Arcana Wildcraft: Glittering Collection

 These perfumes were sent as gifts. All opinions are my own.

Glittering White is a wonderfully creamy and minty sweet winter treat. Julia at Arcana Wildcraft has chosen this blustery delight to build several flankers that showcase various tonal notes used along a color wheel. These particular four colors are currently on offer for $26 each. 

Glittering Lavender- Notes: Smooth, sweet, buttery French lavender absolute with our Glittering White (cold peppermint, sugar cookies, marshmallows, white chocolate, and vanilla musk). $26

I must admit I was most excited for this version. I am absolutely smitten with Julia's lavenders. I have yet to meet one I didn't want to immediately adopt. Sniffed directly from the bottle I easily envision a cup of warm frothy white chocolate with lavender buds floating on top. It is decadent and mouthwatering. On the skin a blizzard of lavender twirls about the senses. It is jammy and sweet, calming and serene with hints of rosemary or pine to it. A backing of pillowy while chocolate and marshmallow gives the lavender a soft place to land. Lavender cream. Divine. The white chocolate fades, allowing room for the vanilla musk to pull through and weave into the lavender. It remains creamy and sweet and a truly indulgent lavender treat. I am over the moon for it. I will be wearing this for bed, for comfort, and all year 'round. Normally I find white chocolate to be cloying and too rich but Julia crafted a scent that uses it to its best.

Glittering Black- Notes: Black amber, black musk, ice-coated black metal, motor oil, smoky vetiver and just a hint of Glittering White. $26

In the vial Glittering Black is all about that dank dark vetiver. Shinning on the wrists it wafts up smoggy clouds of sooty oil and musky vetiver. The sweetness of Glittering White glides in quickly to pool around the inky vetiver and glittering black hues to cast a dulcet warmth to the fragrance. This transitions nicely with the black amber and the thick gooey marshmallow pairing up together. This part of the drydown is my favorite.

Glittering Green- Notes: The scent of eating mint-laced white chocolates in a huge old growth forest. Jammy fir balsam, a bit of black spruce, and Glittering White. $26

I love Julia's description of eating white chocolate mints in the forest, because that is exactly what comes out of the bottle on first sniff. And if anyone can illustrate a forest in fragrance, it is Julia. Fresh on the wrists I get chilly and minty fir trees. This might be the scent where I can detect the mint the easiest. I think sometimes I am a bit asnomic or at least desensitized to mints because I love them and wear them and melt and burn and goodness knows what all else, the most. So usually if it is minty it needs to be minty for me to pick it up. I get a whiff of that here. I also get Julia's dreamy balsamic turpentines and resins, her boughs and bark and needles. The white chocolate reveals itself in the heart once the bark is peeled away, but it is a white chocolate Andes bar (do they make those?? now I need to find out). The evergreens give the mint a touch of wintergreen vibe that suits perfectly. As it dries down the evergreens grow more sturdy and the sweet is left as a musk. I really enjoy this scent and will wear it often.

Glittering White- Notes: An opening of cold peppermint settles into a heart of sugar cookies, marshmallows, white chocolate, and vanilla musk. $26

I was thinking when I began this post that I should have put Glittering White first, but honestly, I feel like each of these scents really stands out as its own fragrance without being too similar to the original. Glittering White in the vial highlights that sugar cookie in a gourmand way. I didn't catch it in the other versions but in this one it is supreme: chewy, vanilla, and toothsome. On the skin marshmallow and an almost pink cotton candy peppermint comes out in a rush. The soft candy floss aspects of the mint do evaporate as it settles. Shimmering cool sugar crystals grace the tops of the cookies while vanilla beans and delicate white chocolate curls lie nestled within. The white chocolate is a touch furred and almost powdered like cocoa, it has a feathered texture rather than creamy, but that keeps this from being something found in a Mrs. Fields case. It truly does capture a glittering moment in a Marshmallow World where fluffy sweet snow blankets earth, leaving quiet and calm. This is unique in my collection and I look forward to wearing it as a holiday perfume.

We only have this week of school left before the winter break. I am working on making the students bookmarks, typing up their report cards, and plotting a time to sit and begin wrapping gifts. The past few years I have left it woefully late. I did bake cookies and make candies for the neighbors and co-workers. So I am not feeling too far behind. My mom is staying home due to COVID so this will be the first year in a while that it will just be Adam, the girls and I on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Heck! Probably all holiday weekend. I know it is for the best but I can't help but feel it is a touch bittersweet. 

I am still going to beg Adam to fry us a turkey. I don't care if we have leftovers for days. What are your holiday plans? Anything that you must eat or bake?