LUMINOUS STAR PERFUME: REVIEW
Edit: As of the 20th of May 2019, Erin has decided to close down her business due to personal reasons. If you are a fan of LSP's blends, Erin has informed me that two of her friends as mentioned on the website have been given the recipes to her blends and will sell them in their own shops. While I have yet to see any updates on where these will be sold, I will update this space as soon as this information is released.
Wishing Erin the best of luck with her future endeavors!
The Brand:
You can have a look at their products here: https://www.luminousstarperfumes.com/
They are also reachable via Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram on the bottom of their pages.
Unfortunately, Luminous Star is only run by one person so the updates on their website are a little slower and sometimes take a while to get the information up to date. For that reason, it might be worth contacting them directly on the inquiries form, which I did so!
To make an order which is for shipping overseas (outside of North America) you have to contact LSP directly, so I asked for both a shipping quote and to get my invoice sent to me, and I could pay via PayPal. Typically, shipping to Hong Kong is around $16USD.
Erin (the owner) was lovely enough to deal with my constant back and forth emailing of all of my requests and changes with the scents that I wanted, and also making sure my invoice was up to date and that all of my questions were answered as soon as possible. While I would prefer an email chain rather than the website forwarding service that I got, (just to keep it all in one message among all of the endless spam from other makeup brands), LSP was incredibly quick with replying and addressing all of my concerns, and had a quick TAT as well! I also have nothing but the highest praise so far in terms of being able to contact and get things changed. It really makes you feel like your concerns are being addressed, and I really appreciate that LSP took so much time out to keep amending and fixing my order, and making sure I finally got to $75 to qualify for free shipping too!
Additionally. I made my order during the Christmas/New Years sale, and the whole shop was 50% off and international orders over $75USD (which is usually at $150) qualified for free shipping!
For me, I much prefer to shop from brands where I don't have to think too much about shipping prices, and much prefer flat rate shipping. It makes shopping for me much easier, because I spent quite a bit of money on shipping costs from the US with every small indie brand order, and it does add up quite a bit. This shop is very affordable and a great bargain for the prices, and have great customer service and TAT.
Pretty Girls and Pretty Soldiers remind me a lot of mahou shoujo tropes, and definitely remind me of Sailor Moon. Dark Knights on the other hands, feels a bit like any school anime, since we all know the Student Council President.
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| My 10mL EDPs, L-R, Amethyst Hearth, Emerald Patisserie, Grey Cat, Black Cat, Sanctity and Golden Heroine. |
My order:
For the package: I got my order in a lovely pink padded bag. Usually smaller brands tend to provide handwritten notes, but I just received my order slip, and two coconut flavored candy. Personally, while I like the touch of candy with orders, I've never actually once eaten them.
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| The mail bag! Very cute. |
I'm pretty sure this was handwrapped by Erin (the owner), and it came snuggly wrapped in a layer of bubble wrap and taped up with cute multi colored tape.
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| Originally all packed in bubble wrap and cute patterned tape, also to seal the tops of the plastic zip lock bags. |
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| The large ones came in patterned plastic zip lock bags, and the smaller ones were snugly fit into the smaller clear zip lock bags, sealed with the tape on top. |
Luckily for me, nothing broke or spilled in transit!
The 1ml vials are glass, with a little plastic stopper, and the EDPs are packaged in long colored coded plastic tubes (as you can see in the first picture!). I haven't figured out the color coding system, but I can assume the blue is for the kit-teas, and the purple must be for the Dark Moon collection.
The 10mL EDPs are originally $20 USD, and the sample 1mLs are $2 USD.
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| A lot of scents, so please zoom in to see which one it which. The names are included on the vials, and the little stopper is relatively easy to open and close, though spillage is common with these. |
Again, much like the Sugar and Spite oil based scents, I assume that there needs to be some period of resting between the orders having made their way to me, and before I try them. I've been recommended to rest them AT LEAST for a week, so I'll be trying these again in a week or two's time and amend my review if the scent changes very noticeably.
The EDPs I don't believe need any resting at all though.
Should you want to look at some of the original inspiration for some of the scents as well, you can have a look here or on u:sleepingpoppies on reddit for some of the backstories behinds the scents (As I am not familiar with Sailor Moon at all.)
The EDPs I don't believe need any resting at all though.
Should you want to look at some of the original inspiration for some of the scents as well, you can have a look here or on u:sleepingpoppies on reddit for some of the backstories behinds the scents (As I am not familiar with Sailor Moon at all.)
Scents:
All the fragrances are available in 1ml sample vials, or 7ml bottles. These are also available in Eau De Parfum form in 10ml bottles.
