NCD: Critters 2022 Review
I'm very excited to bring another batch of NCD reviews - this time it's the new additions to the Critters collection! If you would like to pick these up, you can get these on their website: as always, I had absolutely lightning fast TAT, and the order came with a lovely thank you card. I specifically picked out the pre-wrapped Critters sample set available on the website, which actually comes with its own fancy little label (as seen in the pictures). As always, a very gracious thank you to Forest and Josh from Nui Cobalt Designs for sending these press samples through - it's always a pleasure to try their amazing creations.
A short note on resting and aging:
When I review, I always try to get some thoughts down straight out the mail and to mark small changes to the scent over time, as all scents tend to vary a little. Some scents often smell exactly the same from the mail, but others tend to take a little bit of time. Personally, I find that NCD really starts to blossom beautifully around the one month mark - scents that are great fresh out of the mail usually get better, but scents that I'm not as warm to on first impression can often also turn out to be sleeper hits. I know a lot of people tend to be a bit confused as to how to age/rest - and this totally depends on houses and even specific scents sometimes - but my rule of thumb for NCD specifically is usually to give it a month for it to fully develop, and it usually stays as such for at least up to two years without going rancid or changing much (I've had some scents for almost 3 years, so I'll keep a counter on that too). For this collection - I've had these for just under a month, and roadtested these a few times.
Siberian Tiger - An elegant balance of warm and cool, light and dark, strength and tenderness. It announces its presence with the salty roasted corn scent of mighty paws, then mellows into white sandalwood, sweet oudh, balsam fir resin, gorgeous golden musk, and a trace of blue lotus.
I don't know how NCD does it, but this is amazing. I haven't ever smelt anything that channels 'salt' the same way this scent does, but it's absolutely a spot on recall for corn chips - but like, if you'd spilt a bowl of corn chips on woody cat fur. The musky fur note here also absolute comes out, with just the barest traces of oudh and resin (just enough to add a bit of headiness, but not enough to overpower it!). Although I would not connect tortilla chips to Siberian Tigers, I'm kinda obsessed with that note, and am desperately wishing for a corn chip solinote from NCD now.
Great Eared Nightjar - Labdanum, sweet myrrh, pipe tobacco, guaiac wood, dragon’s blood, blackcurrant, and santal.
Black-Capped Chickadee - Dogwood saplings, cedar resin, the tang of young stone fruits: still tiny and green, sugar maple, pine nuts, and barely-thawed soil.
This has a tart fruity and very green opening - like unriped fruits and snapped stems, on a bed of damp autumn leaves and soil. Although I liked the tartness of the opening, my skin pulls out a slightly bitter aspect of the cedar resin and saplings, which clashes a little with the sweeter elements of this scent, before drying down to a slightly more mainstream floral green perfume. I'd say this is a scent that reminds me a lot of spring, bottled in a jar.
Sugar Glider - Raw cotton, sugar cane, flannel flower, macadamia nut, pear blossom, palest musk, and dandelion puff.
I really love the opening of this scent, it is the most divine blend of raw cane sugar sprinkled on top of this gorgeous rich macadamia nut scent. I've definitely never come across another macadamia scent that really retains that almost buttery soft nuttiness, and this absolutely nails it. This scent dries down to more of a soft, fruity, nutty musk type of scent - while I'm usually quite averse to musk, the combination with the macadamia note really compliments the entire blend, especially as the base of the scent. I wasn't a huge fan of this scent on clothes or hair, but on my skin, this scent really just blooms to a lovely soft nutty base with a touch of floral - like if Madar (Poesie) and Soft (Poesie) had a distant relative. An unexpected favorite for me!
Elf Owl - A bright concoction of liatrix, yellow sandalwood, beach-tumbled teak, solar musk, crushed coriander, and a scant pinch of pale cinnamon.
This is a warm scent - the combination of rich, grounded sandalwood and teak with the sweet tobacco nuances of liatrix and green edges of the coriander feels like a warm day in the garden. Initially, this scent reminded me a lot of Owl in the Oak Tree (NCD) ((not just the name!)), with the balance of wood and greens - it's the type of scent which looks good on warm brown plaid jackets and Oxford shoes. I personally wouldn't go out of my way to pick this scent, but I can't deny its rustic, homey college academia vibes.
Opossum - A bold nocturnal potion of Hatian amyris, soft black suede, red patchouli, freshly-turned earth, copal resin, and Peru balsam.
This scent is deceptively sweet on opening, like soft sweet soil, before taking a more devious turn. A lot of the scents in this collection have a strong earthy and resinous profile, which is definitely perfect for most of these lovely critters, and I think this scent reflects the feralness of the opposum (which, is not actually the Australian possum, despite the similarity in name, although both are marsupials.) This scent, after a burst of piney sweet amyris, the darker qualities of the resins compliment the musky black suede and a tinge of patchouli give this more of a heady, darker quality. This is a scent that leans a little witchy, and while its rich resinous profile isn't quite my go to scent, I definitely think this is a scent you'd wear with a black velvet cape and a choker.
Glasswing Butterfly - A diaphanous veil of coconut water, elderflower, moonlit gardenia, silver musk, green lavender, and a slender twist of lime.
Oh this is a wisp, like a flutter of wind in a moonlit garden - a burst of sweet greens and crushed blades of grass, before gracefully revealing a beautiful splash of creamy, nutty coconut milk, and a tinge of lime and lavender. I love how delicate and pretty this is, it's got this lovely atmospheric aspect just draped around the more traditional floral profile of this scent. The dry down on this blend with my skin does amp the silver musk a lot, giving it more of a darker, more skin musky scent, and with the slightly lighter wear and throw, this becomes a very my skin but better scent for me - definitely for people who want a lighter, inoffensive scent. I really love the opening of this, but the more musk heavy dry down is a little cloying for me, and shorter wear time (2-3 hours) also requires a lot of reapplication, so YMMV.
Little White Rabbit - A chic, contemporary twist on our beloved Little Brown Rabbit. Nutmeg and tonka bean nuzzle up against cottonflower, white peppercorn, clove, vanilla marshmallow creme, pale blue cashmere, carrot seed, and honeyed almond.
This is definitely a lovely snuggly companion to Little Brown Rabbit - in comparison to LBR, this a little more light and spiced, although it retains the same maple syrupy sweetness. After really giving enough time to rest, the initial melange of peppercorns and clove in this scent aren't very strong at all, rather, it's more of a cozy swirl of musk and honey in vanilla cream. This is definitely less heady and rich compared to LBR, but I would say it's a lovely lighter alternative - as LBR is far more of an autumn scent to me, whereas I'd love this for spring. Definitely my favorite from this release.
Disclaimer: These scents were sent as press samples. I was not sponsored or paid for this review, and am not affiliated with this brand. All opinions are my own, and do not reflect any brand's opinions or interests.
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