Deconstructing Eden: Black Friday 2020 Part 1

About the brand: 

Deconstructing Eden is a small indie perfume brand run by Toni Sinclair. The house only offers perfume in EDP format, with a reasonably sized general catalogue and seasonal collections. 

The sizes of perfume offered are 2.5ml, 5ml, 15ml and 30ml spray bottles, the smallest samples come in snap on plastic tubes, the 5ml coming in a small square spray bottle, and the other two in larger circular bottles. I have also measured these, and it seems that the bottles are filled by mass rather than weight. For more information on prices, here is a price breakdown in USD per 1mL : 

2.5ml is $3.50 = $1.4 per 1ml 

5ml is $9.75 = $1.95 per 1ml 

15ml is $22.50 = $1.5 per 1ml 

30ml is $45.10 = $1.51 per 1ml 

As seen here, the 5ml is the least cost efficient size, however some special scents may only be offered in larger sizes. However, for the price point, compared to Kyse (as they are both EDP focused brands) they're relatively similar (Kyse has 6mL square bottles that are around $11USD). In comparison to perfume oils, it is far cheaper (for example, Sucreabeille 5mls are $16, and Nui Cobalt 5mLs are $19.), but you might notice that using spray bottles and EDPs tend to be used up much quicker than perfume oils - with the addition of the alcohol base evaporating over time. 

In my opinion, despite being more of an indie brand, Deconstructing Eden's brand and scents feel much more niche, with a general 'perfume' feel across all of the scents I've tried. 

My order experience: 

My order was placed during the Black Friday event, with increasing discounts for however much you spent. For orders over $100, you get 25% off your order, with 5ml bottles of limited scents - the Nice List and the Naughty List. After paying, I realized that I had forgotten to add one 2.5ml bottle to my cart and ended up checking out without qualifying for the 25% off. 

For customer service, I had a pretty mixed experience with Deconstructing Eden. I reached out to Toni via Facebook messenger and was able to let her know my mistake - she was able to add my missing sample vial and refund the difference of the discount for me. Additionally at the time, I needed to hold my order and she was able to do that for me really quickly, which was fantastic. 

Shipping to Australia for my order ended up being $26.89USD, although this was partially due to a heavier order. It was shipped on the 6th of January and ended up arriving (in some miraculous fashion) on the 13th of January. The order arrived wrapped in black crepe paper and Deconstructing Eden's printed plastic zip bags to seal them all in. In one of my 5ml bottles, I found a particularly large speck of dust (or like a thin little string of carpet? not sure) - I had to unscrew the top and used the bottle of the plastic tube to scrape it out - but the rest of them seemed to be fine. 

Unfortunately, while going through my order list, I realized that Toni had accidentally left out my extra add on sample spray. I reached out via Facebook again to let her know about the issue, and she apologized but did not make any effort to make any amends, eg. sending me a replacement sample or refunding the missing sample. In the end, I asked if it was possible to add this missing sample to any further purchases I might make in the future, and she said yes. Frankly speaking, I'm a little disappointed about this response - I have seen indie brands who go above and beyond for missing orders, but it's a little painful for me to have to go out of my way to make amends and suggestions for an issue that did not occur on my end. 

After testing a few of the scents out, I had a relatively low hit rate with this house and I found it quite difficult to find scents that I liked mainly because the general feel of the scents were far more niche and mainstream than indie - and as someone who usually goes for gourmand foodie scents, this wasn't really a brand that I found myself really going out of my way to try. However, my mother ended up really enjoying some of these scents - although her idea of the pinnacle of perfume is Chanel no. 5. 

Scents:

Quan Yin: Rice flower, willow branches, dove feathers, and healing waters.

This was a pretty neutral type of scent - with this scent I get a touch of sweet floral and nutty rice over the murky scent of water. I like that there was enough balance of the sweetness to keep it going too atmospheric, and with the nutty rice coming through a little more, it's a nice, inoffensive scent that I can see someone wearing as a sort of 'my skin but better'.  

Burn Book: College ruled notebook paper, cookie crumbs, indelible ink, glitter lip gloss, and an undercurrent of ruthless ambition.

This was an interesting scent - it has a punch of sweet fruit roll ups, melon and lemon vodka cruisers, strawberry shower gel, vanilla cookies, and a touch of ink and sweat- but it's definitely one I'm squinting to see notes in because it's so well blended. Overall this is a sweeter scent, although it's not quite a gourmand or a full blown atmospheric, there is something lurking underneath it that I can't quite make out that feels evocative - I think this is quite a nice scent but it's not a scent I see myself wearing.  

London Calling '19: Strong black tea, a squeeze of lemon, leather jackets, and combat boots, and a generous splash of whisky.

Bitter tannic tea and rough hewn leather, soaked in whiskey and topped with lemon. This is a pretty badass scent - it reminds me a lot of a shaper, slightly more masculine take on The Naughty List. It smells like salty cologne and sweat. It's definitely an atmospheric scent this one, although it's not one I would wear, I am very impressed by it. 

It Can't Rain All the Time: Cold rain, asphalt, the promise of sun.

