ZOMG Smells: Lola

A few months ago, I was able to buy a bunch of samples from several of the stores that had been on my wish-list for a while. I wanted to review them here as I tried them, but the summer got away from me and I didn't have a chance to do so.

However, one of the samples I tried has stuck in my head and I decided that today was the perfect day to bring it out again, dab some on, and give it some love here. It's so delicious, and it deserves to be talked about.

This perfume comes from ZOMG Smells. One reason ZOMG has been on my list for a while is because I love their slogan: "fine nerdy scents for fine nerdy people." Nerd love! YAY! After going through their website and writing down all of the scents that I wanted, I realized I needed to trim my list down considerably, so I started with a sample pack of 10 (a squee party). I picked scents that had mechanic vibes, gear oil, flowers, fruit, spices, and musks because I wanted a nice rounded idea of what they offer. I was particularly looking forward to trying Lola (although, I have to admit that it's not my favorite name--even though I have friends with a dog whose name is Lola and she is pretty darn cute) because Lola has spices and I love spices.

Here is the official description from ZOMG: "Lo-lo-lo-lo lo-laaaaaaaaaaaaa.... Surprisingly unisex, appropriately enough. ;) Vanilla and spices doused in sticky-sweet frankincense and propped up on sky-high platform heels." Link to the product: Lola

Even though I was looking forward to the spices, I did have some reservations about the frankincense, because sometimes that goes straight to dryer sheets and corn cakes on me. However, I tried it on and was pleasantly surprised.

So, with that, to the review!

In the sample vial: Mmmmmm, sweet baking spices: cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and allspice. It also has a nice deep woody note, and a faint thread of sweet vanilla. So far, this is reminding me of what I love about Thanksgiving cooking: the spices.

On my skin: It smells like a very dark wood floor was coated in a spice wax and left to warm in the sun. It's layered and very warmly beautiful.

As it begins to dry: it begins to soften some and the spices begin to merge together to create a warm base. The wood floor aspect drops down a few degrees, but it helps to round out the scent and give this a slightly roughened edge that keeps this from being too foody or too sweet.

As it dries further: the frankincense begins to peep out. This is not a very incensy frankincense, rather it's sweet (as the description says), and comes across as soft and very smooth. It's a beautiful mix with the spices, and this is where I begin to Zen out with this perfume. It's cuddly and cozy, calming but uplifting at the same time. It's warm, with a sexy edge.

As it continues to dry down: I want to eat my arm. I smell so delicious. I love spicy perfumes, but I can be rather picky about them. I don't want musty spices. I either want them very fresh or baked so that I can get the pep and lift of the bright fresh spices or the deep nuances of the baked ones. This seems to have both the bright fresh pep and the deep undernote (although the fresh is much more dominant--and I think some of that deep baked undernote is coming from the frankincense). I do tend to shy away from some spice perfumes because they have been known to make my skin turn several interesting shades of red, so I was a little worried about trying Lola. However, every time I've worn it, I've not had an allergy issue--for which I am so thankful, because I want this one on my skin. On. My. Skin! It needs to be so close, nothing can come between us. :D

After the first thirty minutes or so of shifting and settling on my skin, this rides out in a beautiful mix of dark wood floor, sweet frankincense, a warm and cozy vanilla, and spices. If I was forced at gun point to list my top twenty perfumes (top ten is completely impossible), this would definitely be on it. It's warm. It's comforting. It's bright and uplifting. And there is something about it that is so very sweetly sexy. Perhaps on someone else this would be totally vavoom, but I happen to like that it's not sky-jacker heels and little red dress on me. I like that it's warm and soothing, and utterly snuggle worthy. It reminds me of days when I drove up to the mountains to see the changing leaves with my love, and how we hung around to watch the sun set, how the sky seemed so brilliantly blue, the sun so soft, and the leaves so bright. Although there is always something to be said about the red-hot lick of vavoomy-ness, there is also something so amazing about sexy that comes around in the quiet moments of holding hands, driving on a winding road, with nothing more than the next tree ahead to see. This is that perfume to me. Perhaps that's why I love it so: when all of the craziness of life is shoved to the side and we get down to what really matters, I find that I want the comfort of love more than the hot flash of it. I want to slow down, kiss, enjoy, and remember that even though life goes too quickly, we can still have those bright brief moments that remind us how beautiful it is to be alive.

My one complaint about this one is that it does seem rather fleeting. The throw is decent, but my skin eats this one up rather quickly (or was that me just licking it off of my skin? I'll never tell).

Oh, if you need to ask: this one is definitely full bottle worthy (fbw) for me. It may even be ten full bottles worthy, but I need to pace myself. I still have more samples to try, perfumes to buy, and smells to sniff (and fall in love with).