Thursday, October 29, 2015

Possets Halloween 2015 (The Scent of Night) Part 2

I have many more perfumes that I wanted to get from this collection, and I always waffle between feeling like I got what I wanted and also somehow let The One slip away. It's always a gamble to grab a bottle without the ability to sample first, and sometimes I lose but often I win.

Today's group focused more on two of the more typical pumpkin/fall type perfumes, and then I added one fruity and one unknown to the mix.

Again, the following reviews were posted on the forum, so some of what I reference may create questions. If you would like to know more, feel free to ask here or to go to the Possets forum.

Now to the reviews!

Redcap - Possets description: Macintosh and perfumed Pink Lady apples, Bartlett pear, cling peach, and Indian sweet patchouli dance about madly in this rendition of the Scottish dwarf who murders people for the fun of it. Redcaps are called that because they murder innocent travellers and dye their hats in the victim's blood. They must continue to dispatch humans and dip their hats in the blood for if the hat dries out, the Redcap will die himself!


This one is a Perfect autumn fruit filled perfume, a real go-to whether the days are bright and warmish or overcast and morose. There is something Scottish indeed about this great perfume oil and I like its lingering on a thick sweater or in the covers. Very sexy and bright."

In the bottle: apples (green with a faint touch of red), a faint grit underneath, and what I'm thinking may be the bubblegum note mentioned by another reviewer is the peach with the touch of pear. Every time I sniff this one it makes me sneeze. I hope it doesn't do so when I'm wearing it. :-D I will admit that there's something underneath that may be a bit of the patchouli and something else that comes across as fake peachy/cranberry (like I stepped into a shop that has a BUNCH of fruity air fresheners lying around and it's all mingling together). I'm a bit nervous, but I know some of these insistent perfumes can morph beautifully on the skin. *Crossing fingers

On my skin: Well, that's hopeful. The perfume fruity note begins to resolve into an apple note (the perfumed pink lady, perhaps?), but this is a very strong fruity perfume that my nose is still working through at this point and feels a bit confused. The patchouli seems to be sifting through to the bottom to provide a base that roughs this up a bit, which is good for balance. I am also getting a fruity/soapy note, and I'm not sure if it's just because my nose seems so confused or if it's because I need to let this rest and focus on it only some day. 

Make no mistake, this is a very fruity perfume. It has an astringent side though too.

I don't know if it's my skin chemistry, but there is something about this one that is affecting me. Since trying this one (I have been spacing them all out throughout the day), my skin has gotten flushed, I keep sneezing, and it is sickly cloying on my skin and has gone into Glade plug-in territory for me. It may be my skin amping notes in a horrible way, but this reeks of artificial fruit on me. And I have much sads over this. I really wanted this one to work, but somehow most apple perfumes seem to hate me and go into air freshener/fake fruit/ick getitoffgetitoff territory for me.

*cries

Spider Juice - Possets description: "
It's that pumpkin time of year and I am loving the idea of all things dark brown with pumpkin: molasses, brown sugar, toasted reductions of cane sugar, the glass-like golden sheet of sugar you get from carefully handled ingredients. It's all there, and the pumpkin, it is definitely there. Add a big shot of peach nectar and THIS is what you have been waiting for all year, and it does not disappoint."

In the bottle: warm buttery browned pumpkin, spices, and a very faint whiff of something fruity (deep fruity not bright or tropical).

On my skin: Fresh brown sugar, pumpkin/pumpkin rind, spices (most strongly is cinnamon), a hint of what comes across as green and peppery (almost jalapeno ish), sweet sweet peach (the peach is very subtle and soft, but the sweetness is not). 

As it dries: Oh boy, something in here is reacting with my skin. Where I put it on my neck is going bright red and feels hot to the touch (oddly it's not doing that on my wrist, only on my neck, but where it is on my wrist does feel tingly). The cinnamon note seems to be heavily swirling around me. (It has the sweetness and tone of hot tamales candies.) 

As it dries further, the cinnamon begins to fade down more to a cinnamon powder and my skin is still very red and blotchy on my neck, even though I tried to wipe off what I could. On my wrist, the baked pumpkin merges with the cinnamon powder and comes across as warm and custardy--like a decadent cinnamon pumpkin custard pie. Very very faintly underneath is a soft peach note. After about a half hour, the peach note rises for a bit, then merges into the other notes to provide a gentle sweetness and rounds out the whole.

Dry down: this fades to a pretty pumpkiny perfume that has a faint cling of the sweet soft peach (more peach skin than juicy peach) and a touch of the buttery toasted aspect. The cinnamon note is mostly faded at this point, but when I sniff deeply, I still can get a cinnamon powder vibe. This is warm and very autumnal, and very traditional pumpkin perfume on my skin.