THE TEA COLLECTION
Black Cat: Earl Gray Tea and Sugar Stars
Initially, before the dry down, it smells really sharp. It has this nondescript bergamot, and almost strange glucose syrup scent (rather than the nice fluffy white sugar cubes).
The best part about this scent though, happens after thirty minutes. The dry down takes a while, but after it does, it smelt exactly like earl grey tea.
To me, it smells a lot more like earl grey tea leaves, whiffs out of the can rather than a steeped cup of tea with a bit of sugar. The bergamot takes a backseat and fades, leaving the bitter tea leaves.
Definitely blown away by the realism in the tea after dry down, but around 4-5 hours in, the tea starts to fade again and you're left with the initial faint bergamot scent, and an underlying generic sweetness.
I'm happy with this one though, I can see myself wearing this as an all over faint smell.
My clothes wear this a bit better, but my skin eats up the scent and vanishes into a very faint smell after 3-4 hours. I like the EDP form of this though, I like the little spray bottle it comes in.
There's no difference between the oil or EDP format in terms of scent.
If you're looking for a Earl Grey tea which is heavier on the bergamot, definitely check this out!
White Cat: White tea with fresh lemon syrup
This was a strange one, I find myself really loving the white tea notes that LSP does, but the white tea takes a back seat on this scent. Instead, the sharpness of the lemon comes forward a lot more - and not so much fresh lemon syrup as much as it smells more like lemon scented dishwash soap; but the expensive kind, not the bleach scent toilet cleaner I get from Falling into the Sea.
I much prefer this lemon note, but I'm definitely a bit wary about blind buying lemons ... Not a huge fan of this one, but it's not offensive in the least.
I feel that I'm just not a huge fan of lemon in perfumes because they so often veer towards toilet cleaner for me.
If you're not afraid of lemon, this will be a great scent for you!
Grey Cat: White tea with Lavender Syrup
The white tea is the dominant note, and the best way to describe the white tea note, is a fresh and very faint 'herbal' 'leaf scent.
In the perfume, the lavender is pretty nondescript to me, feels more like a floral syrup to sweeten the scent rather than any strong lavender note.
It stays true to the opening notes without really shifting too much over the course of the day. I do like this a lot tho, it feels fresh and very 'spring' like and on my skin, this disappeared in 5-6 hours, but a little longer than Black Cat.
There's not a lot of variation in scent between the oil or EDP format.
Pink Princess: Sweet white tea with notes of watermelon, tangerine, lychee and sweet roses.
Have you ever had a watermelon jolly rancher? You know how it's that fake and almost bitter and medicinal type of watermelon? This is exactly what it smells like to me. A watermelon Jolly Rancher. One thing I've noted with LSP's scents are a lot of the notes just blend together rather than being easily picked out and shifty, so I can't pick out the tangerine (only like a hint of it sometimes), lychee or rose, just strong blasts of Watermelon: jolly rancher, and the white tea base just pulls out that slight funk to it even more. Not a fan of this one.
After resting/drying down for the night: it is a lot nicer, the watermelon doesn't pull as sickly and it smells like a more mellowed out fruity watermelon, with the white tea base coming through more. I like this much better after resting and giving it a bit of time, but LSP's notes do tend to pull 'artifical' syrup.
If you like a good watermelon, fruity fresh note, this might work well for you.
Lavender King: Black Tea with notes of lavender, rose, and smokey, spicy vanilla.
This was not very much like French earl grey at all. Weirdly enough, this opens up a lot like a main course type of meal.
The smokey and spicy vanilla dominates this scent, it smells like, smoked wood, a little bit of the 'black' leaf note, and while not as aggressively spicy as Kelly & Jones' "you can almost taste the spicy leather" notes, this smells a lot like, paprika sprinkled on burnt and smoked tea leaves and one chopped up vanilla pod. Not on chicken, but like, that Masterchef 'vanilla but for mains' meal where they make tomato vanilla consomme with a spicy paprika toasted rice. This may be the oddest description I've ever written but also somehow the most accurate one I can think of for this scent.
This needs a bit of rest and dry down - because then this dries down more as a black tea but a slight hint of floral sweetness. The spice fades away a bit more but theres a bit of smoked paprika hiding in there among the sweet floral syrup.
If you like the sound of smoked paprika in a perfume, you might like this.
White Queen: White tea with notes of strawberry, white grapefruit, magnolia, and ylang ylang.
