Smell Like Me!

I have donated some of my samples, and a full, unopened bottle of Solstice Scents "Jack and the Devil" to a raffle for a fellow blogger and friend. It's an awesome raffle, and I recommend checking it out.

The raffle is here.

The items I've put in, are the full size perfume and the following samples:

HoG
Red Roan (Fresh strawberry flecked porridge with maple syrup and adulterated with a splash of white cognac)
Brier Path (Sun drenched trail leading to a day dream of ripe berries and woods’ rose, rich forest loam, ozone, dark amber and cream.)
White Raspberry (Tart raspberry and a clean cream accord.)
Sanctum (A welcome respite: Muskmelon, coconut water infused with bergamot flower, kaffir lime, polished ho wood and sticky benzoin)
Peach Mama (2)
Lavender Sugar (2)
Insalata Nocturna
Absinthe
Hex (You’ve been bewitched! Lecherous: brackish amber, aged vanilla bean and three dark fruits, veiled in darkness and otherworldly secrecy )

Narcosa (A thick haze of tonka and black vanilla, three jasmines, tuberose and ylang ylang.)
Troika
Lassi (bad label) (Fresh mango cream, orange blossom water, black ginger to ground, splash of green tea and a soft squeeze of lime juice.)
Samhain (Freshly turned earth, wet leaves, and a spectre ridden wind.)
Haus Amber

Sweet Anthem
Nell (Black Tea, Cardamom, Carnation, Creamy Milk, Peach, Rose)
Colin (Amber, Benzoin, Cardamom, Frankincense, Honey, Myrrh)

Solstice Scents
Cherry Vanilla Amberosia
Gehenna
Gulf Breeze
Violet Truffle
Della Morte
Witches Cottage (Warm Baked Goods, Dried Herbs, Sweet Annie, Soft Woods, Fragrant Hearth Smoke)
Harvest Moon
Foxcroft (sOzone, Rustling Leaves, Rich Black Soil, Chimney Smoke & Woods)
Gingerdead Man
Linen and Ivy ( Fresh sun-washed linens hanging on the clothesline in the spring breeze meets crisp green top notes of English ivy and a touch of new green spring leaves.)
Bayberry
Garden Gate (Voluptuous Lilac blossoms in the foreground combine with faint traces of cascading wisteria and subtle, fresh, green grass notes.)

Black Baccara
Absinthe
Mummy

The Morbid The Merrier
Dessert Absinthe 75% full
Saucy Jack 50% full  ( Deep, dark, and resinous... redolent of stained and tattered petticoats, damp brick, and spilled blood in a London alleyway....)
Quoth the Raven

Poison Apple Apothecary
Garden of Graves

 

And everywhere the glint of gold*

Let me begin this post by saying that I do know what gold actually smells like. All metals have a smell, not something you notice when wearing them, but when you're working with them, sanding, cutting, filing, hammering, etc. you notice it. I happen to be quite fond of the smell of wet steel, but that's just me. Anyway, Black Baccara's Mummy perfume oil is not what gold smells like. It's what gold ought to smell like.

When most people hear the word 'mummy' they think of a guy in bandages stumbling around in a horror movie. Or the Brendan Frasier movies. That's not where we're going with this.

not this guy

I'm talking more like an ancient king, wrapped lovingly with linen and unguents, arrayed in gold, spices and flowers, prepared for his journey into eternity.

this guy

Because that's where Mummy (the perfume) takes me. Mummy is described as "An arcane, exotic aroma which brings up visions of a freshly unearthed Mummy's tomb. Spicy cloves, tobacco, cinnamon, and amber combine with soil, hints of wine, and cardamom. An intoxicating, primordial, and captivating unisex perfume oil. Dark, spicy, timeless and evocative of the myths of ancient Egypt."

Even without the title or the description, it would summon up visions of golden sands, pharaonic tombs and gilded treasures lit by the flickering torches of ancient priests or dashing archaeologists.  To me the cloves and the cinnamon are strongest at first, then the amber and wine scents begin to fill out the spiciness, giving it body and volume. That lingers for a while until the rich tobacco notes trail through, adding a duskiness to the blend. It all coalesces into something warm and lingering, very rich, very exotic and absolutely intoxicating. It's lush, long-lasting and just about perfect. If I close my eyes, I imagine the first glimpse into the Tomb of Tutankhamen; the whisper of  long forgotten scents wafting towards the surface for the first time in millennia, revealing ancient gold, ancient wood, ancient spices and a window into a lost world.

If you're a fan of warm, spicy, amber scents, you'll like this. If you like HoG's Depravity, you'll like this. It's not the same scent, but it's the same type of scent and has similar notes. I love Depravity and I love this perfume. If I had to pick only one scent for the rest of my life, it would be one of those two. I pray I never have to make that choice. Right now I only have a sample vial of Mummy, but I intend to buy the 10ml. of this very soon. I'm just sad she doesn't offer it in gallon jugs.

So - amber fans - get yourself some of this perfume, and on a warm, sultry evening, dab it onto your pulse points, dim the lamps, light some candles and read a copy of The Discovery of the Tomb of Tutankhamen by Howard Carter and A.C. Mace, preferably with some evocative music in the background.** You'll thank me for it.

edit- links added.

*Howard Carter, November 26, 1922
 ** I recommend Shawaza, Ahsas or anything by Solace/Jeremiah Soto or perhaps Le Serpent Rouge by Arcana. Just saying.

All products were purchased by me for my own use. My opinions are my own and always will be. Your mileage may vary.