This is part of the 21 piece collection Systema Naturae from Stereoplasm! If you'd like more info on shipping or the first part of this review, click here! You can pick up your own sample box from the website here!
As always, a grateful thank you to Meaghan for sending through these press samples for me to test. And now, onto the scents!
Frog Dew - A dewy coat scented by notes of swamp azalea, wild basil, bergamot, luminescent marsh gas and devil fruit [dew/swamp azalea/wild basil/bergamot/damp ozone/nightshade]
I'm taken aback by how much I enjoy this scent, because this one is absolutely gorgeous and lush. Opening with this burst of bright green, it's complimented with this sweetness from the azalea and the bergamot, like a bright floral syrup, flanked by the basil, with the herbaceous note. It's like a play between shades of green, with the bitterness from the nightshade/tomato leaf scent, the fresh green notes of snapped stems and crushed basil leaves off the stem, topped off with the pale green sweetness from the florals, swathed in this dewy, damp greenhouse vibe. I think this is a real spiritual sibling of Gone Gone (Stereoplasm), although it's comparatively a little sweeter, and it's definitely a massive hit for anyone who loves the scent of tomato leaves - it's photorealistic and very evocative, and I love the depth of this scent.
Fairy Frost - Frosted fairy breath, clean baby skin, frozen bath bubbles and pink bubblegum [camphorous-fairy musk/skin musk/bubble bath/bubble gum]
Although I wasn't very fond of this the first time I tried it, I think this has definitely grown on me, but I can see it going funky for sure. This is definitely very true to the listed notes, opening with the bright pastel neons of bubblegum, on top of a heady dose of skin musk. Heavy musk tends to be one of my least favorite notes, and here it's entirely all of that musky skin, with a bit of sweat and baby powder. It's definitely very much a baby bubblegum bath like some wired up music video from the 2010's featuring laughing babies and bad CGI clouds. It's great, I love the bubblegum here, but I just don't fancy the idea of my bubblegum served with a side of sweaty baby thighs.
Powder - Heavily powdered wings, creeping monstera vine, cocooned oak and moth silk [strong powder/fougere/oakmoss/silk/white oak]
This is one of those scents which make atmospherics in a wearable, chic way, it's giving hints of mainstream abstraction, while still allowing the realism peek through. Much like its name, this is a powdery scent, clouds of white make up power, a hint of antique dust, complimented with a dab of floral handsoap and vintage perfume. I don't quite get a lot of oak or oakmoss here at all, it's definitely more of a brief fleeting accord from the trails of the vintage perfume, on top of clean, pressed sheets. It's hard to describe this one without going into full abstraction territory (a road I take far less often), painting a cloud of ideas with fougere's typical soft, talcum baby powder profiles and playing between notions of lichen, fresh spice, earthiness, wood and moss, and really, saying nothing at all - so I won't continue to wax poetic. I will just say, it's a pretty, effortlessly blended scent.
Solar Croakus - An inner effervescence heightened by notes of warm patchouli, bronze crocus, dry sandalwood, sun flare ozone and warm skin musk [patchouli/sandalwood/bronze crocus/warm ozone/skin musk]
I think this is absolutely gorgeous. I don't usually talk a lot about my love for sandalwood, but it's a quiet love affair, and Solar Croakus is a stealthy hitter that just came out of nowhere. This is such a calm, grounding scent, it's meditative and peaceful, channeling windswept caves of dusty sand and golden stone. Here, patchouli is blended effortlessly with warm notes of sandalwood, touched with the ghost of dried, rough hands clasping yours, and a single stick of burning incense, trailing up towards the sky. The art here is a great fit, it's the scent of a sun warmed cave and sand between your toes - a mood maker with its evocative tranquility. This is definitely one of Stereoplasm's best, and I would highly recommend this one.
Snow Bloom - Frosted cherry blossom, winter violet, French musk and club soda [camphorous peach blossom/cool ozone/violet/French musk/cherry soda]
Although I was well prepared for this scent to be more of a sweet, floral fascinator on a sugary cherry soda in a 50's diner meets a day at the races, this is far more of a delightful romp through spring gardens in floral patterned frills - Think about impressionistic cherry blossoms, violets, the faint trace of vintage perfume and heady, resinous camphor. It's not sweet at all, it's a resinous, rich woody base complimented with the heady intoxicating blooms of bitter violets and soapy floral handsoap, delicately topped off with clouds of vintage perfume and powder. The cherry/peach blossom here is not dissimilar to my impression of BBW's Cherry Blossom, a blend of fresh mimosa petals, sandalwood and jasmine, more broad brush strokes of pink. Although I would have preferred an injection of sugar, that's not what Snow Bloom is, and what it is, is a pretty impressionist painting of a floral arrangement in a vintage dressing room. It's not my go to scent, but I will imagine anyone who likes soft mainstream leaning florals will like this.
Disclaimer: These were sent as press samples for review.
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