A Winter's Ball Day 4: Truth Universally Acknowledged from Deconstructing Eden

It's early - and by early, I mean late for me. I partook of the turkey, of the dressing, of the sweet potatoes, corn pudding, and rolls and I fell into a deep slumber far earlier than I should have, awoke in the middle of the night and then was like 'Aw, nuts'.  One thing followed another and now it's 10 in the morning (very late for me) and I'm getting the post up.

So right now I'm very much in a 'How Human Use Word???' mode. So this intro will be brief. Today we're looking at Deconstructing Eden's addition to the A Winter's Ball set - Truth Universally Acknowledged. Which is kinda special to me because well... I was all like 'omg I hope at least one perfume is called that' and Toni had my back.

This review ended up being kind of special because it introduced me to a new perfumery family: fougere. As far as I know this is my first time smelling a fougere! Fancy.

To cover the bases: This perfume was rested somewhere between three days and a week (closer to five days but not a hundred percent sure). The packaging on this particular lil sample was so hot off the presses that it lacked a label! The big version of this that comes in the box does come complete with label however. (Here is where I spent far too long wondering if a winky-face emoji would be too disruptive to my writing style).

Since this is an EDP (and sealed in a bottle I can't figure out how to get open) I eliminated the bottle sniff section and combined the wet/drydown section... EDPs tend to dry super fast!

Truth Universally Acknowledged 

Wet on my skin/Drydown:  Musk and rich wood.  Sweet, arched with dark browns and golds with a kind of sharp floral edge to it.

So at the top I’m getting a bit of a piquant/sharp floral combined with a spice (cinnamon maybe?) coupled with another floral (kind of reminds me of a rose or even a lotus).  Under that is sweet musk (like a sweet-clove musk or a sugar-musk even) in the middle and below that rich woods with a bit of a citrus bite to them (reminds me of freshly cleaned wood).

After 30 mins: Rose at the top. Smooth and soft now - no sharp edges.  Under that I get a sweet musk (that kind of reminds me of clove), wood of some sort, and a touch of sweet amber. Maybe a tiny citrus bite in there (or something a little bitter) to balance out the sweet.

I do want to note for those with certain preferences:  The sweetness in this keeps verging right on the edge of bubblegummy for me - I think it’s the particular kind of sweet and musk in this. On some sniffs it’ll be like ‘oh that’s rich and musky and dark red’ and on others it’ll be ‘that’s kind of bubblegum’. There’s also like a tiny, tiny bit of powderiness to the scent.

Wears pretty close to the skin - strong scent cloud starts an inch or two away.

Official Notes: Rosewood and mahogany bookshelves, Russian leather chairs, a simple eau de cologne of English lavender, Bergamot, and fougere accord, a glass of cognac, a river of scotch, and tobacco absolute.

Interesting! So let’s break this down:

The rose is the rosewood - I’d say is smells more like the flower than the wood to me. The sharp floral at the start I’d bet good money is the lavender. The leather is a tiny touch in there blending with some of the later scent.

I’m going to bet the ‘sweet musk’ and ‘spice’ notes I was getting are the fougere and cognac - and I’d bet it was the cognac that sometimes went a little ‘bubblegum’ to my nose. Because I’m still learning a lot about perfumery I had to google what fougere is - and I’m guessing ‘sweet, musky, spiced, powdery - like a clove musk’ is my nose’s best attempt at describing that scent without knowing what it was! The scotch is what I bet I was interpreting as an amber, and the mahogany is the smooth wood/resin at the base.

Oh, and the bergamot is that nip of bitter citrus I was getting. I’m not sure how the tobacco absolute fits in - maybe it’s adding some of the sweetness?

It’s a pretty gender neutral scent - wasn’t sure where else in the review to note that, but, in my book that’s often a plus.

Verdict: Torn! I need to spend some more time with this one. This one excited me when I put it on, and when I got a non-bubblegum sniff. I was less excited about the bubblegum-sniffs. As the scent wears longer though some of the bitter undertones are coming out to balance out that sweetness. As it stands this scent is either a ‘keep my sample but don’t upsize’ or a ‘eventually upsize after spending some time with it’.

You can get this scent as part of the A Winter's Ball set found [ here ]! The set is on the pricey side (it's a luxury box!). However! Sucreabeille is also running a sale right now (11/29/19) and this would push you up into some of the higher tiers all on its own... so you'd get a box of lovelies and a bunch of other swag along with it.

Deconstructing Eden Halloween Release Reviews: Bloodletting + It Can't Rain All The Time + It's Only Magic + Sanguine Addiction + Silver Bullet

It's almost HALLOWEEN. I'm scooching in juuuust in time with DE's Halloween collection. I believe this collection will be going down November 1st (correct me if I'm wrong). So, not to FOMO the indie community but uh, get it before it goes to the hereafter.

