Sonoma Scent Studio is one of those lines that comes up on my radar – a couple of their scents get mentioned regularly by perfumistas – but, as often happens, I’d never managed to try any. I finally ordered some samples from the SSS website, and (full disclosure) perfumer Laurie Erickson threw in additional samples, so I got a sense of the range of her line.
I also looked at reviews of the line on MakeupAlley and it’s apparent that, in contrast to her current offerings, she used to do a lot more scents, including dupes of familiar classics. I asked her about this via email and she said she’d decided she wanted to do her own thing – hone her focus and reduce the number of scents she offers. Here are the highlights in my (self-selected) winter-comfort category:
Tabac Aurea – Cedar, sandalwood, tobacco, leather, vetiver, patchouli, clove, labdanum absolute, tonka bean, amber, vanilla, musk. This is the new-ish scent that finally prompted my order, I’ve read raves and I understand why. A warm, sueded comfort scent that makes me think of Donna Karan’s Black Cashmere with a leather overlay and pipe-tobacco drydown. I could smell this all day long.
Incense Pure – frankincense, myrrh, labdanum, cistus oil, natural oakmoss absolute, aged Indian patchouli heartnote fraction, sandalwood, cedar, ambergris, orris, angelica root absolute, elemi EO, vanilla absolute. With those notes, how could this smell anything other than wonderful? Resiny, like a walk in the woods; more than straight frankincense but not fussy, a perfect drop of vanilla.
Fireside Intense – Guaiacwood, Texas cedar, Himalayan cedar, Indian sandalwood, agarwood, birch tar, cade, leather, oakmoss absolute, castoreum, ambergris. I read reviews of this as “very smoky.” Uh … sorry, no. Diptyque John Galliano? CB Burning Leaves? Those are very smoky. This is a cheerful, soft leather/smoke scent with a nice peaty note that differentiates it from your basic birchtar campfire-scent. If you like the idea of the Galliano or Burning Leaves, but find them a bit too literal, smoky and unwearable, try this one. Bonus – wait for the oakmoss to pop up like a little green elf after about fifteen minutes.*
Winter Woods – Guaiacwood, cedar, sandalwood, birch tar, cade, oakmoss absolute, castoreum, amber, labdanum absolute, vetiver, ambergris, musk. The one I instantly wanted a bottle of, which will come as no shock to some of you, reading that notes list. There’s something quirky and humorous about the way the guaiacwood obscures the naughty bits… for awhile. It wears like a musk on me — very cuddly, surprisingly warm, not too sweet, for those of us who long for a dirtier Muscs Koublai Khan.
Jour Ensoleille – orange blossom, neroli, tuberose, jasmine, beeswax absolute, labdanum absolute, myrrh, sandalwood, ambergris, vetiver, green leaves, oakmoss. This doesn’t fit with the theme of winter comfort-scents which I chose for my post, but I feel I’d be remiss not mentioning this, because WOW. An intensely indolic orange blossom/jasmine, a dollop of furry golden beeswax, balanced by the liquid-absinthe greenness of vetiver and oakmoss. I hope you get what I’m getting, which is less golden-sunlit afternoon and more tumble-in-the-haystack-with-the-miller’s-son. Probably not work-friendly, unless you work as either the randy goat-heard or the innkeeper’s saucy serving wench.
The most interesting small perfumers develop their own style, with an array of scents that hang together and “feel” like their work and nobody else’s. Coming fresh to Laurie Erickson’s scents, I enjoyed how unsweet they are, and how (at least in the more winter-y ones I tried) she’s got a fondness for leather, woods and smoke, but they don’t all end up smelling like slight variations of each other; they’re distinct and attractive scents. (She’s got more summery things and seems to have an affinity for violet, heliotrope and rose.) I was pleasantly surprised by how ripe many of these smelled. She uses labdanum, ambergris, oakmoss, musk and castoreum with a generous hand. I’d recommend this line for those of you who like your winter comfort a little darker and less sweet, can tolerate some skank, and are willing (with the oil format) to wait a minute or two for the scents to set up.
