I've not made it much of a secret that I love the perfumes that come out around this time of year. They are usually more foody, but also more resinous and oriental to hold up against the incoming cold weather. This is where I continue to find the homey pumpkin scents (although I do agree with some folks that pumpkin can get to be too much), the warm woods (and wood pudding-esque fragrances), spices, and sometimes the stark edges like earth or leaves I am looking for. While I have many perfumes on my list, I have limited finances and somehow I keep coming back to Possets to get more bang for my buck. This season is no exception (gratefully purchased with some birthday money).
This year, the perfumes were named for frightening creatures from around the world or for aspects of this time of year. The names are fun, which makes buying them even more of a pleasure (even if some of the critters aren't quite so nice).
The following perfumes were posted on the Possets forum, but for folks who want to stay away from forums, here is the first section of what I've tried from this new release:
Dancing With the Sprites in the Fall Rain - Possets description: "A fabulously dry and sophisticated take on fallen leaves, wet days, and overcast autumn skies. The ozone/water of dank, a hint of mushroom musk. Overall, there is a huge resemblance to lavender but it is not lavender. As a huge wood hides its secrets from you, this blend is a morpher for sure."
In the bottle, this REALLY reminds me of the damp leaves note of Dies Irae mixed in with Re--God of the Sun's marigold autumnal note (from previous collections). It also has a touch of a bandage accord (as I call it lol) that usually becomes something beautiful and perfumey.
On my skin, it seems to hold what was in the bottle for about five minutes and then WHOA this opens up beautifully! At first it really reminds me of the above perfumes, then it begins to shift and I get what Fabienne says by lavender but not. It has that herbal-type edge with a hint of sweetness without coming across as lavender at all. I don't get a mushroom vibe (don't know what I was expecting there), but the more it dries down the more I get what I would describe as a sweet masculine note that comes across as what I smell in fougere type fragrances, but (dare I say it?) this is even better. It's a touch sweeter (almost with the roundedness of caramel, without being caramel sweet and without the greenness or stickiness that can come with caramel notes), and it's not as dry as I expected either. It has a touch of aquatic as it dries down that resolves away but that feels like it's providing a backbone for the fougere-esque vibe. And that vibe is goooorgeous! This is like the best fougere without tipping over into too spicy and darkly astringent as some of those can go.
This feels like it has a masculine edge, but is beautiful for women as well. This doesn't remind me so much of damp leaves so much, because it is more dry than that (although this doesn't come across as wrung out dry by any stretch), but it definitely pairs beautifully with today's autumny gray rain and the pop of yellow, red, and orange leaves. This one makes me *very* glad I got it (and I have a feeling this one is going to get even more fantastic as it ages). It has kept me sniffing (nose glued to wrist, pretty much) in an effort to get all of the nuances. It's mmmmmm good.
Zombie - Possets description: "You really need a big dose of toasted marshmallow and oude. The obvious combination, wouldn't you say? Resinous and foody at the same time. Smoky sticky fun." (Note: this perfume was a suggestion by a forum member)
In the bottle, this was a lovely smokey toasty marshmallow with an almost woody rounded depth. It also had a touch of sour milk edge (almost baby breath milk) to it when I sniffed deeply which made me raise an eyebrow, but (for science of course) I put a nice big drop on my skin.
On my skin, it opens up very nicely and I almost immediately get an ambered toasted marshmallow. This shifts down pretty quickly to a powdered soft sweetness and I don't get a whole lot of oude. I'm thinking the oude will probably develop the longer this sits in the bottle, but it's definitely a wearable perfume right now. The longer this is on the skin, the toasted aspect goes away, and I get more of the ambered/powdered aspect of the sweetness, with the oude holding steady on the bottom that gives it an almost wood edge, but on a soft scale. (I really can't wait to see how this ages--I have a feeling it's going to be absolutely amazing.)
At first it seems to be light and fluffy, but it has a solid backbone that gives it staying power and depth. It's delicious without coming across as uber foody, and the oude keeps it perfectly balanced from being too sweet (it has a touch of sweetness, but it's more like the sweetness of amber and not the sweetness of sugar). This is really delightful and I think it's going to only get better as it ages. Mmmmmm!
Jurogumo - Possets description: "A powerful vanilla musk the likes of the one used in Dance With Me (VERY seductive yet subtle and cloud-like), and rich cardamom, and finally the nectar of peaches squeezed in the summer sun and concentrated to make a sugary peach liquor...I chose the white and gauzy vanilla to remind me of the spider's silk and how appealing it is when a light shines through it and it casts a soft glow by diffusing light. The cardamom is an illusion of the hospitality the spiderwoman shows men, and peach to imagine what dainties she would prepare for the men she was going to feed upon." With a description like that, how could I refuse?!