As a note: I know my update schedule has been erratic. I need to adjust my workflow (and several things about it) in order to prevent this from happening again. What I plan to do is to take a week off soon (I know, I know) and spend it getting a backlog/queue running again. This will allow me to do bigger review batches (since testing more than 4 scents at a time muddles the smells for me) and to do things like photograph several reviews at once. I'm probably going to do five more review sets (S92, Little & Grim, Nui Cobalt, Sihaya and Divona) then take the week off and get ahead on reviews. Thank-you guys for your patience!

The perfumes covered in today's review are:

• Bloodletting [ store link ]
• It Can't Rain All The Time [ store link ]
• It's Only Magic [ store link ]
• Sanguine Addiction [ store link ]
• Silver Bullet [ store link ]

Methods

All perfumes in this review were allowed to rest for several days ( a few weeks for these scents) after arrival. The perfumes were kept in the dark in a plastic box if small enough. If too large for a box they generally sit on top of a bookcase or bedside table, or inside of a drawer. I did crack them open to sniff them directly after arrival, and with a couple to do an initial test. The reviews are not based off of these initial impressions - though if a rest did change the smell I’ll note that.

I’m doing a half-hour skin test with each perfume. They are always applied to skin that has either been washed or hasn’t had perfume on it that day. Sometimes I will run one scent on one wrist/hand/arm and the other on the other wrist/hand/arm. When I wash my hands for review purposes I wash with Dove sensitive skin, honeysuckle Meyer’s Clean Day or citrus Doc Bronner’s.

Before doing test periods I often wear or play with other scents in my collection (that I wash off). I also am often wearing scented lotion on my feet and ankles (that I do not wash off). Sometimes I wear scented hair products simultaneously. Theoretically there could be cross-contamination.

For spray perfumes/EDPs: I gently give them a little shake. I then wrap my arm in a towel except for the test area (again, top of the arm or back of the hand.) I then spritz the EDP on with a couple of pumps then remove the towel. The goal is to keep the EDP restricted to the test area.

Each review is written without looking at the notes in that moment. Frequently I will glance at a perfume’s notes beforehand. At the end of the review I will list what the official notes are and comment on how I think they interacted.

Bottle Review

See my review of Deconstructing Eden's Sample Bottles [ here ].

A quick note before jumping into the reviews: Because I cannot get DE's sample bottles open the bottle-sniff section of the reviews is eliminated. Additionally, since these are all EDPs and EDPs tend to dry quickly I've combined the drydown and wet section... often by the time I'm finishing typing the description of what I'm smelling EDPs have dried substantially.

A reminder: Each nose is different and each skin’s chemistry is different. Your mileage may vary.

Bloodletting

Wet on my skin/Drydown: Warm amber and berries. Tiny bit of copperiness at the edges. Muskiness at the base. Contrast between purple berry-like fruit and musk with the resinousness of the amber-like scent and copper. There might also be a floral in here - but it’s more fruity-musky than fruity-floral. A little wet smell in there too.

After 30 mins: Still fruity-musky and sweet to the point almost of being gourmand. It’s wearing fainter than it was. Something in here reminds me a bit of the scent of freshly baked bread - I wonder if it is the scent of orange blossoms combining with something.

Overall it smells like wet, sugary, berries or grapes layered over orange blossoms and amber (combining to smell kind of like nutty, fresh bread) with a musky base. Tiny, tiny bit of copperiness in here. It reminds me of smelling kind of like a can of grape soda opened by someone who’s recently been handling fresh bread.

Official Notes: Clean skin, our interpretation of blood, (wine, crushed berries, copper), cracked mirrors

I can see the ‘clean skin’ being that amber-and-orange-blossom smell that reminds me of fresh bread and probably some of the musk. The blood accord leans heavily towards sweet, wet berries with just a tiny touch of copper. The cracked mirrors have me a bit stumped - there is something additional in here, that kind of wetness and what honestly reminds me of the CO2 ‘fizz’ in soda, but it’s very faint after half an hour.

Verdict: Pleasantly fruity and musky. Not sure how I feel about this one in terms of upsizing. I’ve actually tried this one twice and the first time I didn’t give it a good hard shake and it smelled a lot more fruity - very kind of ‘mature grape soda’. This time the nutty, golden skin-scent came out more. For me I think I’m going to keep my sample to experiment with some more and see

It Can’t Rain All The Time

Wet on my skin/Drydown: A strong wave of initial earthiness: wet concrete, mulch, dirt, and moss. Peaking behind that is something brighter - somewhere between pale yellow and white - but it’s the occasional whiff in a sea of earthy atmospheric.

After 30 mins: Still pretty strongly earthy, but that pale scent is peeking through more. It’s sort of somewhere between a resin and a floral - clean, cool, and bright. The earthy notes are very, very realistic to how my yard smells after a rainstorm - wet concrete, mulch, dirt, moss and damp leaves.

Official Notes: Cold rain, asphalt, the promise of sun

So, the wet notes are the cold rain. The asphalt is the wet concrete. I get a lot more earthy/slightly green notes in here than just asphalt though. The bright note -whatever it is - is the ‘promise of sun’.