I know a number of you have sampled Sonoma Scent Studio – please name your favorites in comments. Also, don’t be shy, if you’ve blogged on them, add your links! As far as I’m concerned, the more the merrier.
image and samples from Sonoma Scent Studio (I paid for about half of them)
*Laurie uses low-atranol oakmoss in several of her scents: “Oakmoss, or Evernia prunastri, is a lichen that grows on oaks as well as some other trees and is harvested to produce oakmoss absolute. The absolute is green or brown and is very thick; it has a wonderful earthy, mossy aroma with herbal and green nuances. Oakmoss absolute is a skin allergen to a small percentage of people, so its usage is restricted to small amounts of the low-atranol natural version …”
I just tried Incense Pure for the first time (thank you Perfume Posse swappers!) and it’s fantastic. On first spritz it smells almost exactly like Ormonde Jayne Woman, which to me means it smells *exactly* like fresh lemon zest. Then it slowly develops into a scent that is still similar but just slightly more incense-y than Woman.
I’m off to order more samples now!
My first comment on this site, tho’ I’m a long-term lurker. I liked Jour Ensoleille enormously when I first tried it, but it is so STRONG. For me, something rather harsh and pine-y emerges out of JE that, depending on my mood, sets me on edge somewhat. And yet it is a fascinating scent. I can’t ignore it. Femme Jolie is by a long way my favourite SSS – the balance of fruit, spice and cedar gives me such pleasure. I bought a back-up bottle a while ago, in anticipation of it being discontinued. Laurie may still have a bit left if anyone wants to as her, but she did tell me that she won’t be making any more.
Late-comer SSS fan checking in. I got stymied trying to decide my favorites. Let’s just say it’s hard for me to pick among many, so this list is subject to change…
Incense Pure
Tabac Aurea
Winter Woods
Champagne de Bois
Jour Ensolleile
I agree totally with Shelley’s comment about Laurie’s work and how it makes her feel comfortable exploring her “don’t tend to go there” places with, just to see what’s she’s doing there. I was able to sniff the new “classique” fragrance she’s working on. I’m in LOVE – though I wasn’t at all sure it would be “me.”
I liked Tabac Aurea enough to order a bottle; I suspect anyone who like SL Fumerie Turque might want to try this one.
Others that stand out in my trials (I wouldn’t purchase these but might try them again):
Egyptian Musk
Winter Woods
Ambre et Encens
Fireside
Bois Epices
Thanks, Vasily. FWIW I am not a huge fan of FT, which goes really sweet on me (some of those Serges do that, like Chergui.) Maybe Tabac Aurea was more of what I wanted FT to be. :)>-
March – Laurie may have mentioned that she’s very sensitive on the sweetness issues for a lot of her clients. That’s why she tries to keep the sweetness in check for most of her fragrances.
I ordered a bottle of Tabac Aurea unsniffed based on all the rave comments here and at NST. I know I committed one of the seven deadly perfumista sins, but I do throw caution to the winds every now and then, and Haunani likes Tabac Aurea, so I was pretty sure I would, too. And I do, I totally love it! It does not smell like tobacco to me, but rather resinous woods and other good things. Rather like Via del Profumo Mecca Balsam, which I also love, and the core of my fav classic vintage Guerlains.
I have samples of others, thanks to kind Rapple and Tammy, and plan to test them with concentration, since there must be other wonders from the creator of the beautiful Tabac Aurea.
Hehe on the unsniffed purchase! But every now and again I think it’s fun to throw caution to the wind … I’m sorry you’re not getting more of the tobacco, I get a ton. But anything that reads like Mecca Balsam isn’t all bad.
Laurie’s fragrances are a bargain. They wear like parfum concentration. It was a shock to go from just dabbing samples to spraying from a FB of Jolie Femme. And they last a long time, as people have been mentioning.
Tabac Aurea is the first tobacco I’ve really liked, so if you’re generally not a fan of tobaccos, it’s still worth a try. I just dabbed some on so I could join in the spirit of the post!
