Ebb & Flow: June 2018

The highs and lows of the month.

Perfume:

L'Artisan Caligna

Perfume Oil:

Nocturne Alchemy Enchanting Mermaidens

Soap:

Andy Tauer Solar Engineer

Bath Bombs:

Life Flower Care Sativa

Scrub:

Handmade in Florida Pistachio Macaron

Body Oil:

Kings Road Apothecary Deep Woods

Skincare:

Everything Paula'a Choice

Nail Polish:

Polished For Days Unicorn

Candle:

Tiziana Terenzi Laudano Nero, this candle is 2 years old now and I keep burning it intermittently and it still smells as fabulous at the first time I put a match to it. You can read about it here. I also bought a back up so I can burn this one more often now. 

Wax:

Candles From The Keeping Room Fresh Picked Strawberry

Drinking:

Endless coffee, not enough water.

Eating:

Bagels with butter and blackberry jam.

Watching:

Riverdale Season Two, The Fly with Jeff Goldblum and my husband and daughter play Fortnite.

Reading:

Coming to My Senses by Alyssa Harad

Listening:

Midnight Syndicate, I think I am getting ready for Halloween a tad early.

Wearing:

Messy buns, scratched cheap sunglasses and no make up with lots of sunscreen.

Awaiting:

Savannah, Georgia trip! The itinerary is made, dinner reservations complete (The Old Pink House, The Pirate's House and 17Hundred90), ghost tour, kayaking and cemetery tour booked. 

Dreading:

Going back to the dentist again. My gums are healthy (YAY!) but I did have to have two onlays. I elected to get the first a few days after the appointment but I still have one more lurking in July. My teeth must be getting more sensitive as I age because I can only just now eat on that side of the mouth without pain. Ah well. 

Hit:

Clipping wildflowers to stick in Ball jars and old Frostie glass soda bottles and tucking everywhere.

Miss:

Bath & Body Works Tiki Beach wasn't as good of a thrower as I remember it being. It was ok, but not a repurchase.

Low:

No lows right now. I am trying my best to enjoy summer break. I do get a little melancholy if I think too much about how old the girls are getting, how we only have 6 more summers like this with both my girls enjoying the limbo between grades, having adventures, chilling out, baking cookies or painting together. Getting ice cream, swimming, skating. Six. That's it. Then they will be in college or off and about doing their own independent things. And I am under no delusion that well before then will come summer jobs, boyfriends and endless sleepovers. So more like 3 years? Ugh. I need to stop thinking about it or I will have a low.

High:

Maine. Lindsey and Dustin's beautiful wedding. A new brother. Acadia National Park. Whales. Puffins. Birch trees. Wildflowers. The most amazing bubble baths with candles, books and bath bombs as of late. Soaking up lots of sunshine and fresh spring water and salty gulf water. Being easy on myself for a spell. 

How has your June been? What are you loving? Any banes or bugbears? What are you watching?  

Warmed Wax: Handmade in Florida, CFTKR and Lasting Scent Candles

Eastern Oudh by Handmade in Florida throws strong and smells of silky resins and sweet musk. Comforting warm vanilla amber woods with a darker tone but not heavy at all. I love this one to pieces and repurchase it every time I get a chance. One tart easily cuts up into four or more pieces to melt.

Blackberry Cream Puffs from Handmade in Florida threw medium-strong to strong in the kitchen and living area. The pastry really comes through nicely in this deep fruity bakery scent. The berries are ripe and realistic and made into a jammy filling. A very nice scent, but fruity bakery is not generally something I go for so not a repurchase, but I very much liked melting it.

Twenty-Nine High Street from Candle From the Keeping Room was a medium-strong burst of sweet candies and citrus and perfume musk. The Lush store come to home. It was a very nice scent but not a repurchase for me. A little too pretty.

Deviant from Candles From the Keeping Room threw medium and smelled of a more darker berry and floral version of Bath and Body Works perfumes. A pretty scent, but again, not one I would reach for personally.

Summer Tide Wedding from Lasting Scent Candles threw medium-strong and smelled of beautiful creamy vanilla cakes shot through with citrus and mango fillings. A delicious scent and happy to melt it but not a repurchase from me. I prefer the Key Lime Wedding Cake and, in general, not a huge craver of fruity bakery with some exceptions. 

