cardamom. This has a lovely milky chai scent, and people who love those chai tea scents- this is a great lotion to get. It lacks the astringency of most tea scents but also isn’t overspiced. I’m passing off my sample to AG because she loves tea scents and particularly loves those chai lattes, so I think this will be a perfect match for her.

Final Thoughts

I wanted to readdress these scents, partially either the scents have evolved from last year, or because they have some scent change between products. Also- BB&C is life.

I’m really looking forward to more autumn scents and sharing them with you. Hopefully, we’ll have some perfume samples from HoG of Samhain II and Hex. And remember to check out my Instagram, where I will be sharing my favorite Blooddrop decant from the collection of decants I just received in the mail!

Don’t forget, we’ve got Blooddrop bath and body release and Solstice Scents’ Autumn release to look forward to! Oh! And Part 2 for HoG and FP!

Jessye Mixes Things Up: Blending Perfumes into Lotion

Purchased

Blending Perfumes into Lotion

Most indie lotions are too heavy for me to use daily, especially in the summer. This is a really big problem for me. I miss out on the opportunity of seasonal lotions pretty often. If I buy them, I usually use them on Mr. J. But I kept reading how easy it was to scent things like glace- no duh, you dump oil into oil.

I figured I’m smart and I could figure out how to scent lotion. The couple of articles I came across first were to just dump the perfume in and shake. Umm……. No thanks. The next one I came across talked about making a hot water bath for the bottle, liquefying the lotion, dumping the perfume in with colored dye, shake it up until the dye had gotten everywhere and letting the lotion re-solidify. That’s sounds reasonable, but that seems like a lot of work, and I’m afraid of melting plastic. So I made up my own deal.

First, I chose lotion- HoG’s Body Emulsion. This is a beautiful light lotion that I use like crazy and reviewed last spring. Pretty much my favorite indie lotion.

Then I chose my scents. My first pick was Solstice Scent’s Conjure Dark (look out for that review in the months to come!). Then I knew I wanted something lavender - I ended up choosing NAVA’s Athena perfume. I have a bottle of jasmine essential oil that I didn’t have a use for, so I decided I would use that one. But I bought 4 bottles of emulsion. And I remembered how much I love apples as a scent note, so I chose Sixteen92’s Last Exit for the Lost-  as a perfume it didn’t stay very long on my skin, unlike some other apple scents, but it’s too great a scent to just get rid of.

I’m going to show you how I mixed a perfume lotion and the essential oil lotion. I also used 2 different methods for redistribution. But the beginning is the same. I emptied the bottle of lotion into a clean bowl, free of dust and dog hair. It just took a lot of patience and less than 5 minutes to do.

And now the differences-

For Perfumes

The one good thing that I read was that you only want scent to be UP TO 1% of your lotion. The amount of lotion in a full Body Emulsion translates to about 200 mL, so no more than 2 mL of perfume added to the lotion. This is the other reason I chose the perfumes I did- I had a larger sample of Sixteen92, a lot of Conjure Dark, and I ordered what I needed for the NAVA scent. For me, 2 mL seemed to be the correct amount of perfume.

Using a clean silicone spatula, I stirred it for at least a minute, making sure that the perfume had oozed its way all over the lotion. For this method, I just slowly scooped the lotion out of the bowl and scraped it into the bottle, making sure to leave an air pocket so the lotion could slide down and not bottleneck. This was surprisingly fast and I lost very little product.

For Essential Oil

I have a lot of random things around, like pipettes and empty perfume vials and bottles. Meant for decanting larger bottles if AG and I want to share a scent. So I used a pipette to pull up a large portion of essential oil from the bottle and then delicately and carefully added 3 drops. Essential oil is SO concentrated and you need to be really careful when interacting with it- it can really agitate your skin if it’s sensitive and you’re not careful.

After stirring the crap out of it, I filled a sandwich bag with the lotion. We found bags that were biodegradable and lacked oils on the bag to preserve them. I snipped off the corner of the bag and left the bag unzipped so air could escape. This was incredibly quick, but I feel like I lost a lot more product. But still really easy. And in the grand scheme of lost product, it’s still less than a full use overall.

After I stirred them all, I shoved them back on the shelf. About once a day, I would grab the bottles, shake them around, and then give them a good sniff. They smell fantastic. I might need to add a little bit more jasmine EO to its lotion, but that’s because it’s currently weirdly smelling of peaches. Can’t figure out how that happened- I’m assuming gnomes. After the smell had settled, about 3 days, they were ready for use. Of the three I’ve made so far, they’ve all turned out great, and I will definitely do this in the future when these bottles are gone.

Have any of you played at being chemist? Let us know what you used and how it turned out for you in the comments!

Jessye's Burning Up Again! Candles and Wax Tarts from Frostbeard Studios!