Oops, I guess they wear like a parfum because they are! :)
I should have said that about the Tabac Aurea. I like the idea of tobacco scents but don’t wear them much. It’s like wearing a beard, or something. This one I would totally wear.
There very few of Laurie’s scents that I don’t like! Vintage Rose, Tabac Aurea, Ambre Noir, Champagne de Bois top the list, though.
This is one of my favorite lines. My favorite is Winter Woods (love that castoreum! I wrote about it, and a few others, here: ; I also own Tabac Aurea (DK Chaos reminds me of this, though I think Tabac Aurea is better; haven’t smelled Black Cashmere) and Vintage Rose (which is sooooo lush, I put some on a turtleneck a few weeks ago and it still smells like a full dosage; wrote about it here: . I asked for a bottle of Voile de Violette for Xmas but it looks like she didn’t open up shop in time. And I had a very similar reaction to Jour Ensolleile as you: http://www.openlettersmonthly.com/on-the-scent-the-smell-of-money/
Beautiful line, tons of naturals, potent and long-lasting.
I own Incense Pure, Winter Woods and Femme Jolie – wore it yesterday – with plans to buy Champagne de Bois, Vintage Rose (I did a wrist-to-wrist comparison between it and Parfum Sacre to see how it stood up – they were BOTH fabulous ;)) and Jour Ensoleille. And heck…. I wouldn’t turn down bottles of Ambre Noir, Sienna Musk and Wood Violet.
Tabac Aurea didn’t work for me, but then tobacco in general doesn’t. And like mals, there’s lots of smoke in my Winter Woods, so Fireside and Fireside Intense were just tooooo much.
Cameo and Lieu de Reves were lovely, but not my style at all, and the jury’s still out for Voile de Violette. I’ll revisit that one in the spring.
And may I also commend Laurie’s amazing customer service? I live in oh-so-annoying-to-ship-to Canada, and she’s really made extra efforts to send stuff to me.
I wonder if I’m the smoke-killer? And also what is the DEAL with shipping to Canada? Canada is the only place my packages drag.
I own Incense Pure, and it’s probably my favorite incense out of my over-represented incenses. So impressed. I really do want to try more, so I’m glad you reviewed these. I’ve heard the buzz about Tabac Aurea, but Winter Woods sounds pretty incredible. A dirtier MKK? Yes, please.
Well, YMMV. Someone up there said Winter Woods has “the teensiest bit of sh–,” which I guess is… true.
March – So glad you mentioned Jour Ensoleille, My SSS HG. This one is very very special, and seems to fall under the radar for many in favor of her wonderful woodsy and incensy fragrances. Makes me smile every time! None of those naughty notes on me though….
Added to mention my other favorites: probably about 1/2 the entire line(!) but limiting myself to round out a top-5 list:
1. Vintage Rose (Mals and I are at opposite ends on this one…)
2. Champagne de Bois
3. Winter Woods
4. Cameo
apologies to my other favorites…
Oh, lucky you. I’m still puzzled as to what’s in VR that bothers me so much, because the list of notes is benign.
Laurie told me once that Vintage Rose was one of the very few fragrances of hers that she used iso e super in. I wonder if that’s what bothers you. It sure bothers me!
lol “apologies to my other favorites”
Yes – that would be, my other SSS favorites…
:-8
I’m a big fan of Femme Jolie which is, sadly, discontinued. Sienna Musk is probably my next favorite. Nicely spicy without being too much. Since I’m not a fan of tobacco or smoke, I’ve avoided scents like Tabac Aurea, Winter Woods, etc.
Besides being a talented perfumer, Laurie’s customer service is top notch and delivery has been lightning fast in the past.
I think Femme Jolie is on the website…
Mals: It is and it isn’t (on the web site). The name is there but when you click the link it brings up the same page. I confirmed with Laurie a few months back that she intends to discontinue it.
Ah. That one didn’t work for me, anyway, but I knew I’d at least seen the name on the site.