Solid throw on this one.

Verdict: Not my thing - I’m not deeply into earthy scents. However, if you’re looking for a ‘semi-foresty-front-yard-with-a-concrete-walking-path-after-a-rainstorm’ realistic scent then give this a spin.

It’s Only Magic

Wet on my skin/Drydown: Spicy herbal. From the bottle there’d been a strong, slightly medicinal note. Here I get a strongly spiced musk - slightly masculine - layered over woody undertones with a medicinal tang and a waft of herbs (sage maybe?). A very ‘hippie’ scent to my nose - kind of savory herbal.

After 30 mins: Herbal smell at the top now - reminds me of sage, but also a little of anise. Spicy musk wreaths that. Most of the medicinal smell has burned off now - maybe a hint of something like camphor. Still kind of masculine, and kinda ‘hippie’ in that dark, spicy way. Bit of woody undertones at the base.

Official Notes: Incense, salt, herbs (lavender, rosemary, sage, and wormwood).

So the incense must be what I’m reading as spicy musk - think more nag champa than a really resinous incense. I can see the salt in here with the word in front of me - I think that’s what’s making this kind of ‘savory’ to my nose.

I’m guessing the medicinal note is a combination of the rosemary and lavender. As the scent wears on they wear more herbal - but at the most only go slightly sweet. The lavender only gives the barest hint of being a floral; it’s much more on the herbal side. The sage is the sage. The wormwood is both what’s woody and what kind of reminds me of anise.

Mild throw.

Verdict: This reads as a ‘kitchen gourmand’ with hippie-musk to me… which is not my thing. But it might be your thing if you’re into more savory herbs and ‘kitchen’ gourmands.

Sanguine Addiction

Wet on my skin/Drydown: Neroli, cinnamon, a waft of fruit and a faint metallic scent layered over red musk and resin. Wet on my skin this a glowing fruity floral contrasting reds and golds in slashes of flame. Am I getting flowery with my praise? Absolutely. Because this is what I’ve been looking for in fall scents.

I want mountains painted in red and gold, leaves of flame, and the thinning of the veil at sunset and this is delivering y’all. It’s spicy, it’s golden, it’s honeyed, it’s red; it’s got that bit of citrus, bit of floral, sweetness contrasted with something sharp and dark.

After 30 mins: Pretty stable to wet/drydown. Perhaps a bit more sweet. But you’re still getting a red-and-gold combo of a sweet flower, fruit (maybe cherries, maybe citrus, maybe both), resin and a tiny bit of metallic tang in there. Maybe a little musk - but I think that might be part of the floral note or maybe some honey.

Official Notes: Red wine, unholy water, gunsmoke, white skin musk

So the wine is the fruit, the unholy water must be that floral + cinnamon + resin, the gunsmoke is what smells a tiny bit metallic to it. The white skin musk is the smooth musk that makes me think of musk/honey.

Mild throw, but plenty of scent in close to the skin.

Verdict: Upsize! I guess I’ll be doing a Deconstructing Eden order in the next 30 hours or so.

Silver Bullet

Wet on my skin/Drydown: Musky leather and fur with a slightly metallic edge. Very masculine and dark. There’s something bright along with the metallic smell - maybe something… floral? An amber? No clue. It’s very faint - I’m figuring that’s a ‘silver’ accord. Leather is dark, and right on the border between soft and acrid (there’s something to it reminiscent of gasoline to my nose). It’s a biker werewolf boyfriend in a bottle.

After 30 mins: Silvery smells at the top over gasoline, leather, and smoke with an edge of fur. It’s a pretty straightforward werewolf biker boyfriend scent. Masculine, a little harsh, smooth and dark.

Soft throw, plenty of scent in close to the skin.

Official Notes: Hot silver, dark fur, and dark musk.

So the silvery notes are the silver… and I wonder if the gasoline-like smell is part of that. The dark fur is the fur. I figure the dark musk must be what’s smelling both masculine and like leather.

Verdict: Not sure - probably not an upsize (I can’t see personally wearing it often enough), but torn on whether to keep my sample or not. It’s a nice werewolf biker boyfriend scent… but I don’t know how often I want to be the werewolf biker boyfriend. I recommend this for all who want to smell like a werewolf biker boyfriend or have someone in their lives they want to smell like a werewolf biker boyfriend.

4 Deconstructing Eden Fall 2019 Reviews: Autumn Drive + Pumpkin's Revenge + September Sun + October Rust

Sometimes the intros come easy, and sometimes you're staring at the yawning expanse of white space and coming up with nothing. Today is a day in the second category.

So I'll stick to the facts: Today I'm reviewing 4 Deconstructing Eden fall perfumes. I'm always eager to try out Toni's creations because I know they're going to be, well, different. There's gonna be notes that I don't see other houses get near, and they're going to all be high quality - and the perfumes are going to be highly conceptual. I like conceptual.