Purchased

Frostbeard Studios

I ran out of candles. Again. So obviously I had to buy more. I have seen a lot about Frostbeard Studios, specifically all those geeky names. So exciting! I tried to curb my spending, I swear. It didn’t work so great, but that means more candles for you to read all about!

I made sure to grab some wax tarts too. I recently bought a new wax tart warmer that allows for multiple bricks; I could probably fit a whole pack if I wanted to. I have not figured out how long it takes these to melt- I have not managed to melt any of these to a point of lacking scent.

The candles state they last about 65 hours- I think mine lasted about 40? I didn’t watch it as closely this time; I’ve only gotten through one and I accidentally left it lit overnight. When I derp, I derp hard. Even still, it lasted much shorter than the 65 hour advertised time but I also burn my candles for 8-12 hours at a time instead of the recommended 4 hour chunks.

I haven’t managed to burn through any of the others, despite trying. Candles + portable AC unit = potential fire hazard.

Onto the scents!

Soy Candles

Cliffs of Insanity

Sea mist, Caribbean teakwood

This is surprisingly a little cloying. It’s very oceanic, but it’s a little too sweet for my tastes. After a couple of hours, there is enough scent from this candle for me to last the day. I do really enjoy it, but in very small bursts. I was surprised at how strong the scent is from these two notes.

I’m having a lot of problems describing this. It’s supposed to be so simple! It’s two notes, but it’s neither salty nor woody. It’s definitely a water scent, but it’s not a traditional water scent.

Mr J says it smells like, “bonfire on a high cliff above crashing waves during a zombie attack in Maine.” High praise from him. I’m assuming the bonfire comes from the burnt wick. I’m not sure where the zombie attack came from, but there it is. It’s a pretty good image.

Purchase Link

Lallybroch

Whiskey, Peat Moss, Woodsmoke

I’m afraid to burn this candle. I’m not going to lie. I am terrified to burn this candle. This candle is freaking stinky just when I open the jar that I am afraid to burn it. This smells like a really sweet whiskey with hints of smoke. Like a whiskey, you can smell the hints of citrus and oak barrel once you get beyond the burning hoarking smell of whiskey in that first moment. It’s going to be a wonderful candle when it’s cold out. And I’m betting if you love that tang of whiskey and all the little intricacies that go with it, this is going to be a wonderful scent for you.

Purchase Link

Oxford Library

Oakmoss, Amber, Sandalwood, Leather

This smelled like the worst sort of leather ever when it first got to me. I was not looking forward to burning this candle when I first got my hands on it. Once it settled, it was wonderful. Smooth leather and amber. This was such a treat to burn- it’s the only one I’ve finished so far. My whole apartment smelled like wonderful fresh leather, like a new handbag or shoes. I clearly have my priorities straight. ^.^

Purchase Link

Sassenach

Lavender, Thyme, Basil and herbs

This is such a bright, fresh scent. Definitely one of my kitchen scents, but manages to extend beyond just being a kitchen scent. All these herbs bring with them an undernote that sustains them and brings to them something almost dark. This is the one I have gotten the farthest through after Oxford Library. It’s a lovely clear scent that just makes my apartment smell so inviting. It smells like I’m cooking something fresh with plenty of herbs and it’s just waiting for a taste. I love when my apartment smells like happy.

Purchase Link

Soy Wax Tarts

Sherwood Forest

Cedarwood, Moss, Pine

I would not have guessed cedar was in this. Cedar is usually such a strong scent for me, and I don’t smell it here. I do smell A LOT of pine and woodsy undergrowth. It’s a fantastical forest scent that is probably even better when it’s cold out, but it’s still been pretty damn awesome in the hot weather. I’m sitting here, racking my brain for that cedar scent- it’s actually hanging out in my warmer and turned on right now while I’m writing this, but I still smell just wonderful pine and undergrowth. And this is PINE, not a synthetic blah that smells like a sprayed down Christmas tree, but the real stuff, out in a forest, surrounded by pine trees PINE. It’s awesome.

Purchase Link

Wibbley Wobbley Timey Wimey

Driftwood, Black Currant Tea, Juniper

This is a surprisingly fruity marriage of black currant and juniper. But it’s sweet, not tart. I actually have a friend who is incredibly scent sensitive- I don’t burn anything or wear any kind of perfume when she comes over, and she loves this scent. It’s a pretty simple scent in its complexities, and definitely subtler than the others I bought, though still a very strong scent in its own right. It’s very smooth and sweet. I overdosed on it pretty quickly when I left it on too long, but it’ll definitely roll back around to a scent I want to smell again.

Purchase Link

Final Thoughts

These are amazing candles that are all scented strongly enough to ensure that you smell what you purchased. It’s wonderful that they have found a way to scent their candles so well. I’ve already been eyeing a couple more (Wordsmith anyone?), and will definitely bring them to the blog for review if I do. Have you tried these book-lovers candles? What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments!