Oh, that’s too bad, I liked my sample.
for those of us who long for a dirtier Muscs Koublai Khan
This might have to be my Christmas present to myself..
I still think MKK is dirtier, at least on me — but I guess it’s the difference between straight-up sweat (which is what I get from MKK, it makes me laugh) and something, in the WW, much harder to pin down, more like the teensiest, tiniest smear of shit ever :)
I hear you. Laughing, but I hear you. I’m going with “earthy” and “barnyard.” But as I noted, it made me smile. MKK is … just not dirty on me, I swear.
You might at least try it. You and I are two of the people who find MKK very tame. I think it smells a lot like the Kiehls musk, to be honest.
Tabac Aurea is a staple tobacco for me. I think anybody who has found themselves fond of tobacco scents would be doing themselves a favor in trying this one. Absolute comfort for me, and easy to wear for a variety of clothings/situations.
Incense Pure is lovely, but can go sweet on me…but I am That Person when it comes to adding in a dollop of sweet. Remember, sometimes Black Cashmere is too much sweet on my skin/to my nose. She has other incense formulas…need to try them…
Since you asked, here’s my take on Lieu de Reves:
http://scelfleah.blogspot.com/2010/06/dreamy-morpher-lieu-de-reves.html
I’ve come to trust Laurie’s work. She’s the kind of perfumer that I’d feel comfortable exploring my “don’t tend to go there” places with, just to see what’s she’s doing there.
Those are not my only two SSS bottles–I have seven–thanks, Laurie!
Hoarding my preciousssss bottles of CdB and the original ETranquille.
I was shopping yesterday at the natural food store and heard two workers there say “Why does it smell like PERFUME in here?” and the other replied “Yes and it’s so STRONG!”
Ha! Two teeny spritzes of CdB about two hours before!
I wanted to say “One more disparaging word and I will get out the entire bottle!”
The I went and got lunch and my blood sugar returned to normal.
They two were obviously perfume heathens! Bet you smelled gorgeous!
Oooh yeah shame on you, wearing scent to a natural food store!
Oh my gosh, Kristen. I had the exact opposite experience wearing a SSS scent to the health food store. Two women working there stopped to ask what I was wearing, how to get it, and even took out some paper and a pencil to write it down!
It was Sienna Musk, btw. SO lovely.
Fireside Intense is one of my top five scents. It’s what I wore for a whole week on the Scent Challenge, and I’m glad to see it getting more attention. Love the leather note in it. You’ve already mentioned many of my favorites from this line, but I also love her Ambre Noire and her Voile de Violette. The Ambre Noire I think you would really like. Didn’t you like the original Prada? It’s similar, but better IMHO.
Having read a bit more about it, perhaps I’ll try the Ambre, which doesn’t sound scary sweet.
I have been wanting to try Tabac Aurea! I have a bottle of Fireside and WANT a bottle of Champagne de Bois. Wood Violet is beautiful too. Glad you got to try this special pefume line.
I’m happy to see so many of the fans on here today.
It’s so interesting that you posted this, because I just recently tried this line for the first time – I was on a violet kick and someone recced Jour en Soleille, I think, and I took the opportunity to get samples of the ones I’d heard about the most, including Champagne des Bois. Sadly, I didn’t love ANY of them! I’m wondering now if there’s a sort of sweetness I expect that they don’t have. They just struck me as bland, uninteresting. Good blends – it wasn’t as though I felt overwhelmed by any one note – but the mix together making something that I knew I should like but just didn’t, like medieval descant music. I’m going to try them again when it’s warmer, though, as almost everything has been disappearing so quickly on me these days – my skin is dry and so is the air and most of my favorite perfumes are wearing on me like echoes of themselves shouting down a long dark tunnel.
It’s hard to say, if none of them worked on you, but of course there are plenty of other fish in the sea… they lasted quite well on me, but things usually do.
I am fortunate to have some of Laurie’s terrific fragrances. She’s one impressively talented perfumer! I enjoyed reading this thoughtful article.