Fortunately, this was not at all like Falling into the Sea, which is a big happy moment for me! I still can't call myself a fan of the grapefruit note, this doesn't really stand out too much next to the other notes. The white tea note that underlies a lot of these scents is a nice stand out though.
For me, I find that LSP's strawberry notes always lean more towards the medicinal / cough syrupy sweetness of the strawberry, which I don't like very much - I much prefer more realistic, fresh scents rather than artificial ones, and if they are artificial, I'd prefer them to smell like real candy instead of the scented, artificial syrup strawberry that these seem to smell more like.
I can smell a HINT of ylang ylang and grapefruit if I'm really breathing it in, but I really have to hide and seek with it. To me, this is a toned down version of the shockingly sweet strawberry scent with a dash of the slightly bitter grapefruit, with a neutral base of the white tea.
After drying down : White tea really bellies this scent, and the ylang ylang is much stronger. The strawberry isn't so forward on this anymore, so it finds a much nicer balance. The white tea note is always a favorite, but I much prefer the lavender mix.
If you like the herbal/leafy white tea note with a touch of strawberry syrup, you'll like this!
Burgundy Guardian: Green tea, with notes of blackberry and sage, myrrh, and spicy vanilla.
I was not sure about this at first, as it smelled like a vague array of food, smoked paprika, some sage, some gourmet blackberry and a hint of a nondescript tea that you have with your meal. After the dry down it's a little more tolerable, doesn't smell at all like green tea, hint of berry and hint of smoked paprika vanilla bean pods (which is the only accurate description I can think of for 'spicy vanilla'). I can't say I'm a big fan of this one either.
After resting/drying down for the night: this is much better after being rested. It smells a little more like a sweetened 'tea', with a fruity blackberry note in the background. I can't smell the sage anymore, but I like it without the spice much more! I do wish there was a bit more of a stronger grassy green tea note, but this pulls more like a white tea with fruit.
Jasmine describes this as smelling like lapsang souchong, or if you like the sound of grassy spicy vanilla, you might enjoy this one.
Scare-tea cat: This scent will have you curling up for an eternal sleep to heal your endless heartbreak when your true love breaks up with you. Comforting scents of spiced chai, with cinnamon churro and luxe french vanilla will lure you to sweet dreams...
This one is pretty simple: opens up amazingly, you can smell the spiced chai, you can smell the 'fried' from the churro and just a small dab of vanilla to add some sweetness to the scent. After the dry down, this just ends up smelling like chai with a bit more of a sweet vanilla, but no more of that deep fried churro goodness. I'd like this more if the fried churro and vanilla had a bit more pull as I personally don't like chai that much, but I can appreciate a good realistic foodie scent!
This is amazing for any chai lover, or anyone who loves a fried churro vanilla mix - I find myself wearing this even despite my dislike for chai! It is so realistically foody I find myself craving churros and donuts after a while.
If you like churros, and gourmand scents, definitely get this one.
Black Cat: Earl Gray Tea and Sugar Stars
Initially, before the dry down, it smells really sharp. It has this nondescript bergamot, and almost strange glucose syrup scent (rather than the nice fluffy white sugar cubes).
The best part about this scent though, happens after thirty minutes. The dry down takes a while, but after it does, it smelt exactly like earl grey tea.
To me, it smells a lot more like earl grey tea leaves, whiffs out of the can rather than a steeped cup of tea with a bit of sugar. The bergamot takes a backseat and fades, leaving the bitter tea leaves.
Definitely blown away by the realism in the tea after dry down, but around 4-5 hours in, the tea starts to fade again and you're left with the initial faint bergamot scent, and an underlying generic sweetness.
I'm happy with this one though, I can see myself wearing this as an all over faint smell.
My clothes wear this a bit better, but my skin eats up the scent and vanishes into a very faint smell after 3-4 hours. I like the EDP form of this though, I like the little spray bottle it comes in.
There's no difference between the oil or EDP format in terms of scent.
If you're looking for a Earl Grey tea which is heavier on the bergamot, definitely check this out!
White Cat: White tea with fresh lemon syrup
This was a strange one, I find myself really loving the white tea notes that LSP does, but the white tea takes a back seat on this scent. Instead, the sharpness of the lemon comes forward a lot more - and not so much fresh lemon syrup as much as it smells more like lemon scented dishwash soap; but the expensive kind, not the bleach scent toilet cleaner I get from Falling into the Sea.
I much prefer this lemon note, but I'm definitely a bit wary about blind buying lemons ... Not a huge fan of this one, but it's not offensive in the least.
I feel that I'm just not a huge fan of lemon in perfumes because they so often veer towards toilet cleaner for me.