I don't want my lack of desiring to repurchase these tarts (other than the oudh) to shine negatively on these, they all performed amazingly. I find I am very picky now-a-days when it comes to where I want to spend my wax money and what scents I desire to get with it. I will still branch out and try new things but I have to be bowled over in order to want to buy it again. 

...................................................................

I glimpse more and more of the woman she is evolving into coming through her skin. Reminders every day in a cut of the cheekbone or insightful murmur, a generous selfless gesture or wondering curiosity, a drive to learn. 

Time rolls like the waves, changing the landscape of my life and the shapes and contours of my soul. I hope it is also polishing me like a precious shell, eroding the tough unfeeling spots and letting the tender fragile parts shine through.

But what frightens me is that sometimes I forget to look. I forget to see. The changes in my daughters are imperceptible when I am mired in the quicksand of the minutiae of the everyday banalities. I miss their personalities blooming or their desires unfolding or their ideas and mannerisms sharpening when I neglect to truly listen to them or watch them. I don't want to miss any of it. 

I want to see. I want to listen. I want to soak the moments up like nourishing manna, inhale it like rare precious perfumes. 

I want to remember it for the days ahead, crystalize it in my heart for the time when waves crash over the past and propel us into a different landscape.

Nocturne Alchemy: Studio Limited Ombre #3 and #23

Nocturne Alchemy produces a line of perfumes in the Studio Limited collection that focuses on a gradient of aged resins. These Ombre perfumes utilize the aged resins and a precious ingredient is highlighted among each scent. I chose myrrh and oud for my first Ombre scents but patchouli is in the corner of my eye as well. These scents tend to wear like veil and possess very little sweetness. The effect is an aura of resin that floats about the skin cloud-like. 

Myrrh Ombre #3- Notes: Arabian black myrrh with Ambre Ombre (rare black amber, black patchouli amber and black frankincense). $28

Myrrh was the first one I picked up about a year ago. At first it was very sharp but I let it age for months and it burnished beautifully into a fragrance that wears like a halo. The myrrh possesses splintery edges of cedar that loosen and smudge in a haze of smoky sage. This is incense at its best. An atmospheric experience.

Oud Ombre #23- Notes: Exotic Indian grown oud aged in black oak, NA Oudh ICON absolute, perfume attar of rare black amber, black patchouli amber, black frankincense and black myrrh. $28 

The oud version is a relatively newer release. Adam picked this one up for me when he saw me commenting on Nocturne Alchemy's page. He's so sweet.
The oud in this fragrance issues forth in a round and robust manner, a full bodied resin made for snuggling. Sweet tonka duskiness and a buttery copal fullness reside within this dark ebony wood. It smells like a much more expensive perfume than it is. I will be backing this one up and I have only purchased a back up perfume two other times.

These are both easy to wear, gorgeous scents. I actually often wear Myrrh on one wrist and Oud on the opposite.  They play off each other really well given their differences in density.

Prices at Nocturne Alchemy will be increasing a bit here soon. These are on the more pricy side of their offerings given the ingredients, so I wanted to pass it on in case some shopping was going to happen.

Have you tried an oud based scent yet?

Mermaid Treasure: My Favorite Studs

I love my stud earrings. I have three piercings in each ear plus a cartilage piercing. I like to have choices but do prefer tiny cute ones most of the time. After collecting a nice little stash I wanted to share some of my favorite stud earring silversmiths. 

Marta Oms creates chic simple studs as well as intricate wee skulls and other nature inspired earrings. I have many from Marta as she prices them very affordably, they are great quality and they have a nice post size, not too long and not too short. Pictured above are some larger skulls I purchased, you can see the smaller ones here. Sadly, I lost one of these mini skulls so I picked those up again recently. Mini Skulls ($18)

These rose studs are from Marta Oms as well. 

Star studs from Marta Oms.

Mini moon studs from Marta Oms ($12). Marta is very responsive to messages and frequently has sales. She had 20% off recently and I picked up some turquoise studs and mini punk earrings. She also has lady bugs, feathers, opals and more. 