I love Sonoma Scent Studio’s musks and will be looking forward to the new scents!
Sienna Musk is one of my most favoritest– and one I always wear on dates, and it never fails to make people lean in and murmur “You smell so good…”
The main note to me all the way through is nutmeg, and it totally works: warm and woody, just this side of vanilla but not food-ey. Wonderful!
Yes! I discovered SSS about a year ago and love Champagne des Bois and the violet scents (one woodier, one greener). We have Tabac Aurea as well, though I tend to not wear it to work (and husband, a unlit tobacco fan, uses it to refresh his loose tobacco office potpourri [it works!]). I also get a good day of scenting from any of these, so they’re perfect for business trips and all day wear.
It sounds like I really need to try the Champagne de Bois.
The names alone appeal to me, but you mention of them not being sweet is even more interesting, because while I occasionally like a full-bodied, sweet oriental, the drier kind is what I am usually drawn to. Still have not tried this line. Sometimes I think that I will never catch up, but as I mentioned to you before, I have adopted a Zen philosophy towards it all. :)
Well, as we discussed, once we let go of the “catching up” the whole proposition becomes more enjoyable. We’ll never smell everything, and that’s okay. 😡
I’ve got quite a few of Laurie’s scents, and love them all. My favourites are Vintage Rose and Tabac Aurea, but I also luuurrrve Winter Woods, Encens Tranquille, Ambre Noir, Incense Pure, Wood Violet…. well, like I said, I love them all. And they last! Last night I dabbed on a bit of Incense Pure from my sample. This morning I woke up from a dream about a forest, wondering what the lovely smell was.
And I just won a draw at her blog for some purse sprays, so I’m a happy bunny!
The only bottle I have is Lieu de Reves which I bought after a review by helg on Perfumeshrine whetted my appetite. No problems ordering from the US, by the way. Laurie was extremely accommodating. This, and others I’ve sampled, have been really lovely scents. I should really re-visit my samples and get to know more of her other confections.
Also checking in to say I’m a major SSS fan! Champagne de Bois is one of my top five, no three, scents! Absolutely could not be without it. It is not at all intimidated by my precious bottles of vintage Guerlain extraits! I have a FB of Incense Pure and keep a sample vial on my desk as it is such a beautiful, calming scent.
I also own a bottle of Cameo, strange considering that I am *not* a rose lover. But it manages to be both romantic, old fashioned and dry at the same time.
Laurie is working on a couple of new ones – she’s blogged about them – and I’m lucky enough to be one of her testers. While the new Lieu is indeed beautiful, the new classic style scent is off the charts! It has literally haunted my scent memory and I cannot wait until it goes into production. It is the best new scent I’ve smelled in years!
Great reviews! Did you try Amber Noir? I would think you’d like that one a lot.
I haven’t tried the Cameo (she threw one in) because … :-ss but I will. I didn’t try the Amber because really sweet ambers make me a bit queasy, but now that I have a feel for her scents, I’d probably like it.
I have to say that I scrubbed Cameo :-\”…on me it smelled too much of a rose-scented powder puff thing that sits in my MIL’s loo. It did smell lovely on my friend who wears florals wonderfully well. spray lightly would be my advice! :d
Rappleyea, I’m so envious of your tester job! I can’t wait to try this new one.
I know… I should pay her!
I also love many of Laurie’s perfumes, but I tend to like her softer florals like Lieu de Reves. She is working on a new version of Lieu de Reves that is amazing. It’s a little more complex than the original, but still utterly gorgeous. She’s going to sell this one through Indiescents.com. I plan to snap up a bottle as soon as it’s available.
Thanks, Ann!