If you're not afraid of lemon, this will be a great scent for you!
Grey Cat: White tea with Lavender Syrup
The white tea is the dominant note, and the best way to describe the white tea note, is a fresh and very faint 'herbal' 'leaf scent.
In the perfume, the lavender is pretty nondescript to me, feels more like a floral syrup to sweeten the scent rather than any strong lavender note.
It stays true to the opening notes without really shifting too much over the course of the day. I do like this a lot tho, it feels fresh and very 'spring' like and on my skin, this disappeared in 5-6 hours, but a little longer than Black Cat.
There's not a lot of variation in scent between the oil or EDP format.
Pink Princess: Sweet white tea with notes of watermelon, tangerine, lychee and sweet roses.
Have you ever had a watermelon jolly rancher? You know how it's that fake and almost bitter and medicinal type of watermelon? This is exactly what it smells like to me. A watermelon Jolly Rancher. One thing I've noted with LSP's scents are a lot of the notes just blend together rather than being easily picked out and shifty, so I can't pick out the tangerine (only like a hint of it sometimes), lychee or rose, just strong blasts of Watermelon: jolly rancher, and the white tea base just pulls out that slight funk to it even more. Not a fan of this one.
After resting/drying down for the night: it is a lot nicer, the watermelon doesn't pull as sickly and it smells like a more mellowed out fruity watermelon, with the white tea base coming through more. I like this much better after resting and giving it a bit of time, but LSP's notes do tend to pull 'artifical' syrup.
If you like a good watermelon, fruity fresh note, this might work well for you.
Lavender King: Black Tea with notes of lavender, rose, and smokey, spicy vanilla.
This was not very much like French earl grey at all. Weirdly enough, this opens up a lot like a main course type of meal.
The smokey and spicy vanilla dominates this scent, it smells like, smoked wood, a little bit of the 'black' leaf note, and while not as aggressively spicy as Kelly & Jones' "you can almost taste the spicy leather" notes, this smells a lot like, paprika sprinkled on burnt and smoked tea leaves and one chopped up vanilla pod. Not on chicken, but like, that Masterchef 'vanilla but for mains' meal where they make tomato vanilla consomme with a spicy paprika toasted rice. This may be the oddest description I've ever written but also somehow the most accurate one I can think of for this scent.
This needs a bit of rest and dry down - because then this dries down more as a black tea but a slight hint of floral sweetness. The spice fades away a bit more but theres a bit of smoked paprika hiding in there among the sweet floral syrup.
If you like the sound of smoked paprika in a perfume, you might like this.
White Queen: White tea with notes of strawberry, white grapefruit, magnolia, and ylang ylang.
Fortunately, this was not at all like Falling into the Sea, which is a big happy moment for me! I still can't call myself a fan of the grapefruit note, this doesn't really stand out too much next to the other notes. The white tea note that underlies a lot of these scents is a nice stand out though.
For me, I find that LSP's strawberry notes always lean more towards the medicinal / cough syrupy sweetness of the strawberry, which I don't like very much - I much prefer more realistic, fresh scents rather than artificial ones, and if they are artificial, I'd prefer them to smell like real candy instead of the scented, artificial syrup strawberry that these seem to smell more like.
I can smell a HINT of ylang ylang and grapefruit if I'm really breathing it in, but I really have to hide and seek with it. To me, this is a toned down version of the shockingly sweet strawberry scent with a dash of the slightly bitter grapefruit, with a neutral base of the white tea.
After drying down : White tea really bellies this scent, and the ylang ylang is much stronger. The strawberry isn't so forward on this anymore, so it finds a much nicer balance. The white tea note is always a favorite, but I much prefer the lavender mix.
If you like the herbal/leafy white tea note with a touch of strawberry syrup, you'll like this!
Burgundy Guardian: Green tea, with notes of blackberry and sage, myrrh, and spicy vanilla.
I was not sure about this at first, as it smelled like a vague array of food, smoked paprika, some sage, some gourmet blackberry and a hint of a nondescript tea that you have with your meal. After the dry down it's a little more tolerable, doesn't smell at all like green tea, hint of berry and hint of smoked paprika vanilla bean pods (which is the only accurate description I can think of for 'spicy vanilla'). I can't say I'm a big fan of this one either.
After resting/drying down for the night: this is much better after being rested. It smells a little more like a sweetened 'tea', with a fruity blackberry note in the background. I can't smell the sage anymore, but I like it without the spice much more! I do wish there was a bit more of a stronger grassy green tea note, but this pulls more like a white tea with fruit.
