Friday, March 1, 2019

Arcana Wildcraft: Love Potions

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


May I present the second collection released for Valentine's from Arcana Wildcraft: Love Potions. There are six perfumes in the Love Potion collection and they all run $26 each. I believe most of these are beloved scents that have made a return with a new one or two added to the bouquet. 

The Honey Thief- Notes: A smoky, astringent blend of labdanum absolute, ginger syrup and black locust honey.
Shaved ginger root flesh tinctured in dark sticky molasses emerges from the bottle. Exuded onto the skin the viscous honey retains a little of the black strap molasses breath along with the lemony tang of ginger. This ginger is not as fiery as past gingers I have sniffed and worn from Julia so the syrup component is really mellowing it out. So it that  dreamy black locust honey. As it melts into the skin the honey lifts into an airy sweetness while the ginger teases at playing as soft cinnamon. This is not a heavy honey scent but a light sweet drizzle of nectar and spice. The Honey Thief rests from its mischievous romp into that molasses tang which I believe is coming from the labdanum. Dark, funky and wonderful. A perfume I will enjoy for a long time to come.

Amorini- Notes: A playful mix of cherry candy, three vanillas, pink musk, guava, sugar and a warm rush of cinnamon hearts.
Plump little Maraschino cherry bottoms bob to the surface of this scent. It reminds me of the time when I stayed at my great-grandmother's house overnight. Granny Conrad made me a bowl of plain vanilla ice cream and dropped a generous helping of electric red cherries on top and poured a glug of the scarlet juice on top for good measure. It was the best bowl of ice cream I ever had at an 8 year old. These cherries remind me of just that moment. On the skin those cherries play in tandem with sweet guava jelly, if only briefly. However, I do think I must be asnomic to the pink musk because after a short interlude with the cherries and guava I then smell nothing but the very faintest amber for a period of time. Eventually a soft exhalation of cherry and vanilla rise from the skin but in an attenuated strength. I am going to play with this one a bit as I am not often asnomic to musks but I am sure it was bound to happen. I am at the very least so happy to have been gifted this scent memory though. <3


Philtre: Embrace- Notes: Three ambers, French vanilla, Bourbon custard, golden musk, sweet coconut milk and a soft whiff of skin musk.
From the amber glass comes an enticing aroma of toothsome vanilla custard. It brings to mind Two Finger Ballet but less thick and sweet and more shimmery with the amber shining from underneath. Snuggled into the skin Embrace wraps lavish vanilla amber fleece woven with flaxen fibers around the flesh, ensnaring the senses. The vanillas curl about with threads of pale coconut and brown liqueur and golden amber. There is a soft bakery quality to the scent but balanced beautifully by the musks. I have a feeling Philtre: Embrace is going to age incredibly well. 

Philtre: Adoration- Notes: Three vanillas, sweet cream, banana custard, white pepper, exotic amber, pearl musk, black pepper and cardamom.
The jar offers up a distinctive blend of peppery bananas. Drenched on the wrists the bananas peel back to reveal ripe curves and creaminess, fresh tropical bananas firm and ivory. Quickly the peppercorns heat up the creamy sweetness of the fruit with their piquant wooden spice. The marriage of the two may sound strange but it works. A vivid and complimentary juxtaposition of flavors. The heart pours out vanilla and cream with just a fine dusting of cardamom to dilute the fiery tang of the pepper and envelop the bananas in bliss. The drydown features honeyed amber imbued with tobacco, tonka and vanilla facets. Truly lovely. One I will wear with joy. 


Venus Callipyge- Notes: Ripe, luscious peach halves and soft skin musk with amber, lime, frankincense, blackberry, sea salt and white cognac.
Straight from the bottle lime zest and tear drop pieces of pulp flavor the mounds and half moons of ripe fruits that bathe in their own juices. Squeezed out on the wrists the perfume drips of peachy intensity, all nectar and sweet flesh and mouthwatering flavor. Lime accentuates the pucker of the peach and I struggle to resist the urge to lick my arm. The top notes of the fruits trail down into those deeper hued blackberries but the sweetness fades under the haze of tart sea salt encrusted lime rinds. These mellow out too in time to reveal a dried blackberry suffused skin musk. It is a full-bodied beauty flush with roundness.  I can relate to this Venus as I too have quite the notoriety for my bountiful bottom. I must state here... I have finally found a fruity perfume I am happy to wear. This one will get worn often this summer.