The pinching astringency of petrichor. It's not a particularly evocative scent, and when I let a friend smell this he just went, oh yeah that's petrichor alright. To me, this is really just a sharp rendition of petrichor, and reminds me of a slightly simpler take on Elemental (Hexennacht). I had heard high praises from this due to this being very similar to Gymnopedie which was very popular, but unfortunately this scent just doesn't work for me because it's all petrichor. That said, I imagine people who enjoy petrichor will love this scent.  

Tea in the Winter Garden: Black tea, vanilla bean cupcakes, hothouse orange blossoms, coconut pulp, and jasmine sambac.

This is a really nice scent - with light coconut sugar, a splash of tuberose and jasmine threaded with delicate orange blossom, it's very pretty. Was it the black tea and sweets scent I hoped it was? No. Was it nice? Yeah it's fine. It reminds me a lot of Emerald Patisserie (Luminous Star Perfumes) with the strong tuberose and sugar cookies notes - it's not an identical match of course but since LSP has closed (for good), if you were a fan of Emerald Patisserie (as a lot of people were) this might be the one that scratches the itch. I personally don't mind this scent, but orange blossom/honeysuckle scents aren't my favorite and it's quite heavy in this one. 

Dreaming of Kyoto: Matcha, cherry blossoms, sandalwood, ho wood, honey, and Sugi wood.

Look. If anyone wants my money, you only need to make anything associated with or inspired by Japan and I am here for it. I will get it purely for the name. And even despite my like, dismal hit rate with matcha scents in the indie world (it's my white whale for sure), I always go, oh maybe THIS will be the one! 

Anyway, this was uh, not the one. Overall this is a really nice scent, it's got this rich grounded woodiness with a light touch of incense, coupled with a rich sandalwood just hovering there in the background. I typically don't go out of my way to get sandalwood but I do like it in lotions and such, so it's definitely quite a nice scent. I only get like a little touch of cherry blossom and matcha - like a vague dusty bitterness and sweet floral cherry blossom but it's only there if I really search for it. Frankly if you hadn't told me it was there, I don't think I would have even picked it up as matcha specifically. Despite this, it's a really solid scent - it has a nice traditional, heady feel. I imagine it would be a good compliment to Tatami (Fantome) for like, an all rounded Japanese temple scent experience. 

NYE in a NY Hotel Room: A tawdry blend of spilled champagne, illicit substances, discarded chocolates, and the last few minutes of a year's worth of regrets.

Fruity cocktails, sharp alcohol and chocolates. Alcohol drinks always go very funny on me and they usually vanish into nothingness, but mixed with the 'illicit substances' notes, this was... feral. In a way this went kinda, lemon toilet cleaner on my skin with a slap of chocolate somewhere underneath it. I like the idea of this scent for sure, but in practice, this wasn't quite it. 

NYE in a LA Hotel Room: Craft cocktails, cannabis flower, illicit substances, and spilled California wine.

This is another scent which just uh, doesn't quite work for me. There's a sweet floral note there that's undercut by a sharp chemical scent, it almost reminds me of a combination of tea tree, eucalyptus and soap. I'm not sure if this is identifiable as a cocktail, cannabis, any sort of illicit substance but I guess it has a sharpness to it that can only be attributed to dry white wine, although more in theory than practice. This was a strange one, I can't really make sense of it. 

Printemps: Apple cider, roasted pumpkin, sweet spices, falling leaves, rich honey, figs, and bourbon vanilla.

This is very much your stereotypical Autumn scent -  a punch of mulled spices (clove, cinnamon, allspice), apple cider, sticky golden honey, and a savoury bite of pumpkin. That said, it's oddly nice - it reminds me a bit of Drunk Pumpkin and Crone's Cottage (Nui Cobalt Designs) and despite my general dislike of spices and mulled things, this really works. You can really pick out all of the notes in this scent, the gorgeous honey, the pumpkin and the fruity spices - this is probably the most realistic gourmand out of my whole order and I love how well each element translated into the scent. 

(GWP) The Nice List: Soft skin musk, lace-trimmed nightgowns, cashmere sweaters, and a sweet perfume of peonies and water lilies.

This is a very 'pretty scent', it has a light dab of full bodied floral sweetness over a bed of white musk and skin musk. I don't quite get the lace or the cashmere sweaters for this one, but it's definitely a scent I see someone wearing to an office - another one of those 'my skin but better' scents, although it's a little sweeter and more floral than Quan Yin. Due to my general aversion for musk, this isn't for me. 

(GWP) The Naughty List: Black leather, white amber, black cherries, clove cigarettes, and whisky

Oddly enough, despite this scent not being one I'd usually gravitate towards to, it's nice. The opening is all lovely rich black cherries, but it dries down to a slinky leather scent with clove cigarette stubs all over it - and the clove is pretty strong and pokes through every so often under the leather. The white amber also just sits there as a grounding scent, but it's not super noticeable if you don't look for it. For me, this scent feels like what I thought Bad Reputation (Sixteen92) would be and does it a bit better too - with the fruity dots of cherry, the grimy black leather, the pinch of cigarettes and alcohol, and it plays much better since this one doesn't rely on skin chemistry. I'm oddly enamoured with this one. 

Due to the amount of scents I got - Part 2 will be coming soon! 

Disclaimer: All of these products were purchased with my own money. I was not sponsored for this review or affiliated with this brand, and all opinions are my own, and do not reflect the brand's opinions or interests.