Sweet Anthem: Molly

 Molly, Molly, Molly...Hmmm.  Molly (of Sweet Anthem's Spring Preview Collection) was so difficult to describe, that she single-handedly caused me to take a blogging hiatus.  What am I smelling in this bottle?

Seriously, Molly is so out of my league, but I forced myself to smell it night after night and reapply it to myself.  Finally I realized that Molly is a spice-based scent, and I have no idea what's going on with spice-based scents.  Honestly, I can't tell a patchouli from a ylang ylang (which may cause you to question why I even bother to write reviews on perfume scents -- it's because most women can't tell the difference either.  But we know what cinnamon smells like.)  Anyway, Molly is a spice-based scent, and that's about all I can tell you.

Here's an important crash course in perfume terminology (that I just learned, myself).

Top Notes - This is what you smell right when you apply the perfume.  They're strong scents that evaporate quickly.  (Note: this is not the scent right out of the bottle.  I don't think that has a name.  In fact, you shouldn't even admit that you smell perfume straight out of the bottle, because it smells different after you apply it, depending on your own personal body chemistry).  Top notes are most important for selling a perfume.  If you really want to get a good idea of a scent, though, you should wear it for a while before buying it.

Middle Notes (Heart Notes): This is what you smell after a few minutes of wearing a perfume (after the top notes have evaporated).  You have, perhaps, 30 minutes with this scent, so if you really like it and want someone special to smell it, you'd better plan ahead!  These smells are usually a little less in-your-face.

Base Notes: This is the real base of the perfume (thus the name).  After 30 minutes or so, this is the scent that will stick around, sometimes up to 24 hours.  To smell a base scent, you really have to get right up to the skin and smell, but it's usually a nice soft smell, which is good, because it'll be around for a little while.

Now, back to Molly.

Here's what Sweet Anthem says about her:

Oh, have you seen Miss Molly? Her cheeks are pearly white and her lips are soft as flowers. Oh me, oh my, Miss Molly, will you stay with me for hours? — A soft, floral perfume with hints of musky, murky mystery.

Absinthe, Cognac, Gardenia, Musk*, Patchouli, Pear, Pipe Tobacco, Teak.

Now, I don't know about you, but I have no idea what any of those things smell like--well, except for Gardenia and Pear--so I'm doing this based on her description.

Straight out of the bottle (don't tell anyone we did that) Molly is full of spicy goodness, if you're into that sort of thing.  It's complex, with a hint of floral in the background.  Honestly, my nose was confused.

Top notes are mostly the same.  Molly smells a little sweeter once applied, but the spiciness is strong.  Sorry, but it's not my thing, really.  As time passes, the floral seems to fade and the spiciness lingers.  Last thing I recall of Molly was whatever spicy scent it was in the base note.  Tobacco?  Sure, maybe.  I don't really know.

All I know is that I've dutifully reported on Molly, and now I'm really curious to sniff all of those scents in their pure form.  What was I smelling?

Sweet Anthem: Emily

Today I tried out Sweet Anthem's "Emily (Creme Brulee) perfume.

Out of the bottle this was one of my favorite scents.  It was foody, which I love, and sweet.  Yum! 

Unfortunately, as soon as I applied it, its sweetness intensified dramatically, and Andrew winced a little when he smelled it.   I figured the scent would calm down after half an hour or so, as most perfumes do, but after a few hours it hasn't.  I'm not sure what kind of steroids these chemicals are on, but they're totally interacting in a way that my lingering high school chemistry knowledge can't explain.

This scent uses jojoba oil (which has almost no scent), sandalwood, vanilla, yuzu (Japanese citrus), almond, mocha, honey fragrance, and oatmeal.  It sounds to me like scents I would generally like.  In fact, sandalwood and vanilla is high on my list of scents I like.  However, this combination just doesn't work for me.  It smells a little too much like chemical pudding.

Shocked as I am, I have to say that Vicky is defeating Emily this time around.  4 more scents to go, though -- all her newest from her Spring Preview Collection (which has since gone live).

Sweet Anthem: Vicky

If you've never heard of Etsy before, it's high time you did.  It's a treasure trove of handmade items for sale by the people who made them (they also have craft supplies and vintage items).  It's a little like ebay, but there's no bidding, the community is nicer, and they run a tighter ship.

Anyway, I've long been a lurker on Etsy, admiring the products which are often priced similarly to mass-produced items.  Finally I bit the bullet and made 2 purchases.  Just for fun, I decided to do a little review.

Sweet Anthem is a Seattle-based perfume shop, which I stumbled upon through my etsy ventures.  She handmakes a variety of perfumes which are vegan and cruelty-free.  Sounds like my kind of lady!

Since it was my first time on her site (and I needed some scent variation in my life) I ordered her Spring Preview Collection, which came with four 1-ml bottles of perfume.  I also snagged two sample sizes of some other scents while I was at it.  Hey, it saved on shipping, right?

To give each scent a fair personal judgement, I'm wearing it for a full day.  Today I tried out Vicky (Orange Danish), which is a combination of almond, cinnamon, and sweet orange.  As Sweet Anthem says it, "Don't be a square peg in a round hole. Be hip with a wonderfully sweet perfume reminiscent of a breakfast roll with orange frosting."

Well, it certainly sounds tempting.  In the bottle, and on the flesh, this perfume is something totally different.  In the bottle I could smell orange, but it certainly had medicinal scents to it.  I couldn't get much danish.

On the flesh, Vicky lost its medicinal scent (thank goodness) and suddenly I felt like Christmas had come back.  Vicky's first impression is one of potpourri and sachets.  Not a bad scent, in fact, my fiance really likes it.  The cinnamon takes a strong role when the perfume is first applied.

After the scent is worn for a bit, it takes on a respectable adult scent.  Still, I feel like this is more of a wintry scent.  I want to curl up by a fireplace with a book when I smell it, but it's a good scent overall.  Subtle cinnamon and a little almond.  I don't think of an orange danish-- maybe one of those scented holiday pinecones--but it's nothing I'm afraid to smell like.