I love both Winter Woods and Tabac Aurea and have bottles of both. :) I can also see myself acquiring some more Laurie’s work in the near future. :)
http://alliam-aredhead.blogspot.com/2010/11/winter-woods.html
http://alliam-aredhead.blogspot.com/2010/11/sss-tabac-aurea.html
Laurie from SSS is a doll! I think I own sample vials of her entire line from the beginning and really they are all good~ I’m particularly fond of Violette Encens (discontinued) and Voile de Violette, and now Incense Pure and Winter Woods. She has a way of combining woods, incense and violet that makes them irresistible and all her scents last until the next shower =)
Violette Encens is (was) sooo good! The perfect violet for me, and violets are difficult. I wonder if she’d ever bring it back? *nursing along my little sample*
Violets are hard — they can be too powdery or too sweet. Hers sounds very nice; I’m sorry I missed it.
I love her Voile de Violette – not sweet or powdery at all. And my skin amps sweet!
I heard she’s reworking the old Lieu de Reves, but the old one is one of the few violets I like– magical and unicorn-like, very girly but mysterious.
Yay SSS! I received decants of Tabac Aurea, Winter Woods and Cameo in Swapmania and now a sample set is in my future. I ADORE both TA and WW ( Cameo is beautiful but totally not for me )and with the snow here Winter Woods has been getting a lot of love. I too love incense and now I really want to try Incense Pure and Fireside Intense. Once we’ve recovered for Christmas, I will be placing an order!
Dawn said Winter Woods was one of her favorites. I wore the Tabac today and am thinking I might need more.
My Evil Scent Twin sent me samples of several SSS scents a few months ago and that was that! Hooray for swapping and ES Twins.
oooh that’s uncanny….I just ordered a bottle of Champagne de Bois yesterday after e mailing a very gracious Laurie. It’s the first bottle I’ve ordered in ages but my sample haunted me- especially the delicious drydown. I wish I’d read this first March and thrown in some samples. I did have the incense sample which was OK, but I seem to like the more hollow incenses like Timbuktu nad Incense Extreme.
Any one else love CdeB?
Oh heck yeah… and I need to acquire a bottle soon! :x
Absolutely love Champagne de Bois. In the same way I love Chanel Bois de Isles. VERY much the same way. :)
Absolutely agree.
There is love for CdB all over the post today…
CdB always sets me aright– it’s awesome in the winter, poofing up from your sweater in the cold!
Hi March,
Just a random question here, what would you recommend that is similar to Kenzo Amour Le Parfum and Organza Indecense??
Adrianna
Nope.
Aren’t I helpful? Honestly, I hate trying to recommend something similar. I mean, as a “replacement?” They never work. If you mean another soft comfort scent, I’d need to think about how to triangulate those two…
I see what you mean. I looked at a few woody comfort scents in the perfume guide but TSanchez and LTurin seem to always be giving them very poor rating, except for Chanel’s Bois des Iles, which I would love to buy and could afford perhaps if it was sold in smaller than 200ml bottles. I don’t think Turin likes woodsy perfume as a matter of fact, he seems to be more into florals, but I may be wrong.
If you think of anything woodsy and comforting along the lines of Organza Indecence that has not been reformulated recently, please let me know.
Thanks for this review, dear. I am a long-time fan of SSS, and it just occurred to me yesterday that I needed to revisit the site. I do see that some great oldies are missing, but am glad Laurie is doing her own thing-she’s a treasure ; )
I see some sampling in my future….especially the Wnter Woods and Incense. Can. Not. Get. Enough. Incense!
No such thing as Too Much Incense! 😡
Love the Montale Full Incense so much!
I am not keen on ordering from the U.S in case the parcels get lost but you have wetted my appetite now :)
The back and forth overseas works pretty well. To be honest the only trouble I’ve had is with Canada.
Don’t be afraid to order over seas! I ordered a bottle of Tabac Aurea and some samples, they were shipped to Sweden within a week without any hassle what so ever. I contacted her in advance, just to make sure about costs of shipping etc, it was all very reasonable and great, great customer service.
What a terrific review!
Now you’ve got me very eager to sample these soon… especially the tabac aurea and the incense pure!
This is the first time I am visiting your Blog and I really liked the content of your articles. We can see how much you like fragances.