Jasmine describes this as smelling like lapsang souchong, or if you like the sound of grassy spicy vanilla, you might enjoy this one.
Scare-tea cat: This scent will have you curling up for an eternal sleep to heal your endless heartbreak when your true love breaks up with you. Comforting scents of spiced chai, with cinnamon churro and luxe french vanilla will lure you to sweet dreams...
This one is pretty simple: opens up amazingly, you can smell the spiced chai, you can smell the 'fried' from the churro and just a small dab of vanilla to add some sweetness to the scent. After the dry down, this just ends up smelling like chai with a bit more of a sweet vanilla, but no more of that deep fried churro goodness. I'd like this more if the fried churro and vanilla had a bit more pull as I personally don't like chai that much, but I can appreciate a good realistic foodie scent!
This is amazing for any chai lover, or anyone who loves a fried churro vanilla mix - I find myself wearing this even despite my dislike for chai! It is so realistically foody I find myself craving churros and donuts after a while.
If you like churros, and gourmand scents, definitely get this one.
Pink Bunny: A girl, age 14 and a bit of a crybaby. But she's all sweetness here with notes of sweet coconut milk, fresh strawberries and a dollop of marshmallow!
Upon opening notes, this smells a lot like that cough syrup-y strawberry. It's almost sickeningly sweet, almost like it's masking something more bitter underneath. Fortunately, after the dry down (30 minutes +) it starts to mellow out a lot more.
The 'fresh' strawberry comes out a lot more, reminds me a bit of the fresh cut sourness you get from real strawberries, it's just a dab but it's nice, there's a very tiny hint of coconut milk which peaks a bit before dying away. The marshmallow note also doesn't smell like storebought marshmallows, but more of the hand made glucose syrup, self powdered and cut marshmallows that you get in fancy restaurants. I like this strawberry note a lot more than in the other scents, but like a lot of the other scents, this really needs to dry down a bit before you get the best out of this - but when it does, it's a lovely mellow strawberry.
While I'm not sure if the drying down is more to do with resting the oil based scents, or if this is really just a mark of this house though.
Emerald Patissiere: A girl with a tough reputation and an affinity for baking. She'll defy every expectation and be a true friend… Oh, that guy looks just like her senpai...? Smell as sweet as can be with notes of delicious rose tea, sugar cookies, and tuberose.
One of the best sellers and most recommended to me!
Unfortunately, I don't like this as much as I'd hoped I would.
I read a review that this smells a lot like a freshly cut rose, which I can smell a little bit, but I also don't read it as a freshly cut rose at all. It smells very heavily of tuberose (which I can only assume is the gingerbread-esque note) which makes it overwhelmingly floral to me. There is a hint of sugar cookies, lying at the middle of the scent, but it's hard to pick out from the sharp floral and greenery 'rose' notes. To me, this doesn't smell like a floral inspired gourmand, it just smells like a heavy floral with a dash of glucose syrup.
I couldn't really wear it on my skin at all as there's a slight kick to the floral, so I tried to layer this with Belsnicker Cookies though, and it gives it a nice little sweet gourmand kick to it, smelling a little more like I expected it to.
I'll definitely be trying this again to see if I can make the best of it though, I really want to like this! '
Perfect for: anyone who likes tuberose and a very green rose!
Unfortunately, I don't like this as much as I'd hoped I would.
I read a review that this smells a lot like a freshly cut rose, which I can smell a little bit, but I also don't read it as a freshly cut rose at all. It smells very heavily of tuberose (which I can only assume is the gingerbread-esque note) which makes it overwhelmingly floral to me. There is a hint of sugar cookies, lying at the middle of the scent, but it's hard to pick out from the sharp floral and greenery 'rose' notes. To me, this doesn't smell like a floral inspired gourmand, it just smells like a heavy floral with a dash of glucose syrup.
I couldn't really wear it on my skin at all as there's a slight kick to the floral, so I tried to layer this with Belsnicker Cookies though, and it gives it a nice little sweet gourmand kick to it, smelling a little more like I expected it to.
I'll definitely be trying this again to see if I can make the best of it though, I really want to like this! '
Perfect for: anyone who likes tuberose and a very green rose!
Red Maiden: The beautiful and mysterious shrine maiden at the top of the hill. Classically beautiful and refined - but with a temper. Fresh sandalwood, orris, and plum blossom sweetened with tuberose, incense, and greenery.
