Sixteen92: New Radio, Lolita and Sarah Good Review

These scents are available as part of Sixteen92's general collection and are available for purchase at any time! They come in perfume oil, EdP and a range of other options. 

New Radio : Vanilla milkshake accord, maraschino cherry, pink lemonade, grass clippings, waffle cone

This is a super popular scent, and returned due to popular demand. r/imam has great things to say about this scent, as an interesting twist on the typical gourmand profile. 

Wet: The scent of slightly damp grass, coupled with the whiffs of flat lemonade. 

Dried down: On the bed of freshly cut grass propping the scent up, there's a faint echo of smooth creamy vanilla drink, the neon pink of a maraschino cherry and the bite of sweet-sour lemonade, but it's incredibly faint. The experience of smelling this scent is very much sitting on a lawn outside a pub, except whoever ordered the milkshake and pink lemonade spilled it and everyone had to move about 2 metres to the left in fear of the drinks seeping into their pants and very occasionally you can still smell the sticky sweetness. It's very much a green atmospheric experience, with a slight dab of spilled drinks. 

For me, whichever way I wear this, on my skin, in a diffuser, on my clothes, hair or even just as a room spray, this scent stays stubbornly green to me, and it's hard to find any of the sweet gourmand that everyone raves about past all of the grass clippings and endless miles of freshly cut lawn. 

Perfect for: if you love greens. Green and atmospheric lovers will enjoy this, and an easy entry into gourmands. 

Sarah Good : Charred maple leaves, black pitch, fresh-baked bread, dried black tea leaves, sweet orange, chimney smoke

Wet: The citron sweetness of orange rind, with a touch of bitter zest, the smoke of burnt incense, and a layer of soot. It perfectly captures the feeling of a golden red afternoon next to a smoking chimney during autumn. 

Dried down: The website describes this scent as a a melancholy and smoky atmospheric with gourmand nuances, and this definitely fits the profile. The orange rind reminds me of Strychnine's citrus notes - a lovely clean sweetness, and similar rich woody quality, rounded out with puffs of smoke. There's also a charred, smokey and soot-y quality, like the smell of a cooling fireplace. In comparison to a lot of reviews, I don't really smell a lot of fresh baked bread at all, but there is a lovely nutty warmth that reminds me a lot of Psychokinesis (Sixteen92) from their wheat note. On me, it doesn't quite have the same steeped tea note that Strychnine has either, but more of a drier warmth to the scent, and a touch of citrus to brighten up the scent. This scent screams autumn, with all its falling red leaves, sitting outside a quaint little cottage with a loaf of bread, an orange, next to the dying fire. 

Perfect for: Autumn lovers. It's a very warm and super smokey scent that perfectly invokes the feeling of autumn. 

Lolita : Crisp apple skins, tart peach candies, rose absolute, sugared violet

This scent was named after the Japanese fashion, and at the time was released with both Kuro Lolita and Gothic Lolita. Interesting fact, kuro means black, and it typically means lolita fashion or coordinate which is composed of all black, and actually overlaps quite a bit with Gothic Lolita, which is a bit more restrictive with its stylistic elements rather than being centered around color. Having spent quite a while in the fashion, I loved the scent for both its name and notes and would love to ask what kind of image the scent was inspired by - in my mind I would imagine it to be old school sweet lolita, with flat pinks and lace, lots of bows, because of the simple femininity to the scent which never leans too classic or too sweet. 

Wet: The sweet smell of Japanese apple juice - the cloudy kind - and thick peach juice. A little dash of green through the apple skins, floating at the edge of the scent. The slightest hints of floral peek through, but the rose absolute has a slightly soapy edge, while the violet lends a little powdery.

Dried down: On my skin, it eats most of the wonderful fruity sweetness, like a lovely glass of juice gone too soon, and leaves me with a very soapy, powdery floral. The rose absolute isn't quite as jammy or as candied sweet as Turkish rose, but has the typical rose soap scent. In addition to the rose, the sugared violet stays like a thin blanket of powdered sugar, draped over a slightly musky and baby powder-y floral core. It retains elements of sweetness, but finishes as more of a floral and reminds me a lot of mainstream Japanese perfumes that you might find at a drug store, with cute packaging and indistinct profiles of various sweet floral scents - so anything with rose, violets, musk, and fruit. 

Perfect for: those who prefer mainstream scents that are firmly in sweet floral territory that lean into soapy scents.
I can see this appealing to a lot of first perfume purchases, as it isn't quite inoffensive and never strays too far from the preferred comfort zone of mainstream fans. 

About the brand: 

Sixteen92 is a popular indie perfume brand, located in Texas and run by Claire Baxter. It's probably one of the better known brands, and also one that's been around for a while (2014) and has a refined and polished aesthetic on both their products and their site. 

They offer perfume oil, parfum/EdPs and also an assortment of bath and body products, such as their amazing AURA sprays which are suitable for room and linen, whipped soap, hand and body lotion, hair serum and texturising hair mists. They have a small curated general collection available to purchase at any time, but also offer an array of seasonal scents and other various scents for special days, such as Friday the 13ths, and their birthday releases. 

On top of this, they also offer a subscription service called The Circle, which sends out all their fragrances before they're released to the general public, and offer coupon codes with other special deals, a 10% off code valid on all orders for the year, and a few other exclusive limited edition things. The great thing is if you do sign up, the membership costs include shipping! 

The rates are $95 for US, $105 for Canadian, and $120 for International customers. 

My order: 

I have ordered a few times from Sixteen92, and I personally have a soft spot for their layering scents - which typically are only made in AURA spray form and take a little longer to ship as Sixteen92 makes and bottles their products to order. Their processing time typically takes anywhere from 18 to 22 business days, which is around 4-5 weeks, so if you're an impatient customer, I would suggest looking at swap/sell threads or second hand retailers. 

I waited a month and a half for my Black Friday order, as TAT took a month to ship, and two weeks for it to arrive - and an international customer, patience is definitely a virtue. 

Shipping: 

Sixteen92's international shipping works in weight based brackets, starting at $16, to $23, to $35 and $49. 

In my experience: I typically prefer the scents which are only sold as AURA sprays, they're only sold in 2oz (60ml) and 4oz (120ml) sizes, do keep in mind that weight really adds to the overall cost.  

Here are some rough estimates if you're interested in the sprays and are wanting to get the best out of your shipping costs - but most oil/EDP oils will probably only cost around $16 if you don't go over 150ml.  

For $23: you can get about 6oz (170ml)

For $35: you can get around 10oz (290ml) (plus a 15ml edp) to 14oz (410ml)

For $49: you can get around 12 oz (350ml) (plus a 15ml edp) or 18oz (530ml)

In general, they ship with standard USPS rates, with a tracking number, and ship in a black padded mailer bag with extra bubble wrap and tissue paper around the products. I experienced no leaks or breaks with my previous orders, and received the standard order slip along with my fragrances.

Disclaimer: I was not sponsored or sent these for review. All opinions are my own.