The perfumes covered in today's review are:

• Autumn Drive [ store link ]
• Pumpkin's Revenge [ store link ]
• September Sun [ store link ]
• October Rust [ store link]

Methods

All perfumes in this review were allowed to rest for several days (over a week for these scents) after arrival. The perfumes were kept in the dark in a plastic box if small enough. If too large for a box they generally sit on top of a bookcase or bedside table, or inside of a drawer. I did crack them open to sniff them directly after arrival, and with a couple to do an initial test. The reviews are not based off of these initial impressions - though if a rest did change the smell I’ll note that.

I’m doing a half-hour skin test with each perfume. They are always applied to skin that has either been washed or hasn’t had perfume on it that day. Sometimes I will run one scent on one wrist/hand/arm and the other on the other wrist/hand/arm. When I wash my hands for review purposes I wash with Dove sensitive skin, honeysuckle Meyer’s Clean Day or citrus Doc Bronner’s.

Before doing test periods I often wear or play with other scents in my collection (that I wash off). I also am often wearing scented lotion on my feet and ankles (that I do not wash off). Sometimes I wear scented hair products simultaneously. Theoretically there could be cross-contamination.

For spray perfumes/EDPs: I gently give them a little shake. I then wrap my arm in a towel except for the test area (again, top of the arm or back of the hand.) I then spritz the EDP on with a couple of pumps then remove the towel. The goal is to keep the EDP restricted to the test area.

Each review is written without looking at the notes in that moment. Frequently I will glance at a perfume’s notes beforehand. At the end of the review I will list what the official notes are and comment on how I think they interacted.

Bottle Review

See my review of Deconstructing Eden's Sample Bottles [ here ].

A quick note before jumping into the reviews: Because I cannot get DE's sample bottles open the bottle-sniff section of the reviews is eliminated. Additionally, since these are all EDPs and EDPs tend to dry quickly I've combined the drydown and wet section... often by the time I'm finishing typing the description of what I'm smelling EDPs have dried substantially.

Autumn Drive

Wet on my skin/Drydown: Bright, soft topnotes of resin and citrus, edge of a sweet floral in there as well. In the midnotes there’s something kind of musky and soft - creamy almost. At the base I’m getting wood, forest debris, and a dark dry decay-like vegetative note. It might be several notes, as it slightly reminds me of a benzoin or patchouli combined with something dark green.

It’s kind of like a dry, dark chypre with some soft decay and earthy notes in there.

After an hour: Well, I lost track of time while wearing this. Thankfully from sniffing it’s been pretty consistent after the first 10-15 minutes. The foreground notes have mellowed substantially. I’m getting bright citrus (like a glass of orange juice), a bit of golden resin, a touch of salt and an edge of a floral (maybe carnation?). There’s some of that kinda-creamy, soft midnote… but most of this perfume consists of and is anchored in the base notes. They’re woody, dry, and laced with vegetative decay and just a tiny bit of cloying sweetness. It honestly smells like a darker, more decayed version of a pile of fallen leaves… like fallen leaves in late fall verging into winter. I think I’m getting patchouli and/or benzoin, some sort of wood (oak maybe?) and that dry-vegetation note.

This is a little less of a chypre than it was wet, but it still has that citrus-contrasted-with-resins-and-dark-greens thing going on.

Scent cloud starts about 2 inches from my skin, and is fairly strong in the cloud. The scent wears close to the skin however - I didn’t get much of a throw on it.

Official Notes: Cool autumn air, asphalt, red maple leaves, redwoods, grey musk, oakwood, flannel, and leather seats

Interesting! No listed citrus notes - I wonder if the redwood smells like citrus to me, or if it’s part of the autumn-air accord. The redwood is probably also where that golden resin impression is coming from The asphalt is one of the decay notes to me - probably what smells kind of dark and reminds me of patchouli/benzoin. The red maple leaves are the dry plant matter. The creamy smell is a combination of that gray musk. I bet the flannel and the leather are what I was reading as a sweet floral. The oakwood is the wood I was getting that I ID’d as oak.

Verdict: I like chypres, but the decay/asphalt notes in this are a bit rich for me. They’re right at that line where decay starts to bother me… which means for most people they’d probably come across as subtle. I do like the oakwood in this and the sunnier notes at the top of the perfume. This will probably be a pass for me as I can’t see wearing it but it does effectively capture the mood of sunlight on piles of fallen, slightly decayed leaves in late autumn.

Pumpkin’s Revenge

I’m going to preface this with a confession: I’m not a huge pumpkin fan. Oh, I love autumn but autumn for me is a season of early twilight and misty mornings, maple and apple, and the promise of winter hanging in the air. The spice-and-pumpkin scented craze mostly whooshes right past me. So take my opinion on pumpkin anything with a grain of salt.