Nicole at Arrok is another ladysmith that I frequently pick up earrings from. These heart studs are easy to wear and look pretty with just about anything ($32).

These bees. Utterly perfect. Nicole has a pair of spiders that I keep eyeing up too. The bees were ones I had scooped up when she had an earring sale. If you follow Arrok on IG or Facebook you will catch frequent sales and codes as well. ($34)

These sparrows from Arrok were a Christmas gift from Adam last year. They are a touch on the larger side but still fly alongside my other earrings pretty well, not too much crowding if I wear some smaller studs next to them. I bought some really cool wing ear climbers from Nicole for my sister Darby for her birthday. Nicole also carries stars, moons, infinity symbols, owls, wings, wolves, starfish and lightening bolts. 

Stasia, at The Cave Lady, crafts some cool earrings and jewelry as well. I picked up these weaver studs ages ago and wear them pretty often in my second holes ($13). Stasia also creates arrows, hammered studs, polished studs and other abstract designs. 

My all time favorite maker to get teeny tiny micro studs is from Candice Vostrejs on Etsy. I tried to use the wee amber corked jar as a kind of reference for size of the earrings, and these guys are SMALL. And I love having teeny earrings in my third holes. I tend to lose these as they are so small, so I have purchased multiple pairs from her ($13). She also creates them in copper and bronze and in bars, stars and open circles, which kind of fascinate me, and other geometric shapes. I will probably order more soon as I am down to this last pair. 

All these earrings are in either sterling or fine silver. 

Do you have a favorite place to buy handmade silver stud earrings? 

Cbe Ceramics: Goddess Mug

I picked up my first ever Cbe Ceramics mug from Cate Be a couple restocks ago. She has a few designs that tug at my heart strings, a bear, whales, her No Face and Totoro, owls peeking through cacti and this Earth Mother, this goddess of love and tenderness. 

The size of the mug is wonderful, enough to hold a little more than a cup of coffee but not so huge that 3-4 cups of coffee swim in it. The hand is nice and stout with neat details and texture, almost like stepping stones.

The back features a little mantra I am beginning to better grasp and take to heart. "Self Love Best Love"

Deep sapphire blue glaze washes down into an indigo blue splashed with lilac. The white flecks look like stars peeping through the early evening sky. 

I love my mug. It has a lot of heart etched in it and it will bring me many mornings of peace and fulfillment as I sip a warm beverage to begin my day slowly. My hands will cup this long haired lady with a sacred heart with gentleness. The night sky, spiked stars and glazed moon herald quiet. The forest behind and the grass beneath remind me to get outside, barefoot if possible. And to nurture myself in ways unseen. 

What does she remind you to do? Who is this lady to you?

Glitterati: Mystery Box

Janine is the best. Very much the sweetest. She saw that I gifted away the Mystery Box that I had purchased for my blog's birthday and she sent me one to keep for myself. <3 Glitterati chunks have the magical vibrant scents that make any home smell summery and bright. Janine recently hit a big milestone too, she has 7,000 members in her Facebook group and hinted at having some big celebrations tonight. Make sure to join in the fun. The best way to get some Glitterati in your life if you aren't on the custom or Mystery Box sign ups is to join in on the Sunday flash sales. 

Strawberry Pink Chiffon Cookies is so sweet and yummy. It smells of cotton candy frosted cupcake perfume to me. I forgot how much I enjoy Pink Chiffon. It blends really well with other scents. 

Wildberry Crumb Cake is rich and thick and strong, full of that dense wildberry mousse and extra crumbly cake. There is almost a shortbread vibe there.

Mandarine Mimosa Mango Mojito sparkles with light orange effervescence and the herbal tones from the mint mojito create freshness and tamp down the sweetness. It is a clever summer blend. I melted a quarter of a chunk in each warmer and it threw medium, creating a billowy citrus atmosphere. 

Blood Orange Blonde Moment is mouthwatering!!! Blonde Moment... good golly I forgot how much I love that sweet bubbly grape, add an intense orange to it and it smells like an orange Airhead and grape Pop Rocks had a love child. And I want to eat that baby.

