I've grabbed a bunch of samples from Sucreabeille in the last little while and figured I'd throw out my impressions for my haul.
For context, I traditionally go for gourmands and orientals and my go-to non-indue perfumes are Dior's Hypnotique Poison (everyday, reigning favourite for 10 years now) and Midnight Poison (evening perfume, more formal, worn much less frequently). Vanilla notes are awesome on my skin, so you'll notice it crops up a lot in my samples.
Winterdeep: (A hot piping glass of eggnog, spiked with the finest whiskey) This turned ever so slightly musky on my skin, but more a creamy musk than anything else. I really enjoyed spice notes and the creamy eggnog came through very nicely. It's one of those scents that makes me wish for warm sweaters and cold weather and a wood fire.
Honey I Washed The Kids: (Honey, toffee) Spot on LUSH dupe! I opened the bottle and it was like walking back into LUSH after ages without going near the place. Not gonna lie, got a little nostalgic.
Cinders: (Sweet orange, almond, cinnamon, clove) Another spot on dupe, I'm happy to report! Loved it as a bath bomb, but I think it miiiight be a little too much as a daily wear perfume. I'll certainly be adding a few drops to the water for a bath, though!
Whispering Black: (Cedar, a cool stream in a dense forest, a sudden rainstorm, oakmoss, decaying wood) I wanted to like this one, I really did. The notes sounded so intriguing! Sadly, it turned a bit strange on my skin, and I think one of the notes (I suspect it was the oakmoss) was amplified to the detriment of all the others as a result of my skin chemistry. It's a very masculine leaning scent, more so on my skin than in the bottle even. That being said, when I gave it to my fiance it smelled AMAZING on him. So, a keeper for him and a definite nope for me.
Elixir: (Juicy orange blossom, white musk, sugary marshmallow, freshly-picked kumquat, a field of lavender, and a dash of bubbly, sweet champagne) I was quite curious about this one, but I found a lot of the notes became almost medicinal-sharp on my skin. It got a bit softer the longer it aged on my skin but I found it wasn't quite my cup of tea. I might give my bottle to a friend of mine and see if she has better luck.
Spiked Cider: (Hot apple cider, mulling spices, Kentucky bourbon) This one also turned sharp on my skin, though not in the medicinal way that Elixir did. The warm apple cider feel got twisted a little bit and while it wasn't horrible it wasn't quite what I was hoping for.
Cream Tea: (Hot milky chai tea, fresh scones slathered with raspberry jam and honey) I loved this one! I was a little nervous about the fruity raspberry note because of how the apple-y Spiked Cider went a little pear-shaped, if you'll pardon the pun, but I needn't have worried. It starts out with a very realistic raspberry jam note and then grows creamy and I swear I can smell vanilla scones in there some where. I liked it so much I actually went and whipped up a batch of scones when I tried it, too. The creamy chai doesn't creep in until later, and it's a very soft chai that doesn't overshadow the other notes but complements them nicely.
Sansa: (Rich, fluffy buttercream frosting, real vanilla, pure lemon) Hands down my favourite, and my fiance's favourite. I wanted something lemony without any sharpness to it, and boy did Sansa deliver! It's creamy and lemony and sweet without being sickly or overpowering. The buttercream note is lovely and really rounds the whole thing out - though, every now and then I think I catch the faintest whiff of coconut? Not the end of the world or anything, and possibly me misinterpreting something about the buttercream note, but still a bit puzzling. Even so, definitely something I'll want to full-size on later.
We Aim To Misbehave: (Rosemary, vanilla, amber, honey) This one worried me because of how sharp and medicinal the rosemary was in the bottle, but once again I shouldn't have worried. The sharpness disappeared entirely on my skin and became a much softer rosemary. The vanilla smooths it out quite nicely, while the honey note sweetens the overall scent just enough. I have a little trouble picking out the amber note, but that could be due to lack of exposure to the note prior to this or simple skin chemistry shenanigans.
Strawberry Milkshake: (Fresh strawberries, tahitian vanilla, warm honey) Holy crap, it smells like strawberry milkshakes. I mean, go figure, what it says on the tin and all that - but still. In the bottle it smelled amazing, very fruity and creamy, but on my skin it became very sweet - sweeter than I was expecting, really. I think I'll like it better in the summertime, but for the late winter/early spring it might be a bit too lively. I think I explained it to one person on reddit as being a vivid, juicy summer strawberry where I was expecting a creamier overall feel.
Lady Swears: (Bourbon, tahitian vanilla, lemon) Second favourite! Take Sansa, switch out the fluffy buttercream for an aromatic bourbon, and there you go! The lemon presents wonderfully and then graciously steps to one side for the bourbon and vanilla to take the stage, lingering in the background but never quite gone from the scene. This is another I'd like to get a full-size bottle of eventually.
Blood Rose: (English rose, honey, sea salt, dragonsblood) Oh dear. Ladies and gentlemen, I have found my death note. It is the English rose. Imagine for a moment that you are having a lovely day minding your own business as you walk about town. Everything is going well, it's a nice sunny day and all is right in the world and then, quite out of the blue, you find yourself being beaten about the head by a bouquet of roses from an unwanted admirer. Everything smells like roses - everything. It gets up into your sinuses and in your mouth, and then everything tastes like roses too, and no matter how you run or scrub or flee, there it is. Waiting. Roses. Don't get me wrong, I actually quite like roses in real life and have always appreciated the subtle spicy scent of heritage roses and wild roses, but my love must remain tragically unrequited. My skin amped the rose note so violently that it was all that could be detected even well into the second day after I first applied it and then tried to wash/scrub it off. This one is a firm but mournful nope, I'm afraid.
What's really strange about this is the fact that I can wear Dior's Midnight Poison, which has a rose heart note, and do not have this experience at all. I remain baffled. I'm hoping that letting Blood Rose rest for a while longer to age will improve my experience with it.
LOVE LOVE LOVE: Sansa, Lady Swears, Winterdeep, Cream Tea, Honey I Washed The Kids
STILL PRETTY GOOD: Strawberry Milkshake, We Aim To Misbehave, Cinders
NOPE NOPE NOPE: Elixir, Whispering Black, Spiked Cider, Blood Rose
[Crossposted from r/indiemakeupandmore]