Monday, September 24, 2018

Solstice Scents: Guardian and Flintlock


As much perfume oil as I have been collecting over the last few years, I still have a soft place in my heart for EDP fragrances. I love to have the scent of a beloved perfume lingering on a sweater or in my hair. I enjoy encountering a snippet of aromatic memory on a soft scarf or cardigan.  Plus sometimes spraying with abandon just feels good.

Angela at Solstice Scents was experimenting with creating EDP fragrances right about the time I really fell in love with her scents. I remember being over the moon about this new venture, and I still very much am. I have a few of her scents in a full 60 ml bottle and recently acquired two more when The Rhinestone Housewife closed her doors. I actually bought three but one came broken and completely emptied. I was a touch heartbroken (it was Wolf Spirit).


Thankfully Guardian and Flintlock arrived intact. I had sampled Guardian previously and knew I delighted in it. Flintlock was a blind buy with no regrets. 

Guardian- Notes: Natural forest amber chypre blend with amber, sandalwood, vetiver, patchouli, oakmoss, white sage, desert sage, pinyon, spikenard, oud and more in undenatured organic cane sugar alcohol. 

My review from the first time I sampled it:
A crystalline chypre that starts with an aged bergamot and golden aldehyde nuance that reflects tawny motes swimming in liquid late afternoon sunlight pouring into an old growth forest. The dancing orbs float down to rest in the carefully formed nest of a forest creature. Quietly animalic, plush with oakmoss and grassy vetiver, crisp pine needles and sage, soft as a lamb's ear. The base of the scent cradles that classic chypre finale of smooth creamy sandalwood and sepia toned musk. The sun has set and the gloaming rolls in. The motes settle and rest for the night in the warmth of the wood.
Stunning scent. Beautifully executed.


I still feel the same way about this scent. It is an oakmoss and bergamot masterpiece. Gold dappled ferns and peachy citrus glimmers melt into smooth velvety soft moss and woodsy musk. This is a beautiful scent to wear in summer and fall. I have a feeling it will be wonderful in a Florida winter as well.


Flintlock- Notes: Tobacco, saddle leather, Virginia cedar, black pepper, woods, bayberry and evergreens.

Flintlock reminds me of the horseback riding excursion our family took last year in the Smoky Mountains. Creaking saddles and the warm flannel blankets that lie underneath to pad the horse, peppery bayberry and Eastern Red Cedars line the trails along with wild hemlock and pine. The lead trail guide trails the faint scent of chewing tobacco, sweet and mild from a pouch. Closing my eyes under the sway of the trot I can imagine how this would be for Jamie and Claire Fraser riding horseback through the Appalachians up to their home on the Ridge in the late 1700's. 


Flintlock is dead sexy. The cedar, light leather and tobacco are spiced by the bayberry and pepper and meld beautifully. The leather is marvelously tame. My skin pulls the trees and spice forward the most. It is a perfect scent for this time of year. But I will definitely wear it during the other seasons too.


I picked up Hidden Lodge in the full size EDP which is an old favorite of mine from way back. I would love to have Night Watcher one day too. 

What is your favorite Solstice Scents EDP?

4 comments:

  1. I concur with all of the above (except for the broken bottle part, that sucks.) I've hit the halfway mark of my beloved Snowmint Mallow, and I'm trying not to preemptively freak the heck out. Must remember to stay on top of the restocks as it gets closer to winter and potential Snowmint season. :)

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    1. YES! It will be coming soon. I am kinda peeping at Angela's fall release too but I really must behave. I have plans. And plans don't allow for any more FB right this second. Maybe I can request something as a birthday gift though? :-) Oooooo Adammmmmmm

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  2. I am wearing Guardian today and swooning, for whatever reason I didn't use it right away when I bought the sample and now I would full size it. Since I am not yet in New Mexico, I can still smell a bit like I am. On my to try list is Sacred Vow, it's a bay rum scent. Since I have Swashbuckler I didn't know if I needed to try it but I'll make it my free sample next order.

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    1. I am so glad you commented on this! I didn't realize how awful it was with writing errors. Unfortunately I don't ever really feel like I have enough energy after writing to sit back and proof read it like I should. Bad girl. Bad, bad girl.

      Isn't Guardian amazing?!?! I really fell hard for it. It is a classic fragrance with a rustic spin. Like a fine boned beautiful lady who chooses to live in the forest and wildcraft rather than model or attend operas. I can totally get the New Mexican vibe too. It has a bit of dusty aridness to it. Wolf Spirit does that even more on my skin (reminds me of the desert). I ended up buying Wolf Spirit from Angela. I couldn't hold out any longer. Arcana's Swashbuckler? I don't think I ever tried that one. I found I do love a nice bay rum scent. Perfect for a hot humid summer.

      Know what is doubly funny?? I just finished writing a review for Hidden Lodge EDP and saw this comment and thought... DANG! I must have hit publish by accident. You must be a mind reader. <3 It will go live mid-week. Hopefully I will do a better job of editing that one. I personally am really stoked about the photos for that one. <3

      I want to try Sacred Vow and White Feather and her gardenia if she ever does that one again. I am a sucker for Angela's EDPs.

      Hoping you make it out to New Mexico sooner rather than later. I will come visit you. <3

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