Tart Berries & White Tea is an old favorite. The tart berries have currants in the mix and the white tea is pleasantly floral. It is a lovely scent that is perfect for airy summer melting. 

Strawberry Slush has a creamy component to it. Like an iced strawberry gelati with soft serve vanilla swirled in. I need to go to Gelati Joe's now. I think this has the Strawberry Jam fragrance oil in it. It smells familiar like that. It is great. 

Mandarin Clean Air lifts up in a lemony bright citrus cloud of bubbly freshness. Like a lemon and orange seltzer water.

Sunflower Sexy Citrus Berry Ocean mixes up the 90's powerhouse perfume of tweens everywhere, Sunflowers by Elizabeth Arden, with salty ocean aquatics and subtle fruits. Thankfully the fruits and ocean notes help tame the flamboyant yellow perfume. 

Vicious Sex on the Beach sounds like something that someone should get arrested for, but it smells amazing. Just might be one of my favorite blends of the bunch. It is a punchy blend of red fruits and tropical sweetness, maybe some banana leaf and watery melons, orchids and plumeria. 

Cranberry Yuzu Fresh Pear is very unique blend. Even though only fruits are listed I get a touch of bakery. Maybe the pears have caramel or the cranberries are in a cobbler? It has a holiday warmth to it with out any spice. 

This Glitterati box brims with jeweled fruits and oceanic freshness. It is the perfect way to scent my summer. Thank you Janine for your generosity! 

What is your favorite summery scent blend? 

Good Morning

Jay reminded me that I neglected to post my photos of the beautiful Cedar Wax Wings that I saw for the first time in Maine. I heard some enchanting birdsong when we had hiked to the top of Flying Mountain and it was really close by. I scanned the area of trees it was coming from and they were less than 3 feet from me at eye level. I was so giddy when I recognized their black masks and beautiful coloring. And that edgy crest of feathers on their heads. 

I have been pawing through lots of Birds of North America type of books.

My reading has been going strong. I was reading a thick epic book about the immigration of the Celts from the Iberian peninsula (Spain) and Gaul (France) to Ireland. I will do a mid-summer recap soon. Right now I am reading a book to fit the scent category, Coming to My Senses written by Alyssa Harad, a perfume blogger. It is fun reading about all her experiences reading blogs I have read and enjoyed for years. To know so many people enter the world of fragrance through those same circles and virtual doors. 

My garden is pretty much done for the summer. The plants have produced and now they revolt the heat. I don't blame them. I think I will continue to plant wildflowers all over it for now. I like seeing their sunny faces as I look out the window. Plus I have been indulging in some wildflower arranging in the home. 

A winner was randomly drawn for the Sanaria candle giveaway and the winner was Elaine Cole. <3

Don't forget about the 20% code: TLC20

And I wanted to pose a question to you. Do you use hair masks? Would you recommend me one for fine, dry, curly hair? My locks are being brutalized by all the chlorine at Aquatica lately. Our passes run out in August and we have been enjoying the water park as much as possible but it leaves my hair feeling like straw. 

Now that summer is in full swing... what is your favorite summer activity?

Melting Basket 122

It has been since April since I have posted a melting basket. What is that all about? I have been melting but mostly for testing and reviewing here on the blog. Plus just kinda grabbing anything I might be craving on the fly. I finally decided I wanted to make a more summery and fruity basket to choose from so here we are! I am not even going to attempt looking back to see what the last basket included so think of this as a reset. 

Handmade in Florida- Sweet Blood Orange

Handmade in Florida- Blackberry Cream Puffs

Handmade in Florida- Eastern Oudh

Lasting Scent Candles- Berry Panna Cotta

Lasting Scent Candles- Summer Tide Wedding

Lasting Scent Candles- Grapefruit Watermelon

Candles From The Keeping Room- Strawberry Margarita

Candles From The Keeping Room- Marshmallow Fireside

Candles From The Keeping Room- Twenty-Nine High Street

Candles From The Keeping Room- Waikiki Beach Coconut

Candles From The Keeping Room- Sweet and Sassy

Candles From The Keeping Room- Snowkissed Sugar

Candles From The Keeping Room- Teakwood and Coconut

Candles From The Keeping Room- Deviant

Candles From The Keeping Room- Sorrel and Lemon Jo Malone

Candles From The Keeping Room- Mandarin Tiki

Sniff My Tarts- Lord of Misrule/Pink Sugar/Sugared Violets/Vanilla Smoothie <3 gift

Rosegirls- Mango Sorbet Mini Melters <3 gift

If you would like any of these reviewed in depth, just let me know. 

