Two From Blooddrop!

[telesilla]

Long time no see, Perfume Reviews!

I've got just a couple, but I wanted to actually post them while you could still buy the scents I'm reviewing. They're part of Blooddrop's Holiday 2010 line and will be available until "late December/early January or as supplies remain."

An Orange in Your Slipper -- Before the wide availability of delicious fruits year round, it was common to receive an orange in your slipper or stocking as a Christmas gift. This perfume oil commemorates those days and is a delightful blend of blood orange, tangerine, sweet orange and mandarin!

First off, even in the '60s and '70s in California where citrus was everywhere, my parents always put either an orange or a tangerine in our Christmas stockings. Between that, the fact that my parents (and myself, later on when I was old enough) drank mimosas Christmas morning and there was at least one dish on the table at dinner that involved oranges*, the idea of oranges being associated with Christmas makes perfect sense to me.

When I first opened the bottle and took a sniff, I kind of wanted to use the oil to flavor a batch of fudge or truffles**. *grins* It's a fantastic orange scent and there's even just a tiny amount bitter pith in there. Mostly what I get is a big, full, sunny, sweet orange smell and it doesn't change from that when I actually apply it to skin. After a minute I can smell a little bit of slightly tarter tangerine in there as well, but that's about all the change that happens.

The real problem with citrus based scents and my skin is that they just don't have any staying power on me. At about twenty minutes or so, I have to have my wrist shoved up against my nose to get a whiff of orange. There are things I could do to improve the staying power somewhat, but if I want to wear this out, I'll probably decant a small amount into a vial for touch ups. At home though, I can easily see it being one of my go to "pick me up" scents because it's sweet and sunny and as cheerful as peeling a nice big juicy orange.

Rosy Cheeks --Come in from the cold, but keep those adorable rosy cheeks! An enchanting little cocktail of pomegranate, honey, white cognac, bay rum, a little zest from a Buddha’s hand and the scent of logs for the fireplace just brought in from the outside.

Why hallo thar, pomegrante! was my first thought when I sniffed the bottle and then put it on my wrist. After a minute, I can smell the tang of the Buddha's Hand and a little of the wood and then it shifts a little and there's the cognac and a faint hint of the bay rum. My skin is still amping the pomegrante like crazy, but this is already much more complicated than "An Orange In Your Slipper."

It finally settles down to a fruity, faintly boozy, vaguely woody scent. I know this isn't an actual "cocktail" scent but because Astrid used that term I can't help comparing this to one of my favorite pomegrante cocktail scent--BPAL's "Swank", which is supposedly a pomegrante martini. "Rosy Cheeks" is a much more sophisticated, adult pomegrante scent. I get more Fall than Winter here, but it's still something I'll be wearing often this holiday season. It has nice staying powers and a pretty descent throw/sillage as well.

Instead of a Merci, Astrid threw in something a little different this time, but I can't mention it because it's going in Someone's stocking. So yeah, thanks for helping me out with the stocking stuffers, Astrid! :)


*Grate an equal amount of apples and firm bananas and mix together with some orange juice; serve a small portion chilled as an appetizer. I don't like bananas much but this is v v tasty, if somewhat unattractive. I have no idea if it's a German thing or a California thing, but it was a recipe that came from my mom's side of the family and they were long time California residents of mostly German ancestry.

**Trust me, I know better and so should you.

Comments

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[(Anonymous)]

Shan,As a Scentsy cstnulnaot, I would like to just say, you gave an incredible and REAL review of the products we sell. I, too, get headaches from certain scents and I warn everyone of this. That is natural with each individual person. Some smells (scents) just naturally trigger a headache for some and not for others. I tell my customers, if you can tell from smelling the sample that this particular scent will trigger a headache, it probably will anytime you use it. I always know right away, from the very first sniff, whether a certain scent will trigger a headache. I actually already know from YEARS of candle burning that floral scents and some fruitty scents will FOR SURE, without a doubt give me a headace, some worse than others. I LOVE the smell of fresh cut grass in a candle, but it gives me the WORST headache, just like Magnolia. I just know not to buy them, even if I love it. I will also say, that some scents are just plain putrid to me, but the next person may LOVE it. Each individual is so different when it comes to our nasal palette.I also wanted to offer a little tiny tip that people learn as they enjoy Scentsy. Mix and match scents ~ if you have one that you LoVe, but it isn't very strong and you have a really strong one that you also LoVe, but cannot burn it as often, MIX THE TWO TOGETHER and they will probably create a personal FAVORITE. Sugar cookie and cinnamon vanilla can make a PERFECT combination. Some scents DO NOT mix well together and you just have to give it a try before you know that, but others marry PERFECTLY together. Check out Scentsy's website (or my Scentsy site) for a small list of some creations they have come up with by mixing scents. If you cannot find it, and would like to just see it, I would be more than happy to send it to you, via e-mail or however is best for you. Some combinations are from scents that are unavailable now, but it would give you a good idea of what I am talking about. Again ~ thanks for sharing your pros and cons. We all have them for every product we have ever tried. It is nice to see a REAL review and not just ALL cons. No one product is perfect and without flaws. Some people forget that when they are trying to sell their products. I would NEVER bash Scentsy, but I will be REAL with my customers when they ask me about the products. There are cons and I would be more than willing to share them the same way you did here!!Have a GREAT day!BrandyCertified Consutant ~ Texas