Solstice Scents

Estate Rosewood EdP by Angela St. John for Solstice Scents 2016

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Post by Erica Golding

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Fragrant greetings to all of you wonderful scent lovers around the world!

Today, my aura is fully saturated with a generous infusion of my new favorite indie masterpiece. Angela has done it again, and her latest Eau de Parfum composition is a complete addiction for me. I can’t get to sleep without wearing it lately, it’s got me mental!

Estate Rosewood EdP by Solstice Scents 2016

Estate Rosewood EdP by Angela St. John

estate-rosewood-edp-by-solstice-scentsSolstice Scents

Solstice Scents gives these featured accords:
Vanilla, tea rose, oak casks, tobacco, woods, bourbon, rosewood, hinoki wood

When Estate Rosewood was released several weeks ago, I ordered a sample and rocked on my heels next to my mailbox until it arrived. (This took about 30 seconds, haha! Solstice Scents still boasts an exceptionally fast turnaround time despite their well-deserved exploding fan base.)

Naughty confession: I tested it immediately, the little glass sprayer still warm from cooking in a hot summer mailbox. I inhaled and – and, well, it was like only being able to see the tail of a comet from your peripheral vision. It was incomplete, narrow, flat, and left me wanting more. Specifically, it made me crave pure Estate Vanilla. I just wanted to fill the void. I tested the next night and it was the same. The woods were nice but too subtle, the tobacco note was a bit minty and high pitched, the vanilla was confined.
I shrugged, put it aside, and decided it was just not my style.

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A few days later, I was on vacation visiting my dear bestie Sammy, my partner in crime for all things fragrance (and otherwise). She was so deeply in love with her Estate Rosewood. I smelled it on her skin, and suddenly – Glory! A harmonious symphony! Rich, balanced, resonant magic! Experiencing this perfume with her fantastic chemistry was a turning point for me. (You should all be jealous, she amps dark notes like you wouldn’t believe!) Let’s also factor in the mail shock that my sample had been exposed to, it really took over a week to recover. Travel conditions like temperature shifts, pressure changes, varied elevations, and physical agitation impacted this perfume significantly. I hadn’t given it enough time to settle.

I quickly drained my sample once I realized it had recovered from the mail. (Duh. Idiot!) Next I scored a full bottle, and I’ve dented the volume 10% in just a few weeks. Really, it’s that good! The first two batches sold out almost instantly. It’s a must-try if you enjoy feeling like a legend.

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Solstice Scents has $85/60ml and Samples

Do you have a story about wrongly judging a mail-shocked fragrance too soon? Have you ever had the chance to evaluate the effects of skin chemistry on perfume? Let’s chat about it below!

Love and light and scented hugs,
Erica

Desert Thunderstorm Eau de Parfum by Solstice Scents

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Post by Erica Golding

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Greetings from the frigid winter tundra!

Yes, I’m exaggerating, but winter is in full force where I live, and the cold bite of the icy wind really slices into the soul. On days where I cringe at the very thought of stepping outside into the sub-zero wasteland, I love to indulge in a perfume that evokes blazing summer heat. With that in mind, today I am reaching for a brand new love, one that reaches into happy memories of dry desert heat and white hot sunlight.

Desert Thunderstorm EdP by Solstice Scents

Desert Thunderstorm Solstice ScentsSolstice Scents

Solstice Scents give these featured accords:
Desert Sage, Pinyon Pine & Resin, Petrichor, Sweetgrass, Creosote Bush, Sand, Ponderosa Pine, Smoke

I recently purchased a sample of the new Desert Thunderstorm EdP from Solstice Scents, giddy with anticipation after having drooled over the preview Angela shared online. When I first tested my sample, I braced myself, feeling like it would either be an epic win or a soul-shattering fail on my skin, and cautiously hoped for the former. Immediately, I plunged into a vision of intensely focused awe, deeply inhaled breaths of gratitude and wonder. I had lofty expectations for this creation, and as it rose from my skin, I felt like I already knew it from a dream. It was exactly what I was hoping for – Angela’s poetic description on her website is exceptionally precise.

The opening is complex, a torrent of notes I can’t truly recognize, and the mysterious symphony is absolutely exhilarating. I sense the humidity of hot stone steaming, slick from the sudden downpour, a cooling mineral note. As the perfume evolves and settles, the botanical elements begin to dominate with elegant simplicity.

desertthunderstorm Solstice ScentsSolstice Scents

The pinyon pine resin is the dominant, mystical note for me. I bought a little pot of pinyon pine balm in Arizona on vacation many years ago, and this distinctive, intoxicating aroma glows within Desert Thunderstorm. The sweetgrass lends just the right velvet-soft balance to the composition. Delicate accents of smoke and sage are barely-there, finishing touches executed with refined grace. I am so deeply moved every time I gift myself with this precious indulgence.

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Solstice Scents has $85/50ml

What do you wear on a blistering cold winter’s day? Do you have a special Solstice Scents fragrance that warms your heart?

Best wishes to keep you roasty-toasty and finely fragranced, my friends!

-Erica

Gardenia Enfleurage by Solstice Scents 2015

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Post by Erica Golding

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Greetings to my darling perfumed friends!

Have you ever had the pleasure of meeting a true gardenia blossom? Have you ever buried your face in its humid, silken petals and inhaled a breath of heaven? I have only once, on my wedding day, when I wore gardenias in my hair and in my bouquet. The scent is one of deeply peaceful bliss, joyful celebration, and unconditional love. This precious moment is forever preserved in todays fragrance.

Heartbreakingly, I have long known that it is impossible to capture the essence of the gardenia using conventional means. The extraction processes and solvents destroy the delicate compounds and ruin the aroma. I first read about the art of enfleurage in the horror novel Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrtick Suskind. When I discovered that this fine art was being revived in modern day to gently harness the true essence of fragile flowers such as gardenia, my spirit soared!

Gardenia Enfleurage by Solstice Scents 2015

Solstice Scents Gardenia EnfleuragePhoto Donated Erica Golding

Solstice Scents gives these ingredients:
100% Pure Gardenia Absolute In Organic Cane Sugar Alcohol

Angela at Solstice Scents has been harvesting and creating her seasonal, breathtaking Gardenia Enfleurage for the past several years. It is a highly concentrated elixir, containing solubilized and waxy isolates from treasured petals harvested daily during the blooming season. The magic captured in this tiny 4 mL vial is nothing short of euphoria.

Every facet of the live gardenia flower swims from my skin. Creamy, fresh, velvety, powdered sugar, a swirl of greenery – I find it impossible to describe beyond blunt terms. Singularly unique and distinct, I am transported to a pivotal and precious moment in my life. The sunlight is hazy behind cool autumn cloud cover, the breeze is languid, and I have more love in my heart and in my life than I ever truly realized.

Scent memory is a powerful, intense enchantment. Solstice Scents’ Gardenia Enfleurage is an incredibly special labor of love, and worthy of being associated with your most important moments in life. What natural aroma has special meaning to you? Do you wish you could preserve it in a bottle in your collection?

Solstice Scents has $9/.25ml

Much love and light,

Erica