Arcana Fille de Joie Perfume Oil - Review

I told myself I didn't need any more perfume oils. Unfortunately, Fille de Joie was released, and when the rave reviews started rolling in, I needed to get on that bandwagon. Thankfully, I was able to snag a bottle from Pretty Indulgent when they restocked. I already started expressing my newfound love in my March favorites, but here is a full review.

Fille de Joie is described as "delicate lavender marshmallows and yellow peaches cured in a vanilla absolute bottle." From the bottle, the first impression is sharp, slightly medicinal, yet somehow sugary lavender. Wet on the skin, the lavender is still at the front, with a backing of deep vanilla. As it dries, the lavender mellows out, letting vanilla and sugar take over. After the oil has fully dried down, the peach note comes forward and the sharp lavender fades fully into the background, mingling with the marshmallow and vanilla. A little goes a long way with this scent, I have a feeling that slathering too much on would be a lavender overload. Which is good, since it's limited edition and I already feel myself rationing it. 

The only drawback to this scent is that the throw fades after about four hours. It still clings to the skin, but I have to actively "look" for it to notice that it's still there. Either way, I have been loving it - it is a wonderful spring scent. 

Pros:

• A wearable lavender!

Cons:

• Limited Edition
• Throw fades after 4 hours

Arcana Fille de Joie Perfume Oil (Limited Edition) - $26.00(CAD) for 5 mL

Review - 4.5/5

March 2016 Favorites!

I'm late on posting this, because I'm the actual worst. I'm really excited to share what I loved during the month of March, though!

Arcana McNaughty Nog Perfume Oil - Review

I hate reviewing products that are no longer available, simply because it isn't cool that I may rave,and there's no chance to even consider picking it up! But I like talking about indie scents, so I'm here anyway with last years Arcana exclusive for the Rhinestone Housewife - McNaughty Nog. I'm pretty sure I ordered the last bottle that was available from the shop last month, and I'm really happy to have it in my collection.

McNaughty Nog is described as eggnog, Arcana's beloved yellow cake note, rum, fresh milk, nutmeg, and a drizzle of toasty caramel. Straight from the vial, the initial scent is warm cinnamon and nutmeg with caramel and cake. It seriously smells like freshly made French toast, and it is soooo good. On the skin, the nutmeg shines with a backing of creamy caramel, and a hint of apple. After drying, that wonderful French toast from before has returned. This perfume doesn't remind me of egg nog, really. It's more warm baked goods and caramel. The lasting power on this was great - I smelled it for over 9 hours throughout the workday. The throw was a bit larger than general wafts from gesticulation, I felt like I was tucked in between two pieces of challah bread drizzled with vanilla and caramel. It isn't the best thing to wear when you're trying to diet, but I'm seriously glad I got this bottle!

Arcana McNaughty Nog perfume oil (limited edition) - $20.00 for 5 mL

Review 5/5

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

Arcana Pumpkins Crave Treats perfume oil - Review

I got into indie scents last fall. Fortunately for me, I've found a ton of great scents in the past year. Unfortunately, I now know about a ton of scents I will never be able to get my hands on due to just being oblivious to the world of indie scents. Arcana's Pumpkins Crave Treats was one such scent. However, it was brought back this fall, and I promptly snapped up a bottle!

As you probably already know, I'm a sucker for pumpkin scents. I also love a good gourmand. Pumpkins Crave Treats seemed right up my alley, and I'm so happy I was able to snag a bottle to try! Pumpkins Crave Treats is described as rum-laced caramel, cane sugar, pumpkin custard, and delicate, vanilla-infused marshmallows. The first whiff from the bottle is sweet caramel and pumpkin. Wet on the skin, the pumpkin is front and center, with a lingering mix of pumpkin pie spices in the background. The pumpkin is definitely a more creamy scent than a spiced pumpkin, think a light pumpkin pie filling. The scent did not morph much upon drying, the creamy dessert pumpkin lingered the entire time. I was able to detect this scent for around 5 hours after applying, before it faded down closer to the skin. The throw is not huge, but not small. You'll definitely smell like a pumpkin dessert to anyone standing nearby.

I'm SO happy I was able to get a bottle of this, it was everything I dreamed of when I first heard about it. Then again, Arcana is rarely a disappointment for me. 

Arcana Pumpkins Crave Treats perfume oil (limited edition) - $18.00 for 5 mL

Review - 5/5

Arcana Apples Crave Apples perfume oil - Review

Apples Crave Apples came out near the end of the spring/beginning of the summer as an add on to the Peaches Crave and Strawberries Crave collections from Arcana. I missed out on this initially, but was very excited to pick it up from a destash! I had been wanting a fresh apple scent to add to my collection, and this sounded perfect.

