Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Sixteen92 Summer Collection - Review


I realize the Sixteen92 Summer Collection came out a while ago. I bought a sample set right off the bat, since so many of the scents sounded promising. It took a while to go through these, and wear them enough times to feel confident in reviewing them. But now that we are ready...let's go!

As a general note, I wanted to state that the wear time for these was MUCH better than perfume oils I have had from here in the past. The shop has recently changed up the carrier oil blend after complaints of short wear time, and that has certainly done the trick! 

Blood and Honey - The notes for this scent are listed as blood orange, wildflower honey (vegan), pale amber, honeysuckle.  I was so excited for this scent after the great letdown of Haus of Gloi Honeybelle. In the vial, the scent is straight up honey. Thick, resinous honey. Wet on the skin, the thick honey note is still there, with a very pale floral note on top. There is a small backing of citrus to it, but nothing that screams blood orange, which is what I was sort of hoping for. After the oil dries, the honey backs off ever so slightly to allow the floral honeysuckle to shine through. I don't really pick up on any in your face amber, thankfully, which I was wary about. Unfortunately, not a big blood orange note came through, which was disappointing. But it is an AMAZING true honey note if you are looking for honey. (Unlike Honeybelle.) This one has a nice, big throw that fades throughout the day but didn't disappear completely.
Review - 4/5

Eternal Return - I'm not going to lie, this was the scent I was least excited about. The notes are peat moss and damp garden soil, tomato leaf, beetroot, grass, herbs, lavender spikes, galbanum, sun-warmed oak bark.  From the vial, the scent is dirt and leaves. I won't lie, it smells like dirt and leaves. Did I mention I wasn't excited? This isn't really my type of scent, but I'm trying to branch out. (Heh.) There's a small amount of lavender to be picked up on as well. Wet on the skin, it's all tomato leaf. After the oil dries, the scent is like a leafy garden, plus the lavender comes back as well. It really isn't my type of scent, but it does live up to the notes promised - those of tomato leaves and grass and dirt. The throw on this wasn't super impressive. 
Review - 2.5/5 (not my cup of tea, but it as a very realistic earthy garden scent!)

Paper Moon - This scent is listed with notes of soft vanilla musk, benzoin, oakmoss, trailing ivy, peach blossom, rose.  Opening the vial, the scent is flowery musk. Gentle, not cheap, which is always a concern. Wet on the skin, the scent is of light rose. After drying, the musk comes back, blending with the rose. The throw faded after about three and a half hours, and was barely clinging to the skin after six. I was a little disappointed with this scent, I was hoping for more vanilla.
Review - 3/5

The Beautiful and the Damned - Here's another scent I was excited for, you can just tell by the notes - sparkling pink grapefruit, strawberry, raspberry and currant with soft violet, gardenia and vanilla absolute.  From the vial, it's all effervescent fruit. Wet on the skin, the mix of berries and grapefruit continued to fizz while joined with soft florals. As it dried, the fizz peaked while the florals came forward, especially the gardenia. The floral notes never got too flowery, the fruit and fizz kept them from getting overwhelming. I didn't pick up on any vanilla, which was a tad disappointing. The scent feels like a champagne garden party, and I for one enjoy it. The throw isn't anything over the top, which I personally find nice when it comes to white floral scents - they can sometimes choke out the air.
Review - 4/5

Theda - Here we go, the big one. The scent I bought the collection for! The notes are tart sangria infused with ripe summer fruits (white peach, nectarine, berries, citrus), dark vanilla, wild vines, rose absolute. In the vial, the scent is peach and nectarine, warm summer fruits. Wet on the skin, its all fruit - the peach and nectarine spilling from the vial, joined with berries and grapefruit and orange. After the oil dries, the fruit settles and a deep green pulls it back and grounds it. There's a sparkle of fizz on top to finish it off. Thankfully, the rose doesn't make itself super present, which could have ruined this scent for me. I also didn't get a giant dose of vanilla. The throw is enough to get a whiff as you walk past, but not enough to clear out a room.
Review - 5/5

My favorite scent from the collection was Theda, which I may pick up a full size of. I had a lot of hope for this collection, but I was a little let down - I think there was too much floral and not enough fruit for me. Blood and Honey stood out with just how amazingly authentic the honey note is, I just wish there had been more citrus with it.

Anyone else pick up the summer collection? Thoughts?

Perfume oils work differently for different people due to skin chemistry. This is my experience with this perfume oil, which may differ for you!

1 comment:

  1. I like the sound of Paper Moon, but it's sad that it didn't perform well. I'm trying to not fall back on my usual fruity scents and branch out, so while Theda sounds amazing I don't think I should go for it!

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