Stereoplasm: Systema Naturae 1.1

After a long awaited shop closure and break, Stereoplasm is back! This collection is Systema Naturae, a 21 piece collection released for Winter 2022, although we're almost halfway through the year, Australia is just easing into winter now, so it's nice timing to get these! As this collection is just really huge, this is the first part of the collection! I definitely ended up picking the sweeter, fun scents that I'm more drawn to first. 

I was sent the 0.5mL sample box that comes with two little freebies, and it's packaged in a gorgeous long cardboard box with a ribbon and a sticker with art for the collection (drawn by the fantastic Adam). The doll vials weren't taped shut or bubble wrapped, just slotted into the cardboard inserts with glittery paper on the bottom, but they also came with some super cool testing swatch paper sticks with corresponding name and art stuck on each tab! I love the creativity here, and with how big the collection is, having swatch sticks is such a welcome addition, especially when you can keep them around and get an easy reference for scents.  

For those curious, unlike Stereoplasm's usual paper packaging, they've definitely switched things up a little since the shop closure and added some new things. The new labels are a little different from the old ones, as they're no longer transparent, with a white background with more details of the art created for each scent. I prefer the aesthetics of the old labels personally (I love the color coding of the bottles so much), but these new ones are laminated and are far more oil resistant than the older ones, which is a nice upside (the old ones were very easy to smear). In addition, the 'doll' sizes are the old 1.15mL bottles but only filled up halfway, but I do personally enjoy using these - these bottles feel a lot more than 0.5mL, but the ease in which you can twist and apply these scents is a world changer for me compared to the sample vials (I don't hate them, but it can be tricky to tell if you've cross contaminated anything with those, and I'd say these are way more accessible. 

As always, a very gracious thank you to Meaghan for sending these press samples through to me. 

Scents: 

Excitation - Frothed Irish cream with rye whiskey, evaporated milk, wild honey and chocolate covered coffee beans [Irish cream/rye/evaporated milk/wild honey/chocolate/coffee bean]

Greeted by blast of frothy chocolate, amaretto and nutty rye, this dries down into an almost savoury blend of coffee and sticky, roasted honey and a touch of chocolate toffee, on a bed of oaky wardrobes and wet coffee grounds. This personally isn't my favorite chocolate note from Stereoplasm (that award goes to Koala Ursus from their monthly animals collections), but I generally feel like honey can be a pretty hit or miss accord (Honey Butter Crisp also does the honey fantastically). In this blend, I personally don't love the combination of rye, coffee and honey - I find it a little too sharp and pulls a little too bitter on my skin, especially if I huff it closely, but its projection and throw profile is a different story, it's a fun blend of sultry chocolate and coffee, with a dab of rich honeyed whiskey, just lazily drifting past on a dessert cart stacked with spiked creme brulees. I'm a little conflicted on this one, but I think this is one that I might actually love more on other people rather than myself. 

Opaline - Iridescent and heavy stones of opalized amber, birds of paradise, frozen yucca and lacquered teak [pearl-stone/opal-amber accord/birds of paradise/cold yucca/camphorous teak]

I have to say, Stereoplasm does its best when its drawing on unique notes and experimental atmospherics, and this just reminds me of Meaghan's talent. I don't know how this scent manages to capture the feeling of 'cold' without even a hint of peppermint, but it just brings out this windy, cold and biting mental image of a frozen cave. During the dry down and wear of the scent, more of the white amber and resin peek through on top of a rich woody base, it's equal parts expensive cologne to an evocative atmospheric. I think the pairing of the resin and floral and woods here makes for a traditionally leaning blend, but the little nuances here just add a little something extra here. This feels an easy introduction into indie's more outlandish scent profiles, but it manages to feel like it would suit both indie and mainstream enthusiasts. 

Perdotmint - Gems of concorde pear, crushed spearmint, iced green tea and classic jade accord [pear/spearmint/green tea/jade-amber accord]

I think this is everything I wanted Moroccan Tea (Alkemia) to be, but like, it actually delivers. Since I started my own little small garden at home, mint was one of the first things I tried growing, and I absolutely love picking off fresh mint, smushing them a little and just making myself some moroccan mint tea. Tea notes are definitely one of my white whales in indie scents, but I was happily surprised and excited by this. The mint here reminds me a lot of my home mint, a lovely refreshing not too sweet mint accord, paired with this burst of fresh greenery, like cut stems and crushed leaves. The sweetness here is added mostly from crisp pears, more of the Bosc variety with its crunchy no nonsense fruityness, floated on top of a tannic gunpowder green tea. The overall blend reminds me a lot of the Moroccan mint teas I had in Morocco, it's almost photorealistic and a genuine delight for me. 