Apples Crave Apples has notes of golden apple, green apple, Winesap, Fuji, fresh apple, baked apple, spiced apple, apple cider, and a hint of apple. In the bottle, the first scent is apple cinnamon - think an apple cinnamon candle from AC Moore or Michael's. I had gotten that scent initially when I first received the bottle, and I let it sit for a few weeks hoping the cinnamon scent would deter enough to get more of a fresh apple note. Unfortunately, that never happened. On the skin, I can still only get that apple cinnamon note, I'm going to go with the "spiced apple" from the description. I couldn't think of anything else but cheap apple cinnamon candle the entire time I wore this, it was really disappointing.

The longevity was great on this (of course!) and I could still smell it with no issues at the 8 hour mark. There was a good throw on this too, my car smelled like apple cinnamon candle, and I smelled it all day at my desk, even without moving my arms around. So if you're looking for something with longevity and throw - this is your oil!

I'm disappointed that I didn't get any of the fresh apple notes I was looking for. Hopefully others that picked this up have better luck than i did. Thankfully, I was able to rehome this scent, so it doesn't waste away in my "perfume cellar."

Pros:

• Spiced apple note, can't deny it!
• Long lasting
• Good throw

Cons:

• Couldn't get any other note other than spiced apple
• Smelled like a cheap candle on me

Review - 1/5 (I give credit to the longevity and throw for the one point.)

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

Arcana Strawberries Crave Rhinestones perfume oil - Review

The Arcana Craves collection came out a while ago, so this review is a bit late. I had missed out on the initial sale of this one from the Rhinestone Housewife (it was an exclusive scent), and picked up a bottle in a destash. I'm sure there are a few more floating around out there if you take the time to hunt!

Strawberries Crave Rhinestones sounded super fruity, girly, and right up my alley. The notes listed are sparkle strawberry with pink frosting, white musk, black raspberry, black cherry, pink pepper, and a drop of champagne. From the bottle, the initial scent is thick, sweet syrup. I don't want to say cough syrup, since it doesn't have that medicinal backing, but it's reminiscent of that. Dry on the skin, it smells mostly like cherries and strawberries. I don't get any pepper or fizz of champagne. The fruit is still syrupy, almost too sweet in a way. This lasted a good eight hours and more, even after a shower. The throw was enough so that I could smell it while typing and driving, didn't need to look for the scent.

Review 2.5/5 - I'm torn. It's a bright scent, but I don't know if it's too heavy for a fruit scent for me.

Arcana Peaches Crave Beaches - Review

Arcana's pre summer release was huge. So huge, that I pretty much missed all of it (and I really don't want to talk about it.) (And this isn't even a seasonal release, goddamn!) I did, however, get the one peach scent out of the Peaches Crave collection that I really wanted - Peaches Crave Beaches. I saw that the Rhinestone Housewife had a few bottles left, and I immediately added to cart. I checked out on Friday the 29th, and it was in my mailbox on June 1st - super speedy, love it! 

Peaches Crave Beaches is listed as "green bamboo, coconut, vanilla musk, citron, lemongrass, bergamot, and dewy peach flesh." Opening the bottle, the scent is citrus and lemongrass and a hint of coconut - it smells like a tropical getaway in a bottle. I stood there and huffed it for a good minute or two. It smelled SO GOOD. Wet on the skin it smells more fruity, with the peach coming into play, ad to me it sort of smells like pineapple as well. The wet scent smells like a big, tall, fruity cocktail - the kind you'd sip under a sun hat and big sunglasses in a cabana on the beach. After the oil dries down, the scent stays fruity, but turns a bit green with the lemongrass and bamboo coming out to help ground the scent. The overall scent is that of a tropical drink getting caught in an island breeze. Perfect for fruity scent lovers who enjoy summer.

The oil itself lasted a decent amount of time on the skin, there was no mad wrist sniffing to detect it throughout the day. The throw was decent yet not overpowering, I could catch hints of the scent while gesturing during conversation, but I wasn't waving up a cloud of Malibu Bay Breezes (it sort of smells like that!) The sillage was nice, you won't be having hibiscus flowers blooming in your wake, but someone you pass might get the very faintest whiff of summer. I only wore a small dab due to LIMITED EDITION though, I could see this scent being very strong and sweet if you load it on.

Pros:

• Great set of notes!
• Encapsulated summer and the beach.
• Lasted a decent amount of time on the skin.

Cons:

• Limited Edition :(
• Arcana Pls :(

Arcana Peaches Crave Beaches perfume oil - $18.00 for 5 mL

Review - 5/5

May 2015 Favorites!

Happy June! Time to list out my favorites from the month of May. I've decided to start doing my own shots for the favorites post, so I can include indies and what have you. I used to just cobble together a picture in paint, but no more! Now we're fancy.