This is interesting, because tuberose is a dominant note in this one. The 'fresh' sandalwood tones down the sandalwood a lot, and I can't smell incense at all. It's a very faint and toned down sandalwood with a lot of tuberose/floral mixed with it. I don't have a strong negative or positive feeling towards this one, mostly because it's so faint. This doesn't change much after resting either, but I would recommend this to anyone who likes a mellow sandalwodo scent.
Blue Genius: She's the top of her class and future world class doctor. Maybe if I study with her, I'll do better in my school work! Be immersed in shades of blue musk, calming chamomile, water lily, and soothing oceanic musk.
Oceanic musk and blue musk... I can't explain this one too well either, but it smells like what I would assume at 'atmospheric' scent smells like. It smells very much like 'musk' and 'aquatic' and I don't know how I know, but I somehow do. I can't smell chamomile or water lily at all, but I can definitely feel the 'ocean' and 'beachy' vibes from this one. The best way to describe this, is it smells like any generic 'beach' or 'ocean' scented candle from any candle house with a lot of scents that aren't just essential oils! This is nice, although I can't see myself wearing this, although I find myself dabbing a little on my pillow before going to bed.
Sanctity: This girl is a brand new magical girl! She may be new at this, but she won't let anyone get hurt. She's all goodness and light in notes of vanilla ice cream, fresh strawberries and peaches, and a drop of pear.
This one is definitely sickly sweet, so much so that even a sweet fruity gourmand fan like me can't handle.
Upon opening, with the EDP, it smells weirdly like a boozy, fruity cocktail, cranberry, strawberry, peach schnapps scent. It smelt exactly like some cocktails I've mixed before. When it dries down, I can't smell the vanilla ice cream in this, but the syrup strawberry in this is astoundingly strong. It smells a bit like canned peaches as well.
For me, this smells like a generic sweet scent that you might find in children's shampoo when it's 'fruit' scented, but I could see younger girls maybe liking this. It smells a little bit too 'food' and 'syrup' like to be a Victoria's Secret perfume, but if this strawberry was more 'fresh' like Pink Bunny ends up mellowing out to, this would be much nicer. It's not bad though, and it is true that this reminds me a lot of a young teen era perfume. I think I'll be giving this away as at full strength I can't smell this too much without it giving me a headache (thanks CFS).
If you're a fan of heavy syrupy scents, I would definitely recommend this - but I'm much more into the Kelly and Jones types of fruit notes.
Upon opening, with the EDP, it smells weirdly like a boozy, fruity cocktail, cranberry, strawberry, peach schnapps scent. It smelt exactly like some cocktails I've mixed before. When it dries down, I can't smell the vanilla ice cream in this, but the syrup strawberry in this is astoundingly strong. It smells a bit like canned peaches as well.
For me, this smells like a generic sweet scent that you might find in children's shampoo when it's 'fruit' scented, but I could see younger girls maybe liking this. It smells a little bit too 'food' and 'syrup' like to be a Victoria's Secret perfume, but if this strawberry was more 'fresh' like Pink Bunny ends up mellowing out to, this would be much nicer. It's not bad though, and it is true that this reminds me a lot of a young teen era perfume. I think I'll be giving this away as at full strength I can't smell this too much without it giving me a headache (thanks CFS).
If you're a fan of heavy syrupy scents, I would definitely recommend this - but I'm much more into the Kelly and Jones types of fruit notes.
Love: Cursed to never have true love and devoted to her one princess. She's the leader of the guardians in the fight against evil. She's a blinding force of light with notes of white amber, surrounded by yuzu and fresh oranges, in a base of neroli and white wood with a kiss of creamy violets.
This one is interesting, it smells to me, a lot like a scented shampoo. Opening notes is really lovely and fresh with the fresh orange/strong citrus notes. The base of white wood and neroli ground it, more like a typical high end scented body wash, and I don't mind this at all, but I don't fancy wearing scented shampoo as perfume. After resting/drying down, the scent profile doesn't change much at all either.
If you like shampoo like fresh citruses and florals, this one is for you!
If you like shampoo like fresh citruses and florals, this one is for you!
Golden Heroine: She's there to save the day and maybe fall in love once or twice while doing it. Vanilla ice cream drizzled with fresh peaches, sweet heliotrope, and marshmallow with a drop of amber.
Another sweet recommendation! I got this one in the 10mL and this I liked a bit more than Sanctity. This one smells a lot like peach 'syrup', I can't smell the 'ice cream' from the vanilla at all, but the strongest scent is a vague sweetness from the artificial peach syrup.
There is a strong overlap of notes with this one and Sanctity, but I imagine the amber grounds it a bit more and makes it less 'sugar' and 'syrup'. That being said, still sickeningly sweet. I would recommend this to people who can handle heavier sweet scents, but if you're looking for more 'candy' or even 'fresh fruit', I don't think this is a good match for you.