For me, this is going to have to be a non skin scent for sure. It's enjoyable, but whether it's the cinnamon powder vibe or something else, there is definitely more in this than my skin can handle. 

Psychopumpkin - Possets description: "Quesque c'est? This is pumpkin, slathered in spice and encrusted with sugar. This is pumpkin in its glory, thick and deep, tumbling in honey and caramel. Foody and wicked."


In the bottle: Oddly, I get more fruit from this than I did from Spider Juice. Rounded spices, a touch of deep dark fruits, something that comes across as a dark gingerbread (but waaay down at the bottom), and a pumpkin pie-ish note.

On my skin: This opens with the baked pie and fruit notes dominating, and then begins to soften with some of the spices from Big Black Cat seemingly coming into play. This isn't BBC by any stretch, but something about it is reminding me of it--including a touch of the sweetness. 

As this dries: The honey really starts to come forward, in a very wildwood honey kind of way (deep and dark) and not the softer clover honey. The spices here feel softer (more like nutmeg, maybe) and the caramel is providing what I think of as a green note. The pumpkin veers more toward the fruity side here, and less like a baked pie at this point.

The more it dries: The area on my hand that I put this on is also having a small reaction. Not as bad as Spider Juice, and it could be that my hand is dry and needs lotion on it, but it is feeling a little of a burn there, so I'm wondering if there is some cinnamon or something along those lines within the spices mentioned. This is softer than Spider Juice. More fruity, much less spice, a bit more fresh pumpkin feeling, but I'm not sure if that's the honey or caramel lifting it and making it seem more fresh. This feels rounded, softer, and sweeter than Spider Juice (SJ is more dry by comparison). This feels more like a perfume than SJ (if that makes sense). 

I really like how deep this feels, while also coming across as a pretty light perfume. It's definitely autumnal and warm, and feels comforting. As it fades down, it continues to stay light but warm and makes me think of cozy fires, warm hearths, snuggly blankets, and good books to read. 

Note: Due to my experience with Spider Juice, I did not put this on my neck and only put a touch on the back of my hand in case it reacted. This seems more candied and less spicy than Spider Juice, so I will probably try it on my neck to see if I react as badly with this as I did with SJ (at some point--I do not feel that brave today).

Flirty She-Corpse - Possets description: "Italian bergamot, Georgia white peach, sambac jasmine, French oakmoss, and American cedar wood marry together in this rich and beautiful surprise combinations. I never thought I would like something as aromatic as cedar wood combined with a foody item like peach but the result is breathtaking."


In the bottle: herbs, cedar, what comes across as ginger (where did that come from?), and a touch of something from my perfume memory that I can't quite put my finger on. This is not what I expected (I think I expected something softer, but this is more bracing).

On my skin: Ooooh! That's a surprise. The bergamot opens this beautifully! Also, the notes are MUCH softer on the skin than in the bottle. I get the oakmoss and the cedar, but MUCH softer than expected (the oakmoss is beeeaauuuuteeeful!), and waaaay down on the bottom the jasmine says hello.

As it dries: This has a tinge of old school perfume. Classic, very very classic. The bergamot plays beautifully with the oakmoss, and the jasmine sweetens and softens the whole (I'm not getting much peach, but it could also be that making this come across as a sweet balance to the oakmoss). The cedar is waaaaay down on the bottom, providing a gorgeous base to lay this on. This is tres chic, and utterly stripped down to the bone classic perfume with a twist. 

As it dries further: Ohhh there you are peach. Peach laid out in the sun and left to dry, but not quite yet fruit leather. It is really fantastic with the creaminess of the jasmine (a non stinky jasmine--so far, knock on wood). The cedar keeps holding steady, blending beautifully with the other notes, and the oakmoss just hits this out of the ballpark. This plays like a dry chypre, but the soft edge of the peach and jasmine lift it and make it, well, flirty. This is glam cocktials of the 80's, with a touch of Chanel class (old school) thrown in. It is utterly cool, calm, collected femme with a naughty side. And wow if she didn't make me just love all of her sharp edges and soft secrets. 

In the final drydown, it softens considerably with the cedar becoming dominant and the other notes slinking around in the background with occasional sashays into the foreground, except for the jasmine which appears to have left the party in someone's candy-apple-red Ferrari. 

You don't need much when you wear this one, but when you do wear it you definitely make a statement!




2 comments:

  1. The psychopumpkin sounds like my kind of thing. I bet it is the cinnamon that is making you react. Sorry you got itchy.

    ReplyDelete
  2. The psychopumpkin sounds like my kind of thing. I bet it is the cinnamon that is making you react. Sorry you got itchy.

    ReplyDelete