Wet on my skin/Drydown: As pumpkin spiced things go this is actually pretty nice. At the top you have a rich, clove-and-cinnamon spiced pumpkin and then something kind of tart-floral-nutty and then at the base of the scent you have a bit of woody-resinous darkness. It’s definitely a gourmand but not overly sweet or sugary - just a little bit of sweetness balanced heavily by the tart-floral-nutty scent and the deep basenotes.

After 30 mins: So, this has been itching a bit and I’m wondering if it’s just the cinnamon/clove irritating my skin (doesn’t usually happen) or if this has black pepper in it. I could see part of that weird midnote being black pepper, which, uh, I’m allergic to (gives me hives)… I only just realized this about 2 minutes before the test period was up and feel like a ding dong.

Sooo very briefly gonna run the scent down here. At the top I get clove and cinnamon - maybe some nutmeg. There’s something kind of ‘shining’ in here that I think might be a metallic note? I’m not sure. Under that is the pumpkin, a bit of nuttiness, and a bit of sweetness and a rounded, kind of sour-tart scent I’m struggling to place (I wonder if the cinnamon in this is actually a cinnamon leaf?). I think there is a possibility of black pepper in here too. At the base is the earthiness and a dark, sharp resin.

Probably the strongest part of the scent at this point is that ‘shining’ note. I get a scent cloud from this 3-4 inches away from the skin. Pretty good throw on this too - though some of that might be partially due to the amount I applied.

Official Notes: Sweet and buttery pumpkin flesh corrupted with black patchouli, sticky myrrh and smokey oud, all spiked with dark spice on a bed of graveyard dirt.

No black pepper! I think! Maybe! I’m not sure what’s in dark spices - but I’m absolutely getting cinnamon and clove. I think the shining note is the myrrh as it can lean cold/shining/pale-metal in its smell. The pumpkin is the er… pumpkin. That odd note in the middle I was struggling to describe as kind of sour-tart is the oud I’m pretty sure. At the base is the black patchouli and dirt. It’s a good dirt note in there.

Verdict: As pumpkin spice scents go this is a pretty good one but ultimately it’s still a pumpkin spice scent. I think people who like pumpkin spice and wish that they could find a scent that goes a little less sweet and leans more into rich spices and dark notes will find that this one scratches the itch. A pass from me due to pumpkin spice not being much of my thing and it irritating my skin for whatever reason.

September Sun

Wet on my skin/Drydown: Bright citrus, musky dried grass, acorns, a smell like soft fur or sunflower seeds, and a golden resin. So you get these topnotes that hit you with the bright citrus and this edge of resin - maybe even a very tart floral. They’re sharp and sweet. Below that is an almost cloying muskiness - rich, thick, sweet… somewhere between the smell of skin and cat fur. The muskiness overlaps heavily with a nutty scent I associate with sunflower seeds and acorns. Still in the midnotes there’s also a golden-grass note. At the base is a bright resin - it reminds me of the redwood note used in Autumn Drive… or maybe a cedar.

After 30 mins: Very stable to the drydown. The topnotes have mostly died back and the musky midnotes dominate. Rich, smooth, slightly animalistic and golden. Wears mildly when smelled close to the skin (scent cloud starts about 2 inches away and is not a strong scent cloud) but has a decent throw on it.

Official Notes: Sun brightened (vegan) honey, fossilized amber, bergamot, Somalian Frankincense CO2, Gurjun Balsam, Calendula flowers, and golden woods.

So I get the honey - I think that is what smells so musky-sweet to me. The amber note must be that bright resin near the top. The bergamot is the citrus. With the name in front of me I can see frankincense adding animalistic qualities and forming a dark-gold resinous base. The balsam and marigold also contribute to the scent - with the marigold contributing to those fur-like midnotes.

The golden woods I think are what smell like sunflower seeds and the golden-grass smell.

So, to sum up, the scent is dominated by the honey, balsam, and marigold/calendula. The bergamot and amber appear early in the scent but burn away pretty quickly. The golden woods add nuance and the Frankincense CO2 forms a dark gold base that gives this some animalistic qualities.

Verdict: A tad too musky/animalistic for my tastes in terms of personal scents. If you like the smell of cat fur (and want to smell like it) this is probably right up your alley. A pass from me but I can certainly see the scent having its admirers among animalistic scent fans.

October Rust

Wet on my skin/Drydown: Floral/waxy topnotes undercut by something herbal (like wormwood, or holly maybe) and a red resin in the middle. Could be a dragon’s blood? If it is it’s a very red, very resinous dragon’s blood and less on the sweet side. A little bit of metallicness to this and some darkness at the base. There’s a bit of the scent I’d call almost like fallen leaves - but minus the scent of ‘decay’. The whole scent is sweet in the way blood is sweet.

Sniffing this brings to mind a full moon through leafless trees above a dark stone altar wreathed in holly branches and red flowers upon which is laying a rusty knife. It’s really evocative. Red, resinous, herbal, sweet and dark.

