NCD: Fragrance and festivities (Yule Reviews part II)

Click here for part 1 (2020) of the Yule reviews from NCD! 

Silverlake Solstice* - Lime leaves, matcha, coumarin, rhubarb, warm sweaters, and cannabis.

This is definitely A Scent. It's a bit of a headstrong, stubborn scent, with a spicy peppery twist from the coumarin, a touch of green from the lime leaves and the bite of rhubarb, with the unmistakable scent of cannabis just wafting around the edges. It's really potent, although I have to say, one of the most spot on renditions of cannabis I've smelled from any house. On my skin (amping sweetness) it dries down to a slightly zesty rhubarb scent with a touch of cannabis - really really faint but I ended up liking it a lot more than I had thought from the initial application. I think the notes on this are really unique, and well rendered, and honestly, well worth checking out for that banging cannabis accord alone. 

Avalanche* - A formidable potion for invoking inner strength. Cold coconut water with angelica, crystallized ginger, and vanilla-poached rhubarb over hinoki wood, lemon verbena, and green tangerine zest.  

Think, the coconut vanilla scent from fancy air fresheners and candles, with a gratuitous dollop of lemon verbena and lemon zest. The coconut vanilla scent is almost overwhelming on application, but the dry down really tempers it to a softer shade, and the more zesty, refreshing aspects of the lemon verbena and tangerine zest come to the forefront. The rhubarb here is very faint, but it adds a really nice dimension of tartness that you can only get from the tell tale scent of rhubarb. I'm not sure this is my type of scent as it reminds me more of high end candles and bathrooms, but it's the type of refreshing scent that I feel like would appeal to a lot of people.  

Fairy Lights* - A whimsical blend to invoke joy and the true spirit of the season. Their glow is the quintessence of Yuletide. Bright white copal softens into golden cathedral incense and wild honeycomb, then nestles into a deep dark vanilla and luxuriant amber.

If you love really strong, rich incense and amber scents, but you want something that borders on a little gourmand, this is the one for you. On opening, I was honestly surprised by how rich and sweet the vanilla is in this blend, paired with the honeycomb it almost has a chocolate like richness to the entire profile. After dry down, the vanilla in this blend is however, the first note to fade, so you're left with pale tendrils of incense, sort of, my skin but better with incense. I think I could only describe this as, gourmands for people who aren't really into gourmands but really into church incense and resins. Small note on this - I usually find these sort of heavy resinous scents cling on quite tightly to the skin, but this only had a shorter wear of about 2-3 hours. 

Gingerbread Chateau* - An exquisite confection crafted in a chic parisian patisserie. Slivered almond roof tiles, maple sugar-glass windows, cinnamon curl millwork, cardamom topiaries, roasted chestnut masonry, and marshmallow creme snow upon the eaves.

NCD's gingerbread always has a slight fruitiness, and this is very much the most delicious Christmas fruit cake, with a rummy edge to it, before drying down to a softly spiced gingerbread, with cinnamon peeking through here and there and a creamy, maple glaze. I love the hint of nuttiness from the chestnuts and almond too, which just adds a chewy depth to this scent. For me, the last dredges of the scent is all sweet maple syrup on marshmallow too, which is probably my favorite part of the scent - I'm a sucker for NCD's rich maple syrup scent, and it's just gorgeous here. I think this is a close tie for my top gingerbread scent, I love the way it wears after dry down. 

Gingerbread Hacienda - This year's gingerbread house is lovingly constructed of sumptuous tres leches cake, sugared sopapillas, cinnamon churros, chilled horchata, ginger flan, and a drizzle of dulce de leche.  

On opening, this is all a happy little burst of cinnamon sugar and ginger powder. The dry down brings out the chilled horchata, with a rich rice milk note sandwiched between the milk cake, all dense and rich and a dab of dulce de leche, in all its rich sticky caramel goodness. It's a little boozy and a little sharp, but the spice gives it a kick of warmth, finishing off with the smoothness of the creamy milk cake. I really like this - and aging it has definitely rubbed away the harsher edges of the spice, and melding everything together in a lovely way.

Snow Day! - The scent of childlike wonder and happy surprises. Hot blueberry pancakes with melted butter and real Vermont maple syrup.  

If you were a fan of Breakfast from Nui's Favorite Things collection but you just wanted something more sweet, this is the one. I am absolutely obsessed with this scent - I usually run into issues with NCD's blueberry notes but here it's just the most perfect blueberry cupcake scent with butter and maple syrup. It's really what it says on the tin, and I just love it. Perfect gourmand foodie scent and so cozy and sweet. I always find myself gravitating towards simpler blends, and this is one that I just want to keep coming back to because it's so comforting. 

Incense, Gold & Myrrh* - A sparkling spin on an ancient tradition. Cathedral resins and angelica are warmed by tangerine pomanders studded with cloves, Tupelo honey, regal amber, calendula petals, true Ceylon cinnamon, and saffron.  

Despite the image I had that this would be a really resinous, incense heavy scent, this is actually a surprisingly bright and cheerful scent. Sparkling spin is a great way to describe it - it's just all zesty, mulled wine, candied citrus rinds, crushed cloves, ground cinnamon sticks. I feel like this could almost pass as an autumn scent on first sniff, but the resins here push it just a little into more Yule territory. I honestly really enjoy this scent way more than I'd thought I would (I was just vibing with the name), but I was surprised by how approachable and wearable this is. All of the notes are distinct and effortlessly dazzling in this - the spice notes in particularly are so accessible, even for me, who can be a bit skittery around clove. I'd say this is like, resin for people who are a bit nervous about them, and usually like sweet, spice blends. 

Disclaimer: Scents sent as press samples have been marked with an asterisk, and all others were purchased with my own money. 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.