I like this for a hot day though, the sugar really cuts through the humidity.
There is a strong overlap of notes with this one and Sanctity, but I imagine the amber grounds it a bit more and makes it less 'sugar' and 'syrup'. That being said, still sickeningly sweet. I would recommend this to people who can handle heavier sweet scents, but if you're looking for more 'candy' or even 'fresh fruit', I don't think this is a good match for you.
I like this for a hot day though, the sugar really cuts through the humidity.
Silver Crystal: The most powerful object in the universe that brings light and love to every person. Let this crystal embrace you in a comforting blend of creamy sandalwood, white amber, orchid, marshmallow, and tonka bean.
Personally, I like this sandalwood blend a bit more than Red Maiden. This one has a stronger sandalwood, and with the orchid and the amber notes, gives it a more 'mature' vibe. However, marshmallow and tonka bean don't really feature, so this just reminds me a lot of my Molton Brown Sandalwood shampoo. Just a hint of something else with the sandalwood, but it's not distinct, and I can't pick it out. I wish the tonka bean gave it a it more of a notable rounded and creamy sweetness with the sandalwood, that would be my own preference, but this is a nice slightly sweetened sandalwood.
Amethyst Hearth: The sweet smell of gingerbread cookies, with red apples, vanilla, strawberries and marshmallow.
As I guessed, I'll be shuffling this one off to a new home soon! This will soon be a gingerbread free house, but only because two children ate all the gingerbread.
It smells interesting, in the way it's not what I expected it to smell like. There is a strong gingerbread note, but strangely enough, it also has this overwhelmingly strong 'sweet' 'fruit' 'syrup' from the apple and strawberry notes. I was on r/indie and someone described a lot of gingerbread notes as 'spicy cardboard' and this really accurate describes the three gingerbreads I've gotten so far.
However, this one, blessedly, smells a lot less like the 'oatmeal' and 'milk' notes that I got from Falling like Leaves and Lebhuken, so I didn't instantly associate it with an awful memory of a perfume long gone- but the 'apple' note just adds to the 'spicy', slightly aniseed smelling note to this perfume. I think it's fine, but I think I'm blacklisting gingerbread for the rest of my collection.
Perfect for: Gingerbread lovers who want fruit notes.
It smells interesting, in the way it's not what I expected it to smell like. There is a strong gingerbread note, but strangely enough, it also has this overwhelmingly strong 'sweet' 'fruit' 'syrup' from the apple and strawberry notes. I was on r/indie and someone described a lot of gingerbread notes as 'spicy cardboard' and this really accurate describes the three gingerbreads I've gotten so far.
However, this one, blessedly, smells a lot less like the 'oatmeal' and 'milk' notes that I got from Falling like Leaves and Lebhuken, so I didn't instantly associate it with an awful memory of a perfume long gone- but the 'apple' note just adds to the 'spicy', slightly aniseed smelling note to this perfume. I think it's fine, but I think I'm blacklisting gingerbread for the rest of my collection.
Perfect for: Gingerbread lovers who want fruit notes.
Golden Whips: Whips of creamsicles, orange and vanilla, with delicious syrupy peaches
I very much like this one! It smells like creamsicles, which is really, all I wanted. The only complaint I have is that during dry down, peaches and oranges do come and go from this scent, rendering it less 'creamsicle' and slightly vanilla-ish than Sugarpill's scents, but upon initial opening, it smells exactly like when I open the lipstick tube and I absolutely love it.
For me, I just wish it was a smidge less citrusy with the peach syrup, it would have been a perfect, spot on scent otherwise and I would have wanted this in a full size EDP instead. I'll be keeping my eye out for more creamsicle based scents in the future too!
For me, I just wish it was a smidge less citrusy with the peach syrup, it would have been a perfect, spot on scent otherwise and I would have wanted this in a full size EDP instead. I'll be keeping my eye out for more creamsicle based scents in the future too!
Marzipan Cookies: This GWP is delicious old time. Just be careful, eat too much and she’ll turn you into a cream puff! Strong notes of lime, sugar cookies, almond, basil and marshmallow to sweeten your day.
I still don't know how to explain this one at all. Another complicated strange one to describe.
Opening notes - almond. Not almond milk, but almond essence, the sharp artificial type. After dry down, the almond dies down a little, and the lime pulls out a little more to sharpen up the scent. Then, after an hour or so, the lime and the almond take a backseat, and the sugar cookies scent from Emerald Patisserie is faintly just hanging out in the background. It's an odd and very shifty scent, and I honestly love it because of how many notes you can actually pull out over the course of the wear time!