Summer.  Here she is. Some summer wish list items and bucket list items have been checked off. We visited a new National Park, Acadia. We have visited the beach and some springs. Lots os lake walking, roller skating and reading have taken place. 

I have some summer chores to still complete. Some quilts to finish. Some curtains to hem. A mushroom pillow to make. The girls are addicted to Fortnight, so monitoring that and making sure they do some math every weekday has been a priority. 

Some things I would like to get to before the summer is over: cinnamon rolls, tubing down Ichetucknee springs, a summer concert and maybe some movies. 

We are gearing up to spend a week in Savannah, Georgia. Do you have anything you like to do in that city or the surrounding area? 

Obscurus: Spring 2018 Perfume Collection

These perfumes were sent to me in exchange for photographs by Femme Fatale Cosmetics, all opinions are my own.

Good morning! Today I want to share with you the Spring 2018 perfume collection from Obscurus. These perfume oils come in sleek tiny boxes with the scent labeled on the end. The perfumes are in jade green glass rollerball vials with black caps and contain 5ml worth of perfume oil for $16.38 each. There is also a sampler option in 1ml vials if you just want to give them a brief exploration. I am impressed with how these are presented and how tidy they are, how well they travel. Only one had a slight leak and it wasn't that bad at all as far as liquid lost. 

This collection of five fragrances is inspired by Babinda Boulders in northern Queensland, Australia. This particular place is known as The Devil's Pool and mystery, death and legend swirls about the turbulent waters. Femme Fatale links this article for further reading. 

Road Trip to the Devil's Pool- Notes: Fig, moss, amber, leather and peach.

Rolled onto the wrist, the hazy hot scent of petrichor fills the nose. A summer thunderstorm striking the sun baked stones of the road and sending up a steamy incense of tarmac and dust. Bare thighs stick to the truck's cracked and worn leather benchseat. The wind snatches at tendrils of hair through the silver of window where the muggy air rushes in and out. Rain, heat waves on paved roads and leather. 

Idyllic- Notes: Fresh green tea leaves, citrus, red currants, a soft hint of floral and a teak base.

A handful of wild gooseberries stain tender lips and curious tongues with their rosy tart juice, gathered when roaming the idyllic woods near the rushing waters. Sweet waters and the gentle herbs swaying within them balance the tart berries and lure like so many crooking fingers. Come. Come walk in the crystal clear coolness. As the scent warms and dries on the skin, the teakwood and florals heat the scent and it turns from its fruit and herb cool green tea vibe to summery woods and ripe fruits along meandering trails. 

Crystal Waters- Notes: Damp, rich soil and moss, a hint of floral and fresh raspberries and fruit.

A hidden lagoon, crystalline aqua and rich with minerals, ripples with the life given by a spring boil that jettisons limestone chilled water to the surface. Hanging damp mosses and black soils of the forest floor give way to the sandy ring that embraces the lagoon. Dainty purple flowers cascade down their stems to touch their faces upon the undulating pool. Their subtle sweetness joining the moss and earth to perfume the air. This the scent of sweet garden soil in March. Of freshly sprung mosses on a shaded mountainside. Fruits in their soft ripe fullness. Flowers in their all their unfurled finery. This is nature at her most beautiful.

Lovelorn Spirit- Notes: Cool, clear notes, earth and foliage and crisp, sweet apples.

The misty apparition  beckons with watery grace. Sadness and yearning eddy around her like a burbling stream. She smells of the sacred oak leaves sacrificed like tears from the trees bent over her and the tannins within. Almost amber in their sepia tones. As the scent dried down, aquatic musk swirls about her, as she wavers into the final wisps of her being. 