After 30 mins: So I’m struggling to describe this floral. It dominates the scent. It reminds me a lot of a thick, red rose but it’s not quite what I expect from just a rose. It’s like a rose had a baby with potpourri. I’m really struggling to determine exactly what it is because it’s really familiar but a name isn’t coming to mind.

Accompanying the floral is a kind of silvery note and an herbal note. The herbal note still reminds me of holly, and the luminous, silvery note is something I can’t quite name other than ‘hm smells silvery’. It might be myrrh, because myrrh can sometimes smell like that. Or maybe pine? It’d kind of resinous.

There’s a bit of a waxy note, and then a bit of a metallic note… and then red resin with a bit of sweetness to it like fallen leaves. Under that is a bit of indistinct darkness - it puts me to mind of stone but I’m not sure.

I got the scent cloud on this 5 inches from my arm (medium intensity) and it has the throw you'd expect with such a large scent cloud.

Official Notes: Cool rusting metal, the last of the maple leaves, black agarwood, crisp air, incense, bonfire smoke, blonde woods, and dark amber.

So the metallic tang is the metal accord, and the florals (whatever they may be) must be part of the rusting metal accord. I’m going to bet that accounts for the red resin as well. The black agarwood and blonde woods are probably adding some of that ‘potpourri’ scent. The waxy/fallen leaves scent is the last of the maple leaves note. The dark amber and crisp air are probably what’s putting me to mind of stone - but I think that ‘silvery’ note I ID’d might be part of the crisp air accord.

I don’t get much in the way of incense or bonfire smoke in the scent, unless the incense is blending with the general ‘very resinous’ character. I could see a tiny bit of smokiness at the edges blending with that floral.

Verdict: I like this one well enough to keep the sample, but not sure if I’ll end up upsizing it larger. I think I need to spend more time with it to cement my opinion - it's a very different scent from pretty much anything else I've tried. It’ll be nice for my more dark-feminine days. I especially appreciate that the leaf note in this actually smells like freshly fallen leaves with no decay notes present, and that the metallic notes are subtle and not overwhelming.

5 Deconstructing Eden Reviews: Black No. 1 + Delaunay + Morrigan + Haunted + El Sol

Some months ago (I think it was for the 4th of July sale?) I bought a sampler pack of Deconstructing Eden scents from Sucreabeille's Indie Marketplace [ link, if anyone is wondering where to get it ]. Today is the day I finally review them.

I'm pretty stoked to finally get around to them because I had the opportunity to collaborate with Deconstructing Eden's Toni on Roasts and Toasts. What really stands out to me about her perfumes is the note quality: She's doing Indie scent profiles in a classical way ( no fragrance oils! ) and it really shows.

The perfumes covered in today's review are:

• Black No. 1 [ store link ]
• Delaunay [ store link ]
• Morrigan [ store link ]
• Haunted [ store link ]
• El Sol [ store link ]

Methods

All perfumes in this review were allowed to rest for several days ( a few weeks for these scents) after arrival. The perfumes were kept in the dark in a plastic box if small enough. If too large for a box they generally sit on top of a bookcase or bedside table, or inside of a drawer. I did crack them open to sniff them directly after arrival, and with a couple to do an initial test. The reviews are not based off of these initial impressions - though if a rest did change the smell I’ll note that.

I’m doing a half-hour skin test with each perfume. They are always applied to skin that has either been washed or hasn’t had perfume on it that day. Sometimes I will run one scent on one wrist/hand/arm and the other on the other wrist/hand/arm. When I wash my hands for review purposes I wash with Dove sensitive skin, or almond Doc Bronner’s.

Before doing test periods I often wear or play with other scents in my collection (that I wash off). I also am often wearing scented lotion on my feet and ankles (that I do not wash off). Sometimes I wear scented hair products simultaneously. Theoretically there could be cross-contamination.

For spray perfumes/EDPs: I gently give them a little shake. I then wrap my arm in a towel except for the test area (again, top of the arm or back of the hand.) I then spritz the EDP on with a couple of pumps then remove the towel. The goal is to keep the EDP restricted to the test area. (Note: this time if I was only running one scent on one side I didn't bother to use the towel - I did 3 of the perfumes before taking a shower and two after).

Each review is written without looking at the notes in that moment. Frequently I will glance at a perfume’s notes beforehand. At the end of the review I will list what the official notes are and comment on how I think they interacted.

Bottle Review

Deconstructing Eden's sample bottles are 2.5 ML spray EDPs. The tops remove easily, and they spray easily giving a nice cloud for such a little nozzle. The fonts used on the labels are all easily legible and didn't seem to smear or be damaged from typical use.

The bottles seem quite impossible to open though - this is good in terms of preventing leaks, but, I often do bottle-sniff reviews as part of my reviews. I've had to skip that section with Deconstructing Eden. In most cases I don't think this will matter because if you want to sniff a perfume you can just go ahead an apply it.