Opening notes - almond. Not almond milk, but almond essence, the sharp artificial type. After dry down, the almond dies down a little, and the lime pulls out a little more to sharpen up the scent. Then, after an hour or so, the lime and the almond take a backseat, and the sugar cookies scent from Emerald Patisserie is faintly just hanging out in the background. It's an odd and very shifty scent, and I honestly love it because of how many notes you can actually pull out over the course of the wear time!
Blushed Mistress: Always wanting what is forbidden, and taboo. Sweet notes of strawberries, and brown sugar drowning in rice milk.
This one opens again with the very strong strawberry scent, and it pulls almost too sickly sweet like most of the strawberry notes. After an hour, you get a bit of the rice milk toning it down. Much like Pink Bunny, a bit of resting and drying down gives the strawberry notes the best time to shine, and this fades out to a lovely sweet strawberry jam scent, no brown sugar but just a smidge of sweet cream. Would have liked this in a larger EDP if only this more of a 'rice pudding' or 'rice milk' note to this!
The Cursed Fortune Teller: Come get your future told in this tent that smells of sandalwood, incense, myrrh, and some fortune cookies for kicks.
More confusion! This one confused me a lot when I first opened it, it smelt like food, none of the notes that were listed at all, just some gourmand mix of food. After about an hour, this dries down to a lovely sandalwood based scent, with a hint of myrrh, no fortune cookies but there is a hint of sweetness to the sandalwood that isn't in Red Maiden.
Edit: Contrary to how it smells in the bottle though, this one smells quite nice after being rested and dried out, and I might even wear this to a fancy, mature night out. It smells like this amazing blend of soft sandalwood, a hint of fortune cookies and this whiff of myrrh with a touch of incense floating on the top every so often - which is so shifty and mysterious it definitely reflects the 'cursed fortune teller' name it has.
Edit: Contrary to how it smells in the bottle though, this one smells quite nice after being rested and dried out, and I might even wear this to a fancy, mature night out. It smells like this amazing blend of soft sandalwood, a hint of fortune cookies and this whiff of myrrh with a touch of incense floating on the top every so often - which is so shifty and mysterious it definitely reflects the 'cursed fortune teller' name it has.
Conclusion:
I'm generally quite happy with my order, although you need to give these oils at least a day or two of just resting and airing a little. I find they perform the best about an hour after they're applied in terms of the scent profile, but I also find vigorously rubbing these will give the same effect (rub until you feel heat on your skin.)
Personally, I always prefer my food scents more realistic: so I do wish the food scents that I got were more 'food' and less ' artificial fruit syrup' (especially the peach and strawberry notes), and for me, the house has very loud and sharp fruit notes that I don't gravitate towards, so for me I feel a lot of the blends are wasted on my boring realistic gourmand loving nose.
Personally, I always prefer my food scents more realistic: so I do wish the food scents that I got were more 'food' and less ' artificial fruit syrup' (especially the peach and strawberry notes), and for me, the house has very loud and sharp fruit notes that I don't gravitate towards, so for me I feel a lot of the blends are wasted on my boring realistic gourmand loving nose.
From what I can tell, the EDPs and oil based formulas don't pose a huge difference with the scents at all, and are mostly faithful to the original oil blends (comparison based off Grey and Black Cat.)
For clarity:
I tested these mainly on tissue paper as I usually spray and use these on my clothes and hair rather than on my skin, and I tested a few on my skin as well and didn't have any major notable changes either, but I will update these when I do. I find that the EDPs last around 4-5 hours, and the oils seem to fade a bit quicker, in about 3-4 hours on my skin - which seems to just eat up a lot of scents!
The most important thing I've noted is that there seems to be a 'setting' and 'drying down' time with these scents to let them really shine, but I'll amend this if resting these do let them mature a bit more!
Despite all of this, they are a bargain for the price, and while they're not what I would consider to be sophisticated or more higher end, like 4160's with fancy bottles and more intricate scent lists, I really like the theme and the direction the brand seems to be heading in with the story based themed releases and the scent lists, and I've really enjoyed testing these out as well.
My personal recommendations would be Black Cat, Grey Cat and Golden Whips.
A special mention to Blushed Mistress, and Pink Bunny, and oddly enough, despite how much I dislike the opening of this one, The Cursed Fortune Teller for being an interesting twist on the typical sandalwood scent.
Thank you Erin for the lovely customer service once again, and please feel free to check these out!
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