Popsilica - Blue ice-pop slush and flat crystal cola with cool quartz, pixie powder and a handful of theater popcorn [blue ice pop/cola/sugar powder/silica accord/salt/movie popcorn]

ARGH I LOVE THIS. This was one of the scents I was looking forward to the most and it really doesn't disappoint. I don't know how they manage to capture it, but it's basically the scent of a movie theatre treat, or the feeling of neon colored youth and arcades. The blue soda here is sickeningly sweet with an extra burst of sugar, paired with the light sweet and salt of buttery movie popcorn just hanging out in the background. I don't know how else to describe it but just that this is just the way soda and popcorn smells (like, 80% soda and 20% popcorn), and I enjoy how fun this scent is. It's almost nostalgic in its presentation, and honestly, I'm a sucker for nostalgia. 

Peel - Spiraled peels of heaven scent Valencia orange, lumia lemon and perfectly ripe strawberries and banana [orange/strawberry/banana/fruity ozone/lemon]

Let me talk about my favorite Stereoplasm fruit blends - Orange is Technicolor and Plestiodon Fasciatus, both which feature absolutely banging fruit notes that bring back repressed high school memories of thirsty quenching sugar bombs from Boost Juice. I'll say that firstly, this is exactly what it delivers on the tin. Now, I personally don't think I've ever had a smoothie where I've blended up orange, lemon, banana AND strawberries, so the flavor combination is honestly, a little heretical in my personal taste hierarchy (but hey, it could just be that I'm a tasteless heathen), and the opening of this is just not my cup of tea. However, thanks to the fun top note chemistry, the banana note here is the first to fade, and after an hour, eases into a tamer, fun rendition of a strawberry lemonade. I like the dry down, not too much of the opening, but it's definitely up to you to dictate how much of that is dictated by my personal preferences in the sugar packed atrocities masquerading as fruit smoothies. For me, I can see myself reaching for this every so often, probably as a layering component, but only ever in small doses. 

Plume - Lazy blooms of sundance plumeria and blue freesia trail behind smoking sugar plums whistling to the earth [plumeria/freesia/sugar plum/light smoke]

I grew up with plumeria being called frangipani, so boy did it all make sense to me the first time I tried plumeria in a scent and went, huh this smells familiar, only to realize that it was Frangipani all along (I had a classmate who sat next to me and insisted on sticking frangipanis in her hair despite them being kinda crushed, and listen, of course at the grand mature age of eight years old, an aesthetic brand was important to establish). Now, to explain or justify this tangent, I'd like to say, I've smelt it enough times to have a memory bank of this scent, but somehow, Plume delivers a new aspect to it I've never considered. Plumeria, it all its white floral glory, all waxy and sweet, is paired here with delicate puffs of freesia, and twisted with crushed green stems and plum pits. This scent is definitely more of a fruity floral delight, morphing between the freesia and the plumeria every time I try to pin it down, but in a way, it has a sort of transcendental elegance that I can't quite put my finger on. I'm not sure I can see myself wearing this one, but I'm sure my old classmate would love to slather this on to match that frangipani brand she had going for herself. 

Snowmallow - Bright pineapple, tangelo and Mojito mint buried under heavy vanilla and heaps of coconut cream [vanilla/pineapple/tangelo/coconut cream/mint/lime/white rum]

Wow. This is an absolute chefs (bartenders?) kiss for me. It's photorealistic, it's a cheeky little blend of rich coconut cream, paired with tangelo and little chunks of mango, topped off with a touch of rum and pineapple.  While this reminds me a lot of Tiki Bar (NCD), of which I am a big fan, this scent edges out to being an instant favorite because it reminds me a lot of this beloved Cantonese dessert (楊枝甘露), made with mango, pomelo, sago pearls, and coconut milk. It's definitely a sweet foodie blend, but the way this tugs on my asian dessert heartstrings (blends I've always wanted to see in an indie collection) just absolutely gets me weak for it. I'm unapologetically very biased about this scent right now, and I absolutely want all and more of this. I hope you'll join me in my love for Snowmallow, cause I'm pretty sure I won't be shutting up about this for months. 

Disclaimer: These were sent as press samples for review.