Anodyne- Notes: Frosty peppermint is smoothed out with tranquil notes of blue German chamomile, gentle clover honey, chilled rice wine and just enough curative copaiba. 
Anodyne was the scent out of all of these that I was drooling over the most given the notes. I recently read a book, A Man Called Ove, where a doctor was described as having a anodyne demeanor. Anodyne can either mean inoffensive (deliberately so) or it can refer to a painkilling drug. I like both of these descriptors. In the dram Anodyne is redolent of a soothing tonic, honeyed and minted with relaxing blue herbs. And the juice is in fact a most entrancing shade of blue from the chamomile, I believe. Administered to the skin the mint spools out slowly from a base of honeyed Sleepy Time tea with spearmint and peppermint leaves,  chamomile and hawthorn bits, all sweetened generously with that honey. So subtle and so dreamy. A dulcet woodsy base wafts in that deepens the draught much like an extra long steep so that the sweetness diffuses and the gentler herbs float away languidly as if made of vapor. Unfortunately this one is sold out and doesn't look to return due to ingredient issues. 

This collection is full of delicious experiences. I am particularly excited to discover a fruity perfume I enjoy, another banana to fall in love with (Undead Gentleman is the only other banana perfume I have adored), a mint to settle the prickles of stress and unease as well as some sweet honeyed vanillas to snuggle up with. 

Happy first day of March! Happy Friday! Any plans this weekend? We will be headed to the Strawberry Festival in Plant City. I am going to be sporting my Merrywidow perfume and eating some strawberry shortcake.

6 comments:

  1. Philtre: Adoration really piqued my interest, as far as that banana note. I love when banana notes work in a more unique way.
    I'll have to look into that other banana perfume you mentioned.
    I've actually been looking at other banana perfumes this past week or two. Lush's Ladyboy was the first unique banana perfume I tried and fell in love with. My tiny sample vial was long gone years ago- I always hope it'll reappear again very soon!!
    The Honey Thief, Venus Callipyge and Anodyne also sounded great to me when this collection became available.
    I hope you've enjoyed your weekend that's now winding down. :)

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    1. I am really excited about this peppery banana beauty. I very much unexpectedly adore it. So the name really does fit. I never tried Lush's Ladyboy! Hopefully it will make a comeback. Normally I don't do banana scents as they tend to smell like Runts or Laffy Taffy but when I find a good one I end up loving it. Anodyne is the one I knew I would love and the other two ended up becoming fast favorites.

      Thanks! It was a nice weekend. Quick but nice. We went to a festival then I pretty much packed all weekend. And tinkered with my resume. And sat outside garden gazing. How was yours?

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  2. Ladyboy scent notes are: banana, seaweed, chamomile, French labdanum, violet and oakmoss. The banana is subtle, but detectable. Ahh, hopefully it makes an appearance again someday. <3
    My weekend was pretty great, a change from the typical housework, errands. My sisters and I got together to go see KISS in concert Friday night. It was a very fabulous time!
    I've pretty much been spending the rest of my weekend recovering from going out. Something is wrong with my nervous system, my lower back to toes is very numb, tingling and lots of loss of sensation. My energy is at an all time low- it's been getting increasingly more difficult to even walk and move around the house. So, having concert tickets for months, my sisters being in town, I wasn't going to miss that night for the world! But, my body is definitely letting me know that I over extended myself. Lol
    I do hope you are enjoying so much and your family's transition time is manageable and you're taking everything in stride. Sending you all happy, feel good vibes!! <3

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    1. WOW! KISS!!! How fun!!! I am glad you were able to do something with your sister and have some grown-up time. I know when those moments came when the girls were little they really buoyed me up. Helped me to reconnect with myself. I hope that your body recovers quickly and it isn't something that is an issue like nephropathy or something.

      Ladyboy sounds killer! That labdanum, violet and oakmoss all ring my chimes. Thank you for the well wishes. I am definitely on a bit of a rollercoaster right now and my husband is too which is not easy for us (or the girls I imagine). Thank you for listening. <3 It means a lot.

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  3. And how you did present it in breathtaking description. If there's a glowing trail following my comments today it's because I'm still glowing at receiving the unexpected package you sent me last month full of lovely decants, wax and hearty tea. Thank you again for thinking of me friend<3

    I will search the scents that you passed on to me to comment, but of these, Philtre: Embrace sounds delightful. Ambers, vanillas and coconut are right up my scent street. Venus Callipyge must have been a happy find for you at long last, and I caught that AMCO reference, what a serendipitous name:)

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    1. Thank you so much! I always worry I don't do a scent justice when it comes to perfumes. They can be such hard to describe imps... keeping their secrets to themselves. I am so happy you are enjoying your decants!!

      I think Embrace is the easiest to wear of these. Very comforting and mellow. Callipyge was absolutely a gem to find! I am unbearably picky about fruity perfumes and I am not sure why? The minute it feels artificial or too sweet or too intense I get put off.

      Ove is living inside me now.

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