Jessye Gets Bubbly! Happy Belated Birthday, Future Primitive! Reviewing the Palm Trees & 80° Whipped Body Butter

Purchased

Future Primitive

Palm Trees & 80° Whipped Body Butter

Fresh cracked coconut, palm sugar, sea salt, and washed up papyrus scrolls shoved into the pocket of a mudlark.

Future Prim recently had their 10th birthday, releasing two whipped body butters - Library and Palm Trees & 80°. I wasn’t able to get my hands on Library as a whipped body butter, but I did manage to get it as a palm oil free soap- you can check out the review here. But for this post- Palm Trees & 80°.

I sat on this lotion for awhile, so I’d have a really good idea on how I felt about it. This is a non-comformist beach scent. When you first open the jar, you are immediately assaulted with sweet from the palm sugar, a deeper sweet than I am used to from a sugar note. Then the coconut comes in directly after, giving you just a moment of surprising sweet before settling into something more identifiable. It has a luscious and creamy coconut, but then veers off into its own area of excitement and beachy vibes. This is like the idealistic scent of studying at the beach. I know that’s such a weird idea. But there’s a vibe of old papers from the papyrus that reminds me of pouring over old books while still being out in the sunshine and sand. I could drink this.

Final Thoughts

Since I live in a place with much milder summers, I don’t really lay out, so this will get a lot more use in the colder months when my skin needs the extra moisture. But for those of you, that need some post-sunshine skin relief, this is going to be an awesome beachy scent that goes beyond the beach.

Have you guy tried any of Future Prim’s Whipped Body Butters? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

Jessye Gets Bubbly! Haus of Gloi's Summer 2016 Reverie

Purchased

Haus of Gloi 
Summer 2016 Reverie

I have bought so much HoG stuff lately. Guys, it’s ridiculous. They’ve gotten so much of my money. But how could I resist yummy fruity scrubs? Spoiler alert- I couldn’t. So I bought them. But only 3 of them. So hopefully AG and Kristin will chime in for me on Summer Garden and Blueberry Tart. (Kristin: This will unfortunately have to wait until a later review.) SMELLS!

U-Pick

Sweet summer apricots in a wooden basket. Apricot, Tahitian vanilla, sandalwood, and cedar. 

So naturally, the moment I got these, I tore into the box to have all the sniffs! This smelled like apricot candy. Yum. In the shower, the apricots shoves itself to the forefront with an undertone of vanilla. It is just like walking past the apricots in the grocery- that bright, juicy scent of apricots begging you to eat them until your stomach aches. Just me? God, they smell good, especially in season.

Grapefruit Tea 

Pink grapefruit, green tea, bergamot, and Egyptian musk.

One of my favorite HoG scents is Rosy Cheeked from their Yule collection. Ugh that grapefruit mixed with fir. It’s amazing. I was really looking forward to a summer version of that citrus grapefruit tang. When I first sniffed this scrub, it wasn’t awful. It just wasn’t what I was hoping. The tea, musk, and bergamot had beaten the grapefruit into submission and it was a well-rounded sweet, but soft scent. The green tea was surprisingly more prominent than I expected. In the shower, happily, this evolved. The tea was still there, but that gorgeous grapefruit tang came out to play across my skin. This is a refreshing summer scent in the shower. It brightens everything up and made the shower so happy.

Honeysuckle Incense

Heady honeysuckle incense swirling with nag champa and dragon's blood. 

This got stolen from me the moment Mr. J smelled it. First opening the jar it had a floral incense vibe, the nag champa and dragon’s blood blending into the honeysuckle into a powdery incense floral. In the shower, the dragon’s blood was surprisingly the top note. I was honestly expecting the honeysuckle to be the top dog or even the nag champa to fight for that position, but it was dragon’s blood all the way with the honeysuckle floating under it with just a whiff on nag champa. This was so amazing I am staring at a full size bottle of the perfume and seriously considering adding this to my collection. Because how could I not want to douse myself in the smell of honeysuckles and incense, especially one this awesome? Especially since Mr. J claimed ownership of my scrub.

Final Thoughts
I really love the 3 scrubs I picked up, and I’m looking forward to working my way through all the jars. I am going to have the most exfoliated skin anyone has ever seen for a couple of months. I paired Grapefruit Tea and U-Pick with Future Prim’s Railroad Markets whipped soap. It has been a fruit salad of scents in my shower lately. It’s awesome.

Purchase Link

How about you guys? Did you pick up these scents? What are your thoughts on them? And knowing, HoG doesn’t make whipped soap during the summer months, what are you pairing your new scrubs with? Let us know in the comments!