Stereoplasm: Butterflies are Free! Review

With the coming of winter, Stereoplasm has also re-released the Butterflies are Free! collection, inspired by Dickensian aesthetics and stories. I initially purchased these during their original release from 2019, so I am still in possession of their older formulations and concentrations, so factors like throw and wear time have probably changed if you are purchasing directly from the website, or any other more recent formulas since 2019. I can also safely say that the new concentration is nifty and definitely has a longer wear and larger projection in general too! 

For fun, I also tested some of these on another (reluctant) participant! (RP for short). Skin chemistry never fails to surprise me, and I had a lot of fun doing little comparisons for this review. I tend to amp sweetness in scents (which coincidentally, works in my gourmand loving favor). 

Extra note: With the release of the new website, I noticed that it is now super easy to find notes that you might be interested in - there's now a checklist on the sidebar of the website with tags for specific notes you're looking for (eg. atmospheric, berry, lavender) so you can narrow down for scents you might be interested in! I know the gourmand tag will be very useful for me - and I am super happy that they've included this new feature.

 

Jam Tart: Spanish Seville & ginger marmalade, shortcrust pastry, carmine, crepe paper, drops of belladonna and rose petal rouge.

I absolutely love the opening of this scent - it's the brightest, sweetest blend of orange jam and lemon zest, with an elegant drop of rosewater sweetness that just elevates this beyond a simple fruity citrus blend. On my skin, the dry down lets the floral belladonna bloom and gives way to a tame, almost soapy clean floral handwash. On RP's skin, it's retained all the gorgeous orange jam, lemon, but dry down gave the most beautiful sweet delicate rosewater and belladonna scent - it's far less soapy and much more floral on him. 

Wilde: Sugared black plums, scorching brandy, clove, a dollop of spiced vanilla cream, spilled ink, sharp wit, lingering cologne.

I am absolutely in love with the opening of this scent - on me, it's the most beautiful and festive blend of spiced vanilla, rich simmered clove, fruity plum pudding and brandy sauce. On RP, it's equally decadent, like a pot of salted caramel sauce (RP says, "this smells like creme brûlée and salted caramel, with that egg and crystallised sugar."). This scent takes a little longer to dry down, and on my skin, it gracefully gives way to a trail of sweet port and brandy, with a trail of intense cologne that just hangs around, like how you can smell a businessman's cologne in the lift even long after he's gone. On RP's skin, this continued to stay very rich, relatively boozy, like mulled spices in plum pudding. 

I personally would love to see the opening of this scent with the rich caramel and spiced vanilla creme come back as more of a solinote or another blend, because I'm absolutely besotted with it. I'd full size that one immediately. 

Chimney Sweep: Conifer trees, resinous pinecone, crumbling soot, aged brick, Russian leather, cologne musk and gin sweetened with black licorice.

This is everything it says on the tin, pine, leather, musk and liquorice. The resulting combination definitely brings to mind musty staircases and dusty attics - while the blend of the woody green pine and conifer give it a darker, forest feeling. As my skin amps sweetness, the touch of sweet liquorice keeps it from being too mature. I didn't see much of a difference between the wear of this scent from initial application to dry down as it was rather linear. On RP, the woody green aspects of the scent were amped a little more, and it smelt far more like an atmospheric on him. 

Librarian: Vintage perfume, rosewater, aged paper, velvet upholstery, cherrywood, cognac, orange butter and mulling spices.

Librarian starts off faint and meek, with light touches of sharp almond and a light puff of faint perfume, before it grows into a lovely complex blend, the musky scent of an old cupboard, paired with the scent of thick vintage makeup and rosewater scented lotions. This is a little sweeter on me, and far more fleeting, whereas RP's skin brings out more of the light spices on top of a delicate woody base.  

Bleak House: Dusty carpet, labdanum, dark chocolate, leather shoes, pits of plum, hourglass sand and obsidian musk.

For me, the base of this scent is all leather, and it's topped with a revolving carousel of other notes, a dash of resinous labdanum, a dollop of dark musk and a pinch of chocolate, before it settles down into a rich resiny tannic leather. I still get a touch of chocolate on my skin and its more ethereal and flighty on my skin, which felt at odds with the name - but RP's skin basically amped the leather to an almost savoury degree, and it's very heavy and dark on him, exceptionally fitting for the name.  

Spectres in Dresses: Faded ivory lace, tortoiseshell aigrette, powdered-skin musk, dried jasmine petals, white amber and silk chemise.

This is ridiculously classy, it's the picture of a white marble floor, glass and chrome vanity and a chiffon dressing down. The opening provides a blast of upscale vintage perfume, with white floral sugar, light amber and musk, and has a relatively linear wear for me. I ended up amping the white floral perfumey aspect of this scent, whereas RP's skin amped the soapy quality in the scent, with only a light touch of fruity sweetness. RP said, "it smells like peach flavored solid soap." 

Crinoline: Linen extrait de Parfum, ash lye, blue lace macarons, white tea, hazelnut truffles, peppermint and almond petit fours.

This is one of the scents with a short wear time - so the increased concentration would be much appreciated if I ever finish my bottle. The opening is a burst of almond sharpness, just a whole tablespoon of almond extract. After dry down, there's about a ten minute window where I get this lovely nutty flavor and a touch of tea and biscuits, but no peppermint, and it's a lovely chiffon white spin on a classic afternoon tea - very fitting for the name I think. On RP, his skin amped more of the chocolate aspects, although this scent was faint despite how much was applied, and also faded away very quickly. RP said, "this smells like a soapy version of the chocolate biscuits from Marks and Spencer's." 

Victoria: Devon cream, blueberry Langues de Chat, brocade, English ivy, guillotine blades, rust and granite.

This has a delicious opening - think of bright creamy blueberry, although it's not as creamy as the clotted cream note might suggest. On my skin, it settles into an almost fruity floral blend, and it's not as atmospheric as I'd imagined - almost like sprinkles of blueberry sweetness on top of an almost chypre, and an almost imperceptible dab of rust. On RP, this is somehow more fruity, without any of the rust at all. RP said, "a hotel? smells like an expensive hotel."   

Humbug: Twirling hard caramel, spiced rum, 2 whole cloves, fresh nutmeg, a gingerbread biscuit, sprinkle of cinnamon and a grumpy disposition.

This is a lovely, rich, dark spiced scent - but it is rich to the point where it's almost savoury. On me, the opening is a punch of spiced mulled wine and rum, with lots of clove and a touch of allspice, and spiced candied ginger, and gingerbread. The caramel is very barely noticeable, even on my skin after dry down, it's hard to pick out any sweetness underneath the heavy spices. I think this is what I imagine a spice rub to smell like for Christmas, but I feel like this would work a treat for layering. On RP's skin, this scent retains all the richness of the spices, although this goes very savoury on his skin. RP says, "it smells exactly like Chinese honey pork jerky (豬肉乾)". On him, I'm inclined to agree. 

Black Friday 2019 Exclusive: 

Snow on Stone: Frozen December soil, valerian root, black cohosh, crushed pearl, lake ice and ambergris

This scent is a little more soapy than atmospheric - on me, I get a touch of ambergris, dark slush and musk, and I found this one very blended, to the point where it was hard to pick out specific notes besides the general scent of a slightly more masculine cologne. On RP, this scent is a little sharper and musky on his skin, although it definitely retains the well blended almost cologne like scent. RP described this scent as, "a two in one wash, like a sports body wash for body and hair." 

Disclaimer: I was not sponsored for this review or an affiliate with the brand, and all opinions are my own, and do not reflect any brand's opinions or interests. All products mentioned in this post were purchased with my own money.