The only downside to them is they come shrink wrapped tightly in plastic - it has a preforated line on it but when removing this plastic it never once tore neatly along the line for me. Getting the bottles out was a mini-wrestling match for each bottle. I get that this is yet another precaution against leaks - a good idea when shipping EDPs - but I do wish the plastic were a little easier to remove.

A reminder: Each nose is different and each skin’s chemistry is different. Your mileage may vary.

Note: Since these are all EDPs and drydown very quickly (sometimes even before I've finished the 'wet' section) I've combined the drydown/after 30 minutes sections.

Black No. 1

Wet on my skin: Spicy, sweet, earthy resin with an anise-edge. Might be getting some black myrrh and leather in here. It reminds me very strongly of BPAL’s Schwarzer Mond but a bit spicier and fresher.

Topnotes of sweet anise (maybe some cashmere? - something soft in there, it could also be a tonka). Midnotes of leather and a sweet resin - maybe myrrh. Basenotes of earthy and spicy resins - could totally see a black amber and an aged patchouli.

Drydown/After 30 mins: Pretty stable to how it went on, but more nuance is coming out.

At a glance this smells like soft leather and sexy, evil Dr. Pepper. Like, it isn’t fizzy but there is something in there that reminds me of a cola note or a Dr. Pepper note.

I’m getting topnotes of leather, a little bit of anise (like it’s seriously off at the edges at this point), and a little bit of resinous piquancy.

In the midnotes I’m getting the kind-of-like-spicy-cola smell, the ‘soft’ smell (could be cashmere, could be a vanilla), and sweet resin. At the base it’s all dark, smooth resins.

Official Notes: Milk white skin, a haze of clove cigarette smoke, burning leaves and the blackest patchouli in my collection.

So, I think the soft smell is the milk white skin. The spicy-cola smell is the clove cigs, the burning leaves are the ‘sweet’ resin and possibly adding some of the piquant resin I’m getting at the top. It might also be where I’m getting the kind of ‘leather’ vibe from. The base is that fabulous, very black, aged patchouli.

Verdict: If you’re a fan of sweet dark resins definitely check this one out. I am quite fond of it and will be keeping my sample - possibly upsizing when I run through said sample (they’re 2.5ml which is almost a dram).

Delaunay

Wet on my skin: Mist, water, ozone, with an edge of a floral. This smells exactly like cool misty water with some florals and warmth with a little bit of a resinous traditionally masculine scent in there. Maybe a touch of citrus at the outset and an undercurrent of musk.

Drydown/After 30 mins: Getting topnotes of something bitter, musty, and papery - it’s either a pepper note (white pepper maybe) or a pipe/cherry tobacco. It’s hard for me to make out the rest of the scent under that - I get edges of those phenomenal water notes, a bit of the traditionally masculine smelling resing, a tiny kiss of citrus and some sort of sweet floral. But it’s all dominated by that bitter/sharp, musty, papery scent.

Official Notes: Ambergris, red leaves, black agarwood, a touch of leather, amber key accord, rosewood, cassis, a touch of lime and the barest drop of fresh apple.

So, the ambergris in this is what initially smells warm and aquatic. It’s amazing. The topnotes I’m getting must be a mix of leather (which is kinda acrid), the cassis, the amber and the red leaves. This mixture smells bitter, dusty, papery, and peppery so I figure the leather must be adding the acrid/sharp notes to it, the leaves must be adding the papery, the amber is probably adding the kind of ‘dusty’ notes, and the peppery note - along with some of the earthiness of the scent - must be coming from the cassis (blackcurrant liqueur). What’s reading as a floral to my nose must be the rosewood. The black agarwood must be the resinous base. With the fruits I get that kiss of the lime and at the edges I can, with the words in front of me, make out the barest tiniest hint of apple you can imagine.

Verdict: Loved this wet when that amazing ambergris dominated. I’m not a fan of the particular papery-peppery combo that lives in the topnotes of the scent. It certainly is masculine, and it certainly is dark, but it’s heading into that Old Book Smell category I’m not a huge fan of. If you’re one of those Old Book Sniffers out there, and someone who likes masc scents, give this one a spin.

Morrigan

Wet on my skin: Makeup powder (smells just like many lipstick accords with just a touch of soft powder), soft leather - at least one floral (going to guess rose, but could be wrong - there might be some violet in there too), something golden - could be heliotrope, could be vetiver. Softness reminiscent of a textile (cashmere maybe?). A wisp of something smoky. There is a resinous base - more like a grey amber than woody though.

Drydown/After 30 mins: This is reminding me of Sixteen92’s Mein Herr Marquis but darker and with an edge.

At the top I’m getting dark leather, soft powder, and what smells like rose and violet to me - with the violet being on the ‘creamy, almost like chocolate’ end of the violet spectrum. There’s kind of a shimmering quality to the whole scent I’m having a little trouble putting my finger on.

In the midnotes still getting that soft note and that golden note.

At the base it’s resinous and grey with a tiny, tiny bit of smokiness.

Official Notes: Grey musk, leather, dark red roses, patchouli, night blooming jasmine on a bed of wood.