Babinda- Notes: Cherry wood, chypre, tobacco, earthy tones and a hint of spicy caramel. 

Russet filters of sunshine shimmer on the stone boulders of Babinda. Red ores and minerals stain the tops of the rocks and match the aroma of mild cherry tobacco. Earth borne, sweet and warm. Clay tones emerge as the cherry wood and tobacco mellow. The sweetness of the day winds down and leaves its mark on the newly bronzed skin and its mark on the heart, wrapped in mystery.

These perfumes are very well blended. Even though I have never been to Australia these fragrances transport me there. They illustrate places and images and feelings that are evocative of this legend and I enjoyed immersing myself in it. Most of these wore close to the skin if dabbed on lightly but had a nice subtle strength. A greater sillage could be had if it was rolled all over with abandon as I like to do. I enjoyed them all but Lovelorn Spirit stayed with me in a way really touched me. I was beautiful and ethereal and not my scent genre usually, but I fell hard for it. My favorite aquatic to date.

Which of these sounds like something you would like to wear? Do you like perfumes built around locations? What location would you make a collection around? I think one with Savannah, Georgia as its muse could be interesting.

Obscurus: Bath, Body and Wax Tarts from Femme Fatale

These products were sent free of charge from Femme Fatale in exchange for photographs, all opinions my own. 

Femme Fatale Cosmetics is an Australian based company that sells indie products from bath and body to nail polishes, makeup to perfumes and even wax tarts. If you are looking for a new way to explore some really talented makers Femme Fatale is a wonderful outlet to do just that. Sophie, the owner of Femme Fatale recently debuted her own in-house brand of bath, body, perfume and home fragrance via a line called Obscurus. The Obscurus line is vegan, cruelty free and handmade. It has a dark edgy styling that features the arcane and mysterious. Today I have a sampling of various products to show you. Prices are in AUD, but I will put the US price in parenthesis after the product. I want to start with the wax tarts since I was totally surprised to see these in the box I was sent. The wax is soy and comes in the clamshell format.

Superstition- Notes: Citrus, agave and lavender with woody warmth, musk and amber. ($7.37)

This scent conveys what many oceanside fragrances attempt to capture but in a more realistic and refined manner. The citrus smells of lightly aged bergamot and paired with the lavender it paints landscapes of sunsets in Tuscany or glowing coastlines off the coast of France. I think it may be the agave that lends the salt encrusted atmosphere. It is a beautifully rendered aroma. Once melted, it performs a mercurial transformation, a bit of the sweetness in the citrus comes out and plays dreamily with the lavender. The amber and musk pulls through more the whole scent becomes elevated. One cube threw medium-strong in the bathroom and two cubes threw medium in the larger kitchen and living area. We had gone grocery shopping about an hour after I put this scent in the warmers. We came back and I started cubing a cantaloup I purchased and kept catching streamers of this magnificent perfume as the A/C would kick on and off. I finally realized it wasn't me (or rather my own perfume I should day), but Superstition. I want to smell like Superstition. It has a very elegant high class style.

Astral- Notes: White florals with hidden rose crystals and musk. 

An antique hand tatted bridal veil of tiny white and palest pink roses cascades back through generations of women, each with a fluttering heart of nerves stitched next to hope, youthful eyes luminous with ancient knowledge. The effluvia of gossamer roses floating like a trail of love's musk behind them. This is a gauzy pale rose that was utterly lovely to melt in the bedroom. Two cubes gave a medium-strong throw. The rose was not cloying, too peppery or overbearing, but wonderfully blended and softly sweet. Somehow it calmed me as I would float in and out of the bedroom as I was going about my evening routine. I discovered that this wax needs some nurture time while melting. Be patient and it will bloom and unfurl. 

Out of Body Experience- Notes: Freshly baked cinnamon buns drizzled with lemon and vanilla icing and a dash of orange zest. 

Sniffing this wax tart does indeed provide my senses with an out of body experience. Experiences of the past, Christmas mornings where cinnamon and clove pricked citrus fruits in a wooden bowl grace the same table as piping hot cinnamon rolls ready to make eager fingers and lips sticky with their sweetness. The vividness of the oranges and lemons and spice really liven up the comforting bakery aspects. This is not your typical Hot Orange Danish scent. I am saving this one to kick off fall. 