1. Cinema Secrets Brush Cleanser - I raved about this a few weeks ago where I showed how great it was at degunking my nasty concealer brush. I reach for this almost daily, it's a total godsend in between brush cleanings. I've recommended it a lot to people as well, the little spritzer bottle is so handy. It definitely is now a staple on my vanity, and I'll be repurchasing it once I'm out!
2. Bdellium Tools 777 Bambu Brush - I picked this up at the Bdellium booth at IMATS earlier this year. I wanted a synthetic brush to use with my Colourpop shadows, since I wasn't enjoying needing to use my fingers, and my natural hair brushes weren't cutting it. This brush is great! It picks up cream products really well, and deposits them and is even able to blend a little bit. This is one of my first of three Bdellium brushes, and I really want to pick up another few.
3. Urban Decay Eyeshadow in Sin - Okay, I know this is a super popular eyeshadow, but I've been reaching for it a lot lately. I destashed my Naked palette, and I repurchased this eyeshadow single since it was the only one I really missed. It's a great all over one eyeshadow look shade, a perfect champagne beige. I didn't do a full review because there's honestly a review everywhere for this. Urban Decay has a great shimmer formula.
4. Arcana Jabberwocking perfume oil - Ever since I got a full bottle, this has been my go to in between reviewing new scents. I was iffy on it when I first reviewed it but it has definitely grown on me! The freshness of the musk mixed with the chai and ginger is just really speaking to me right now as spring is racing into summer. It sucks this is LE, but I'd rather use this up than Fluffing the Bunny aka The Precious.
5. Hello Waffle blush in Blush Honey - This is a blush that I've had for a while, sent to me by the lovely Jamie of After the 9 to 5. Christine from Hello Waffle managed to make a beautiful neutral matte blush reminiscent of NARS Douceur. I reach for this whenever I can't be bothered to think of a blush to go with a look, and it ties my look together perfectly every time.

Arcana Breakfast in Hollywood perfume oil - Review

Now that I've gotten sucked into the world of Arcana scents, I thought I would pick up a scent from their general catalog. I was placing an order from the Rhinestone Housewife anyway, so I perused through some GC scents and settled on Breakfast in Hollywood.

Breakfast in Hollywood is described as "juicy pink grapefruit shimmies up against a bevy of California citrus fruits, sparkling champagne and ripe strawberries." Opening the bottle, the first sniff is of syrupy fruit. Like canned fruit in syrup - very sweet, a little sticky. On the skin, the sickening sweetness spreads out and opens up, becoming an array of fruits - citrus and strawberry. As the oil dries down, it lifts and the fizzy champagne becomes evident, leaving you with the scent of a mimosa with a strawberry popped on the side of the glass. (You know, what you'd be drinking if you were a starlet with big sunglasses on Sunset Boulevard!)

The throw on this isn't huge, it tended to stick pretty close to my skin. Since it's a lighter, fruity scent, the wear time wasn't super long, about 3-4 hours, but I could still smell fruit on my skin if I sniffed my wrist (which I do at my desk all the time, like your typical office weird person who loves her perfume.) I'm happy with my choice in this scent, it's light and bubbly and great for warmer weather.

Pros:

• General catalog!
• Major notes are definitely detectable
• Didn't go sour on me!

Cons:

• Wear time is on the shorter side
• Sticks closer to the skin

Arcana Breakfast in Hollywood perfume oil - $17.00 for 5 mL (at the Rhinestone Housewife)

Review - 4.5/5

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

GREAT SUCCESS - How I Scored Three LE Arcana Scents

I've been writing about indie perfumes for a couple of months now. My first foray into Arcana scents was with a decant circle for the Meow Collection, and I lamented the fact that I hadn't picked up full sizes after the fact since I fell in love. Ever since then, I have just ordered full sizes, and usually it's been a good idea (except for that time it wasn't.) since I love the scent and then don't have another regret that I can think about while trying to fall asleep at night.

However, I managed to end up getting full sizes of all of those Arcana Meow collection scents I fell in love with. How I did it was somewhat embarrassing. I went and posted my review of the scents on the Indie Makeup and More subreddit, as one does. Then, I started perusing Sunday Swap threads and leaving requests for the scents in question, you know, in case someone wasn't digging theirs, I'd be happy to pick it up. But then I made my own request post in the permanent sale sub, a sign of true desperation. Other users started directing people to talk to me if they mentioned even possibly parting with Fluffing the Bunny or Two Finger Ballet, that's how desperate I looked. (I hadn't decided on Jabberwocking as a OH GOD I NEED DIS yet.) I wound up in a comment thread about something totally unrelated and managed to get a bottle of Fluffing the Bunny that way. One down, two to go.