I’ve been wearing Laurie’s scents for ages, going back to the time she was making dupes. Her Chaos dupe was spot on.
I think Incense Pure is one of the best things she has done to date. On me it is austere, dry and what I wanted Karan’s Incense to be. Laurie’s Incense Pure is strong and direct but very wearable. I could stop a few lanes of traffic, comatize a full elevator or clear a whole restaurant with one miniscule spritz of Karan’s Incense. I love the fact that she uses vanilla minimally, if at all.
Several years ago she made something called Buddhawood, or else it had it as a predominant note. I used to layer that with DSH’s Hinoki (a wickedly brilliant scent!!!) when I wanted to be a super queer femme powerhouse. Talk about smoking…
Laurie (as anyone knows who has gotten to know her even a bit) is a wonderful, kind, generous and friendly artist-kind of a “perfumer next door” and in the same ken as Dawn Spencer Horowitz and Andy Tauer.
I only wish she would make some intensely galbanum things. I can hope.
There is galbanum in the new classic scent that she is working on! Wait for it!!
DK Incense is a whole lot; I prefer Ceremony. But I’d prefer Incense Pure to either of those. Never tried her Chaos dupe; Irma Shorell’s Anarchy (which has been d/c’d) was excellent.
I love Sonoma Scent Studio! It wasn’t that long ago that I first experienced Laurie’s scents, and I’ve since become a huge personal fan. Thank you March for talking about them!
Mals; I don’t get any skank at all out of JE—to me, it’s just golden sunshine all the way.
My review on that one:
http://beautyontheoutside.wordpress.com/2010/10/27/sss-day-2-part-one-jour-ensoleille/
Rose Musc:
http://beautyontheoutside.wordpress.com/2010/10/27/sss-day-2-part-two-rose-musc/
Champagne de Bois:
http://beautyontheoutside.wordpress.com/2010/10/26/sss-day-1-champagne-de-bois/
and Summary:
http://beautyontheoutside.wordpress.com/2010/11/01/sss-summary/
-dee
I haven’t yet tried all of the SSS scents, but I have been impressed with most of them, even if they didn’t quite work for me.
Looks like I’ve only reviewed Champagne de Bois properly, and done one quickie smitten post on my dear Tabac Aurea: http://museinwoodenshoes.wordpress.com/category/sonoma-scent-studio/ Tabac Aurea is still rockin’ my world, though I tried it first from a 1/3 full sample vial more than a year ago.
I like Velvet Rose a lot too – nicest “big armful of scarlet roses” scent I’ve ever tried. And you might remember I’m a Rose Ho, so there have been quite a few.
I didn’t bother with either Fireside (reg. or Intense), because Winter Woods was VERY SMOKY on me. Seriously, I was wearing it at work last February, and someone walked by me and said, “Who’s burning wood?”
One I haven’t tried, but have wanted to get my mitts on, is Jour Ensoleille – but I admit that “indolic OB/jasmine” really, really turns down the volume on my Want. I don’t get on well with either OB or jasmine, so that might not do.
And Vintage Rose, although the notes list calls my name, is an absolute disaster on me. Each time I try it, I’ve had to scrub within 12 minutes or less – it *smells* fine, but there’s something in there that just turns my stomach. It works like whatever-it-is in the Lauder base that nauseates me.
Have been eagerly awaiting her Bouquet Blanc fragrance, which I know she’s still working on (but which will probably have to be renamed, because of the Le Labo/Anthropologie scent by that name).
Mals do try Jour – I *wish* that I had gotten indolic OB and jasmine, but not on my skin. It was much more tuberose/white floral.
I second that!!!
Oh, GOOD. More tuberose is always a good thing.
I wonder if different batches end up smelling slightly differently? It was all, hellooo sailor on me!
Hehehehee…. I want what she’s having.
Isn’t that funny — Winter Woods wasn’t that smokey on me at all, just a little! That Tabac is delicious.
I’m not joking, TA smells persackly (well, near enough) like my high school boyfriend. Whoa.