So, the grey musk is what’s smelling soft in the midnotes and what’s adding that grey character I was reading as part of the base. The leather is the leather, and the rose is the rose - and given that there’s no violet in this I suspect the rose is adding that kind of floral-roundness I was reading as violet.

A bit surprised to see jasmine appearing in here - but I can totally see it now that it’s named. It’s adding to the ‘golden’ character of the scent and providing that ‘shimmery’ note (it’s a really nice jasmine!).

The patchouli is what is one of the base resins in the scent - and I think is adding a bit to the ‘golden’ portions, and then there’s wood. It smells like grey, weathered wood.

Verdict: I really like this one! It’s feminine, but with claws. Keeping my sample and will probably be upsizing when I run through it!

Haunted

Wet on my skin: Rose and dark greenery - something bitter near the base, maybe some bergamot? I think I saw the rose note for this while copy/pasting the notes for another of the scents… but even if I hadn’t it would be hard to miss the rose in this. This is rose centric, for sure.

Beyond that rose in the greenery I feel like I’m getting two different kinds of greenery. One is that fresh cut grass scent and another is a darker, sweeter green. There might be an edge of another floral in this - a sweet one like ylang ylang or something.

The base note is some sort of dark wood, I think.

Drydown/After 30 mins: Rose, fresh greenery, dark greenery, bitter-citrus-kinda smell and dark wood at the base. Edges of that other floral that might be ylang ylang. It’s fairly stable to how it went on - perhaps the rose is a smidge less dominant but otherwise about the same.

Official Notes: Ghostly roses, ethereal lilacs, and wisteria. Pale, pale Asian lilies on a soft bed of delicate woods and ambergris.

So, yes on the roses. With the lilacs and wisteria - I maybe get a hint of purple flowers? It’s hard to tell under the rose. Like I can see a little powderiness from the lilacs, and some round purpleness at the edges that I had been attributing to the white floral. I think the wisteria is what I was reading as bergamot - a little woodsy and bitter, but also sweet and piquant. The lily is what I was reading as ylang-ylang. With that one I was at least in the right neighborhood with ‘white floral’. The base is in fact woods - with it written in front of me I can see a light touch from the ambergris, giving the woods a bit of gold in there with the darkness.

I’ve been trying to figure out what I was reading as greenery. The fresh greenery I could see maybe being from the wisteria, and maybe the ambergris was adding some of the dark greener? Or maybe it’s part of the rose accord to simulate a stem? I’m not sure, but, there definitely is a ‘green’ element to this from somewhere.

Verdict: Dark, feminine, and unabashedly rose centered. Rose lovers rejoice! I am not, personally, anti-rose - but it isn’t one of my great floral loves either. I’m largely ‘rose neutral’ if you will, and here the rose is a bit much for my tastes. This will be one I pass on.

El Sol

Wet on my skin: Orange blossoms, ultra sweet citrus, overlaying amber, musk, and some sort of spice - cinnamon maybe? It reminds me of the smell of orange sticky buns minus the gourmand note. So, sort of like orange frosting with a tiny bit of fizz to it. There might be, come to think of it, some honey and vanilla in here.

Drydown/After 30 mins: Very, very golden and sweet.

Guessing at notes: With the topnotes there’s a bit of piquancy - but it’s not any citrus I can ID by my nose, so I’m guessing it’s something a little unusual - maybe citron. Then there’s Orange with a capital O which could be orange, orange blossom, or mock orange. It might even be a combination - I’m going to guess orange blossom and mock orange though.

In the midnotes I think there’s some ambergris here - it’s got that kind of ambery, musky, frothy smell ambergris has. I’m guessing there might even be a very sweet white floral in here too - like honeysuckle. Then I think there might be some honey and vanilla.

Finally I think there’s a base of amber.

Official Notes: Crashing waves, pineapple, coconut, driftwood, sweet oranges, neroli blooms, and redwoods.

Crashing waves I’m guessing is the ambergris smelling scent. The pineapple is what I was mistaking for an out-of-the-norm citrus (whoops) - a mistake I keep making with pineapple. A lot of the sweetness in the scent is coming from the pineapple, I think. The coconut is what’s kind of musky and reminds me of vanilla. The driftwood I think is what I was reading as part of the ‘ambergris’ smell - but I can pick it out as a unique odor with the word in front of me.

The sweet oranges are the orange, the neroli blooms are what I was reading as normal orange blossoms and the redwood is the resin at the base.

Verdict: A grown-up pina colada smell (minus the rum). For lovers of fruity oceanics (and orange flavored icing) this one is a real treat. It’s very sweet compared to the other scents I’ve tried from Deconstructing Eden so, if you like your scents sugary, this might fit the bill. For me? I’m conflicted. I’d love this smell in a lotion, or in a bath bomb or candle. As a personal scent I can’t decide if it’s ‘too sweet’ for me or not. No idea if I’ll keep my sample or not in the long run.