In the bottle: Ohhhhh mmmmm! Dry powdered chocolate, vanilla, and a faint peach liqueur.
On my skin: The vanilla opens immediately, the way Reason [Reason is a permanent for Possets] does. Very straightforward vanilla that can come across as a bit alcoholic. The chocolate (dark chocolate mixed with a bit of milk chocolate) drops down immediately into the base and resolves into being the cardamom. At this point it smells like a completely decadent drink spiked with a tinge of some kind of thick alcoholic something (rum, maybe) without smelling like alcohol (if that makes any sense at all--it's just that kind of note with edges and spikes but warm and intoxicating). It takes about five minutes before the peach begins to open up on my skin.
As it dries: The peach begins to come forward and plays beautifully with the cardamom. This comes across as delicate, with a bite (perfectly named for a spider). The vanilla plays steadily with the other notes, and makes this both luscious and delicious but also gives it an ethereal lift. This is a foody that definitely keeps a foot in the foody camp but that has a surprising edge that leans to the perfumey side with a sly nod to sophistication. I have a feeling that every time I wear this one, people are going to want to hug me just a bit longer than usual. *grin
This is delightful, and I think is going to age beautifully. I can see this being worn almost year round, but think it will be too much on nasty muggy days (the vanilla may be too heavy instead of lift then, but would be gorgeous on the evening of one of those days as the sun begins to set and the stars come out).
Warm. Engaging. Comforting. Snuggly. But also utterly foodily delightful.
Jin - Possets description: "A true peach oriental with ingredients they use in the Unite Arab Emirates (UAE). Peaches, dried peaches, patchouli, and tobacco extract, a good wollop of cardamom and big shot of a very dry amber. A foody resinous blend which is just what cooler weather perfects."
In the bottle: Mmmmmm, oh yes. It's like the Gingerbreads [the Gingerbread line includes the Gingerbread Whorehouse and Gingerbread Crackhouse and are forum favorites] and fruit had a baby (it's not quite peach, not quite apricot, but rather like both of them dried and almost fruit leathery, but with hints of the fresh juicy fruit lurking waaaay down below).
On my skin: The peach blossoms, and with the gingerbread essence it turns into something that almost comes across as chocolate perfume. Not quite chocolate, but as if a perfumer was doing a modern take of chocolate but in perfume form. That phase shifts around a little bit, and goes "cool" on me for a minute or two, where it turns straight into peach perfume (not peach, but like a modern take of peaches only as perfume). Then a pipe tobacco lifts up a bit (so beautiful) and dives down again to become an amazing base and the peach becomes softer and juicier. Right here, just right here I fall in love. This is beautiful. It rides on a masculine edge, but is so gorgeous. Tobacco and peach is probably a combination I would have never imagined together, but this proves they were MADE for each other. For a few minutes, as it shifts around a bit more, it smells a little like a VERY upscale soap that belongs only in the most posh salon. The peach continues to feel like a combo between fruit leather and juicy succulence. The tobacco is utterly amazing in this--fresh and a bit moist--and it weaves around the peach so beautifully. I don't get much patchouli, but I do sense it lurking around the edges and I think as this ages it will come out a bit more and rough this up a little bit more and make it even sexier. (I did have this on my skin and applied again to get my first impressions, and a few hours on the skin brings out the patchouli a little more to merge beautifully with the above notes and seems to be providing some of the spiciness to this.)
As it dries down, the notes soften a bit, while still retaining the slightly masculine vibe, and yet oddly it makes me feel more feminine and powerful.
Out of all of the ones I've tried today, this is the one I keep returning to. It's complex and simple and snuggly but gorgeous all at the same time. I agree that this is a great transition perfume, but I can also see me reaching for this (often) in the dark and gray days of winter. It's soothing and comforting, but also uplifting and assured of itself. It shifts around quite a bit for the first half hour, but after that it seems to take all of the good notes and ride that through the rest of the hours in a more gentle form without losing substance. I could also see myself wearing this in spring, and on brilliant summer nights when the humidity has dropped down a bit and I just want to go out and enjoy the stars.
The notes balance each other in such a way that you know what you're smelling but the sum is SO much greater than the parts. I would definitely not slather this one on. The nuances seem to pop most when applied with a lighter hand, and the longevity is solid enough that I think slathering would over do this one. This is a fragrance to savor like a fine wine or chocolate. You can gulp a Hershey's bar, but you experience a fine European chocolate. This perfume is one to experience (and I have a feeling I'm going to want to experience it over and over). Stunning. Beautiful. Just...fantastic.
I have four more perfumes that I'll review tomorrow. Thanks for sharing this journey with me!
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