Top...um...Few Summer Scents

So several of the bigger perfume blogs are doing their lists of Top Ten Summer Scents.

I don't have ten of them, but here, in no particular order is, the short list of things I like to wear in the summer. In the coming week, I'll be reviewing the ones I haven't already reviewed, along with a couple of LE's from BPAL.

1. Boronia Eau de Cologne by The Scented Djinn -- I'm dead serious about what I said in my review the other day. As soon as I get paid, I'll be picking up a couple of dram sized bottles and filling up an atomizer to carry with me on days when I have running around to do.

2. The (un)Poisoned Tea Cup by Blooddrop -- Tea Scents are in and off themselves, incredibly refreshing, and this one has the added advantage of a nice tart fruit scent. It's crisp and sharp and is another day-time-when-it's-100F-outside kinda scent.

3. California by Possets -- Fabienne's hommage to my home state isn't necessarily what I would have done--it's really too evocative of SoCal--but it is quite nice. It starts with a burst of juicy but not too sweet orange and then drys out into a very interesting floral with a faint resin note underneath. It's deserty and dry, but not "hot," and is a really nice thing to wear on an summer evening as things finally start to cool down.

4. Morgause by BPAL -- Violets and incense together make the perfect summer floral oriental, sweet and maybe a little old fashioned, but not cloying. This will be what I wear if we go to High Tea while my sister is visiting next month.

5. Ruth by Loreto Aromatica -- This is a nighttime scent in the summer; it would be a bit much in a hot car before the a/c kicks in. But on an evening, or on a day when we're heading to the Bay Area where it will be foggy and cool, it's perfect.

* * * *

Also, it's Double XP weekend on City of Heroes/Villains aka CoX, which means maybe one review from me over the weekend. CoX is an MMORPG in which you play either a superhero fighting crime or a supervillain doing crime. I'll probably be logged in and playing during most of my waking hours.

Hmmmm...I think that Arcana's Caffeinated Death is the perfect gaming perfume.

Tea, Black Pomegranate, Hot -- Pomegranate Week: Day Four

I'm terribly sorry about this, but I'm re-posting a review I did a while back, with a couple of changes. We're in fire country here in NoCal and while there's no chance of us having to flee or anything like that, the smoke is godawful--seriously, while still quite high in the sky, the moon was dark orange tonight--and it's playing havoc with my sinuses, so no testing and reviewing anything today.

Anyway....

Today, I'm revisiting Blooddrop's The (un)Poisoned Tea Cup, which was a Spring '08 Limited Edition.

The description read: "Fortunately for the drinker, this cup of pomegranate black tea was left unscathed."

This one is exactly as advertised, down to the faint tannin/bitter note of the black tea. The pomegranate is just the way it would be in a tea blend; it's not like sweetened juice or pomegranate syrup has been added to the tea, but is a more subtle dry pomegranate. It does sweeten up a tad but never gets really sweet the way BPAL's Swank does. It's another simple scent, what you get all the way through is a crisp, brisk cup of pomegrante tea or glass of iced pomegrante tea, bracing and refreshing.

When I first tried it, the tea note faded fairly quickly. Later, however, when I'd applied it more liberally, it hung around for quite some time, although the throw/sillage was rather minimal. I purchased the bath gel and light soy lotion as well and all together, they really increase the staying power of the scent.

I'd say this is a spring/summer scent for days when you don't want to smell too sweet.

Even if tomorrow is smokey, I won't be going out like I did today, so hopefully, I'll be able to review something new.

Perfume/Bath & Body Product Reviews -- Blooddrop & Lush

Blooddrop Clothing & Fineries -- Astrid is a corset maker and perfumer who looks to be very talented at both. I can't actually afford to pick up a corset from her, but I've purchased perfume and bath products from her and I will certainly purchase more.

Gel Moussant and Lotion de Soja in Delicieuse -- Thick and sultry honey and vanilla with a sassy kiss of peppermint.

I tired the Gel Moussant and it's lovely. It lathered up nicely on the bath pouf and smelled heavenly, like a candy cane dipped in honey. I'd picked that scent because I figured I could layer it with the lotion and then with either BPAL's Lick It or Possets' The Girls Love Vanilla.

Sadly, the lotion was a problem. I liked the lightness of it; my skin isn't really all that dry and so lighter lotions work perfectly well on me. This one sank in and left me feeling smooth but not greasy, unlike some of the butters I've tried. The problem was the scent and it's a me thing: sometimes vanillas smell like burned plastic on me and sometimes they don't. It's a little strange that this works in the bath gel and not in the lotion, but body chemistry is a weird thing.

Perfume Oil Blends

The (un)Poisoned Tea Cup -- Spring 08 LE -- Fortunately for the drinker, this cup of pomegranate black tea was left unscathed. This one is exactly as advertised, down to the faint tannin/bitter note of the black tea. The pomegranate is just the way it would be in a tea blend; it's not like sweetened juice or pomegranate syrup has been added to the tea. It does sweeten up a tad but never gets really sweet the way BPAL's Swank and Fruit of Paradise get. Sadly the tea eventually fades, as all tea notes do on me, but since it hung in there for about a half hour, I'm actually pretty impressed. I'm ordering more of this and some of the bath gel and maybe some lotion in the same scent.

L’Shana Tova -- General Catalog -- May you have a sweet new year! Apples and honey. At first something went really plastic on me with this one and I almost went and scrubbed it off. But then, someone was being wrong on the internet and after about ten minutes spent informing them of how wrong they were, I sniffed my wrist again and it smelled lovely, all sweet and appley (appleish? apple-like?). I'm learning that I really do like honey scents and this one is a lovely addition to the collection.

Lush -- The current champ in the innovative, handmade bath and body products market, Lush's stuff comes with a pretty hefty price tag for what you get. Fortunately, you can also shop through their amazon.com storefront and I had a gift certificate.

Sexy Peel Bar Soap -- No time for a nap? Take a shower with this glorious handmade soap replete with lemon, lime and grapefruit to invigoratingly rejuvenate your senses. ZOMG citrus! There's an odd undernote that's almost chemical smelling, but mostly this is a nice blast of citrus in a pretty yellow bar. I found it left my skin a little dryer than it is when I used my normal oatmeal and almond bar, but that's only to be expected with that much citrus oil mixed in.

Ocean Salt -- Generous portions of fine and coarse sea salt line the rim of an enriching facial scrub to wash away everyday grime. Ocean Salt refreshes, nourishes, and tones, all while smelling deliciously of violet and lime. Butters of the avocado and coconut variety take the edge off, moisturizing and softening your face to reveal a brighter you. The scent on this one really doesn't wow me at all, in fact I rather dislike it. On the other hand, I utterly love the way my face felt after just one use, all smooth and soft and clean. It's far better than I usually feel after my normal exfoliant, but I need to wait and see if I can use it daily or if it will be too harsh.