Swell Smells: Absinthe Sucre Perfume

Back in the day, I worked for a blogging network as a perfume reviewer. Oh man, did I love that job. Free perfume, fancy-pants free perfume, and then I got to write about it.

I have to say, that much of it smelled very similar after awhile. Especially when it comes to many of the celebrity scents (sweet, sweet, sweet, candy-sweet).  I love to find something that smells spicy or woody or smoky. I was poking around Etsy today and I happened upon Absinthe Sucre Perfume.  It's billed as sweet, but there are just enough spicy notes to catch my interest. I'm definitely going to order this one in the near future.

Notes: Fennel, Anise, Wormwood, Cream, Carmelized Sugar, Vanilla, Tobacco, White Musk

Here's a quote from the Perfumer....

La Fée Verte... We all know her tawdry history. Her popularity among all classes of imbibers, from aristocrat to the bohemian set, from bourgeois to the poorest of the working class. Her rise, her fall... her branding as a "ferocious beast", a "slayer of men"... and now, her rise again.

My interpretation of this beloved verdant elixir is The Green Fairy on a sugar binge....

You can find Absinthe Sucre Perfume Oil at the Midnight Gypsy Shop. It's only $12 for a 7.5 ml vial.

Image credit: Midnight Gypsy at Etsy

Swell Smells: Smell Bent's Fall Fragrances

I got the newest batch of Smellies in the mail from niche perfumery Smell Bent. Included in the shipment were the limited edition Fall/Halloween fragrances.

One. One has a subtle spicy-woody-vanilla smell to it. It has a nice balance, with the vanilla note coming across the strongest. The notes include Cardamom, Dark Vanilla, Dry Wood, and Sweet Musk.

Lucy Fur. Lucy Fur has "a splash of patchouli," so if you aren't a patchouli lover, you aren't going to like it. Me, I'm pro-patchouli, so I loved it. I keep sniffing my arm again and again. I'd like this one in a candle. (Hey, there's an idea Brent, from Smell Bent - how about some candles?? Possibly I have suggested this idea before. I've got a candle problem.) The notes include Red Musk, Vanilla Cream, and Patchouli.

Helen Carnate. Helen Carnate smells like a cupcake - but not a vanilla cupcake. Oh no. This cupcake would be rich and sinful and chock-full of dark chocolate goodness. Wow. I think this is the chocolate-i-est perfume I've ever smelled. I love it. The notes include Red Musk, Dark Chocolate, Red Mandarin, and Vetiver.

Lumberjack Werewolf. Lumberjack Werewolf smells like a pine forest. It smells like both the trees and the soil. How do they do that? Is it the musk?? The notes include Musk and Timber.

Bewitched Bothered & Bewilderness. BBB stumped me a bit. I definitely smell Cinnamon in there, but I got my daughter to help me try to figure out the rest. She guessed "cinnamon and lavender." I'm guessing there's also an orange element to it, because it reminds me of a pomander, the type you make by studding an orange with nutmeg. Smell Bent describes it as, "the sweet, spicy brew of a bubbling cauldron set against the lush scent of the forest at night." Very mysterious, but a very satisfying fragrance.

Smell Bent now carries their fragrances in a spray, too.  All the above fragrances are only available for a limited time. Get yours before November 1, 2010.

Image credit: Smell Bent.com