These lidded tubs are about 3 ounces and hold bath bombs called Tub Transmutation. They contain moisturizing almond oil and bloom in lovely shades of color. 

Agoraphobia- Notes: Sweet citrus bubbles and ginger ale, fizzing ripe red grapes, tart blood plums and lily. ($6.14)

My mouth waters when I open the lid and inhale this effervescent fruity libation. The ginger ale is unmistakable and forms the foundation of the brew. Sliced lemons and sweet sparkling grape juice join the ginger ale to create something I want to imbibe, but even better, I get to bathe in it. I am tucking this one away for an evening bath when I need an extra little pep, but I did use the next one...

Red Moon- Notes: Warm buttermilk doughnuts rolled in sticky sugar and oozing strawberry and raspberry jam. 

This is definitely an aroma I could get down on more in a wax tart format than bath and body care, but it is still well done. Tart and tangy raspberries merge with crispy fried donuts. In the tub this bath bomb fizzed and whirled with verve, turning the waters a candied watermelon pink tint. The fruits rose up out of the water and bakery notes dappled the steam. It was a fun bath and I will be looking to pick up some of these bath bombs in other scents that would be more my bathing ritual style. It was an excellent bath bomb and I like the way these are packaged. They make for easier storage than the spheres. 

Purge Potion is a thick consistency sugar scrub made from Australian cane sugar, grapeseed oil, avocado oil and shea butter. 

Tunguska- Notes: Forest greens with lime and winter berries, floral heart blended with ozone, green apple and musk. A crisp breeze and wilderness. ($10.65)

Tunguska takes the subtle perfume of evergreen and spruce from faraway woodland tundras and entwines it with ozone pulled in from the northern pole of the Earth's atmosphere. There is a stony chill wetness in the woods, but also an ethereal sweetness. Aquatic apples and airy limes. I love this scent. It is an illuminating scent, an olfactive representation of the teals, lime greens and pulsing indigo hues of an aurora borealis skimming over the snowy evergreen needles, reflecting and refracting like magic. 

I love the styling of this brand. The lids have stickers that reflect the scent within. Tunguska revolves around the phenomenon of the largest meteoritic impact that happened in recorded history. The shooting star is quite lovely but also hints at that event. I love it. 

The consistency of the sugar scrub reminds me of a lighter, more yielding version of The Bathing Garden's sugar scrubs. I can get a nice scoopful with my finger tips and massage it into my skin easily. Its medium sized particulate exfoliates wonderfully and the oils and butters aren't too heavy but add the right amount of moisturizing. It left my skin smooth and soft. I would happily buy this product and do plan on it.

Rota Fortunae- Notes: Jasmine, lily of the valley and rosewood blends with oriental spices and sweet citrus, mellowed with musks and vanilla. The capricious nature of fate. 

Though some say she may be fickle, she smells undeniably opulent. She is shrouded in a velutinous cloak of inviting jasmine woods. This is not tropical, heady jasmine but the ghost of jasmine long ago dried, a token from a former lover that lived a past life tucked behind the curl of an ear. Musky rosewood and the lily of the valley enhance that gossamer jasmine silhouette. Capricious Rota Fortunae is always welcome on skin and in my life. This would be amazing as a bath treat or bedroom fragrance. 

Check out this art! An arcane wheel of fate. Love. 

It is hard for me to capture the lovely subtle mica shimmer in this scrub but it is very nice. Not gaudy or over the top at all. Just right. 

I am impressed with the Obscurus line from Sophie of Femme Fatale. I can tell she put a lot of thought into her scents, ingredients and brand. I have not looked into the shipping yet, but the pricing of the products is more than fair with the exception of the wax tarts, those are a touch high when looking at market prices, but in my opinion not too high for me as I would pay extra for these types of boutique scents that blow me away. The packaging is top notch. The stories behind the scents add mystery and that extra level of detail I admire. 

Tomorrow I am going to feature Obscurus' Spring 2018 perfume oil line. Come by and check it out. 

Have you ordered from Femme Fatale? What lines do they carry that you love and I need to try?