Wednesday, February 20, 2019

Arcana Wildcraft: Unmentionables Collection

These perfumes were sent by Julia as a gift. All opinions are my own.


Julia continues to make magic at Arcana Wildcraft. This Valentine's she released an Unmentionables collection and a Love Potion collection. The Unmentionables consist of five perfumes for $28 each and all play on various aspects of delicate lingerie items. The tatted lace artwork on the bottles is lovely and pulls the theme together wonderfully.

Silk Knickers- Notes: Juicy bergamot and plump apricot halves give way to a heart of Italian crema pasticcera, warm caramel luscious vanilla bean and soft charmeuse accord.
Silk Knickers pours out a decadent gourmand dessert once the black cap unscrews. Peachy sweet apricots shine with sugar and syrup and float on a current of vanilla cream. My mouth waters just sniffing from the bottle. Drenched on the flesh the apricots swell with nectar while the bergamot offers a sliver of tartness akin to the furred apricot skin that jolts the tongue before giving way to the sweetness within. The vivacity of the wild apricots soon folds underneath a silken thick vanilla custard. The actual eggy-ness of the custard can be detected in its texture. As Silk Knickers dries down the vanilla becomes less gourmet and more like cashmere. A beautiful perfume with a delicate finish.

Bullet Bra- Notes: A take-no-prisoners blend of bespoke leather, red lipstick accord, queenly tuberose, iris root and a single drop of black musk.
From the vial wafts an inky and sultry aroma that is reminiscent of a pin-up's small leather clutch and the vintage mysteries contained within: mirrored lipstick case, pressed powder compact, a tiny glass roll-on perfume for décolletage touchups and the rattle of ivory calling cards from hopeful but doomed gentlemen. The leather licks and crackles with intimate heat. Once applied to the skin the tuberose blooms with tropical intensity, pearlized and nectar laden with nuances of green pliant banana leaves and a whisper of camphor. Scarlet lipstick melts within the heat of the tuberose blossoms and perfumes the flesh with that familiar accord of waxy powdery vintage cosmetics that glide from heavy gilded tubes. The lush blooms, lipstick perfume and leather all mesh effortlessly within the embrace of pillowy iris. It is like these notes were meant to be woven together, much like opening up that vintage clutch and inhaling the perfume that comes from within... a melding of all the accoutrements of the vixen into one dark bouquet of passion. It ends on one last crimson kiss.

Crinoline- Notes: Warm, spicy, sexy cardamom supported by a ruffled silk accord, citron peel, Key lime, sweet neroli, Bourbon vanilla, nutmeg, gutta-percha, cinnamon and clove.
A green and tart, peppery melange of citrus fruits tumble from the amber bottle. Dribbled on the wrists a green peppery note pricks at the nose, vegetal and a touch piquant. The sharpness reminds me of wearing crinolines when I was younger and attended beauty pageants. These pricking and poking notes are brief, they awaken the senses before sliding into a sweeter lemon, lime and orange tang. There is a creaminess rounding out the citrus oils that leads nicely into the soft warmth of the nutmeg that never strays too far from the orange wood. Crinoline possesses a powerhouse beginning bursting with flavor and fireworks then drifts and floats downward into citrusy sweetness then further down into warmth and silky vanilla woods. A kinetic and crackling scent full of movement and layers, very much like its namesake.

Peignoir- Notes: The languid scent of an idle lady's boudoir at midday. The leafy, jammy greenness of geranium absolute from Egypt twines around dewy red roses, Indonesian ylang ylang, golden vetiver and a trail of masculine musk.
From the bottle the grassy earthen dankness of vetiver with the merest hint of ylang ylang's fruitiness greets the senses. Draped on the skin the ylang ylang's nectar marries beautifully with the sharpness of geranium's green tone. This is a gorgeous scent. The smooth narcotic and creamy ylang ylang balances the lemony brightness of the rosy geranium. This scent will herald in the warmer spring weather I have been bathing in the last few days. This is pretty much the perfect February scent. As it settles into the skin the humid and earthy vetiver slinks in beneath the polished musk that drifts about with the last haze of geranium. 

Merrywidow- Notes: Jasmine grandiflorum absolute is rumored to cause paroxysms of joy with a single sniff. Here it is stung with tartly fermented strawberry juice, the finest frankincense from Oman, rich sandalwood and hints of cassia and patchouli.
Jasmine and strawberries glide under my nose when I sniff from Merrywidow's bottle. I find it fitting that a corset that is both beautiful yet sternly functional would be scented with the playful notes of strawberries paired with the austerity of jasmine. Once dabbed onto the wrists that jasmine simply sings. I don't find this jasmine to be particularly overripe or fecal, but more golden and heady, even slightly camphorous like tuberose can be. The bounty of cascading petals is stitched brilliantly with that fermented strawberry note. There is a fizzy effervescence to the strawberries and a slightly boozy, daiquiri quality to it that lifts the jasmine and highlights its sometimes surreal natural beauty. I want to keep sniffing my wrists and soaking it all in. Eventually the bubbly fruity-floral does mellow into the golden resin teardrops of frankincense and wooden patchouli, which are stunning as well. I love that the hint of that spiked jasmine lingers all the way down though. Lovely.

I love these flirty beauties. It is a beautiful collection of high end florals tempered with delectable gourmands, dark edgy scents and vivacious shape shifters. There is a perfume for everyone in this one. Bullet Bra, Peignoir and Merrywidow are the ones that will get used up the fastest on me. I will be wearing Peignoir and Merrywidow often over the next few months as the days get warmer and warmer. 

Which of these Unmentionables would you like to wear? Did you splurge on any Valentine's releases?

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