A couple of weeks later, Julie, the lovely owner of Arcana, posted that Two Finger Ballet was back up on her eBay shop. I missed the listing by a few minutes and commented my disappointment. But then she commented back that she may have some more to re-list! I actually let her know that I would be refreshing her page in anticipation. This is a new low for me, guys. I don't need brand owners knowing how bad I need their stuff. It's like I got my first hit and I'm waiting on the corner for that vanilla ice cream creme brulee fix. But she kindly replied to my comment with the listing (that I was already on and checking out hahahaha told you I was refreshing!) and I had my bottle! Two down.

Jabberwocking was really easy, it was in stock on the Rhinestone Housewife. I got the last one. Suck it, nerds.

So managing to get a limited edition scent or thing in the indie world is pretty simple, I found. Stalk destashes, pray that brand owners have extra stock, and shop around. Hopefully you'll be able to find your white whale!

Arcana Scent Review - Apples Crave Cake and Cat's Whiskers

I'm still relatively new to Arcana scents. My first encounter was with the Meow Collection, where I picked up some decants. (And then tracked down some full sizes hell to the yeah!) These samples were sent to me when I picked up a full size bottle of Two Finger Ballet, funnily enough. I believe these scents are both limited edition, yet they are both still readily available.

Cat's Whiskers - Only for true sybarites. Rich eggnog, dark rum, a suggestion of waffles, a hint of  smoky bacon, and 1 tiny drop of sparkling mint. The first sniff for me is baked goods - that must be the waffles. I can smell a hint of mint in the background. Applied the mint and egg nog come out stronger, and I get a smell of maple syrup - probably more waffles! This smells a little Christmassy to me, it must be the mint and egg nog coming together with a hint of syrup and cinnamon (is that the rum? Spiced rum, maybe?) The throw on this wasn't incredibly great, it held close to the skin. Sort of my own personal Christmas waffle cloud.

Apples Crave Cake - Fresh, crisp red apples blended with our yellow cake layering note. Upon opening the vial, the scent is apple cinnamon. The good kind, not the super harsh cheap wax candle kind of apple cinnamon that scalds the nostrils. When applied, the cake comes out, and it smells exactly like fresh apple cider donuts. Not the Dunkin' Donuts ones, either...the fresh ones baked at the apple orchard you pick up when you go pumpkin and apple picking. I had someone sniff me at work to confirm. I tweeted that I smelled like an apple cider donut. I LOVE this! The sillage was decent, not too much, but I felt like I left a trail of bakery goodness in my wake. The perfume lasted a good 7-8 hours on me, and I smelled the faint traces of cinnamon sugar on me as I headed to the gym after work.

You can pick these up from the Arcana ebay shop, the Rhinestone Housewife shop, or Pretty Indulgent.

Arcana Meow collection scents - Fluffing the Bunny, Jabberwocking, and Two Finger Ballet

My last indie perfume review went well, so I decided to keep it up! These perfumes are from the Arcana Meow collection, dedicated to the art of female self pleasure. I got decants of three scents out of the collection through the wonderful Ajevie's Circle for decants, and I am so happy with my choices!

Fluffing the Bunny - Madagascar vanilla, Tahitian vanilla, apricot, white musk, skin musk, and a tiny tickle of mint. From the bottle, the first scents are apricot, musk and vanilla, with the mint coming in at the end. After applying and drying down, the musk takes a backseat and the apricot shines through, with a mix of minty vanilla. I think this is a really great light spring scent that can carry you through the grey of spring to warmer days. This is my favorite, and I'm now desperately trying to track down a full size bottle!

Jabberwocking - Fresh gingerroot with ginger grass, strawberry, satsuma, raspberry, ruby grapefruit, apricot, chai, and green musk.  Upon opening, I'm met with strong chai and ginger, laced with the scent of berries. On the skin the grapefruit comes out more. After drying down and settling, the ginger and musk come out and combine with the citrus and berry notes and give out a very nice fresh spiced scent. Not too much like a heavy spiced Christmassy scent, but something fresh for spring. I can see this being a bit strong, but lightly applied I can definitely see it being a great spring and summer scent.

Two Finger Ballet - A delicate blend of French vanilla creme, white amber, sugared vanilla beans, caramel, and the smallest dab of opium. Opening the bottle, it's the immediate scent of a decadent creme brulee - caramel and sugar and vanilla all in one. A definite gourmand luxurious dessert scent. On the skin, a wonderful true cream vanilla note, that of the creamiest vanilla ice cream. As it dries, the creamy vanilla fades and blends into the caramel, which lingers and fills the nose to the point where you can taste the scent - excellent if you're trying to avoid sweets! A great dessert scent for those who love caramel and vanilla. I may try to track this down in a half or full size.

Once again, I've learned my lesson with limited edition indies - if it sounds too good to be true, order a full size!! This was my first Arcana purchase, and I will definitely try more scents!