Categories
Fragrance Reviews

Lush Scent Calacas  Fragrance Review

lush-scent-calacas

* I have never smelled Calacas Halloween-themed slime soap before, but it’s listed as lime jellybeans.

* The top is definitely lime with a hint of tangerine – reminding me a lot of 25:43,  but instead of lime and caramel it is lime with a bit of light floral.

* The citrus gets juicier and sweeter after the initial burst. It quickly becomes a skin scent (after about 30 minutes)

* But wait – it comes back for a second round about an hour later – where it’s new and improved dirty lime. Lime with a bit of skank and attitude.  Almost like a slutty lime, if you could imagine.  

* The dry down is a light and dry floral woody skin scent.

Summary: I’ve never smelled Calacas soap before, so I can’t tell if this is close.  Calacas is definitely a brother fragrance to 25:43 for the lime story, but of the two I prefer 25:43.  Calacas is a nice lime scent and of better quality than anything else in the price point range.  Longevity is good at 8 hours, and this is probably the most office-friendly of the special line.

Other opinions:

Cassandra’s Stuff (Shower Jelly)
Beauty Blogger (Shower Jelly)
The Sunday Girl (Shower Jelly)
Knickers and Nail Polish (Shower Jelly)
Sammy Scribble (Shower Jelly)

Lush Scent Calacas is a limited edition that was available only from their website. Check there first to see if it is still available. If not, ebay is pretty much your only option.

Disclaimer: Bottle purchased – no disclaimer needed. Image courtesy of Lush website.

Categories
Fragrance Reviews Mainstream Monday

Jay Z Gold Fragrance Review (MAINSTREAM MONDAY)

jay-z-gold-macys
* Gold starts off with a loud blast of sweet fruits (a mix of berries and citrus) and spice.

* Initial projection is quite loud and stays strong for about 30 minutes.

* Then the scent fades really quickly into a weak nondescript mix of woods, amber and vanilla.

* Within two hours, you can barely smell it.

SUMMARY:  When I first smelled Jay-Z Gold, I thought, “Wow, this is a knock off of One Million.” Wearing the two side-by-side, I realize that I was only partially right. Jay-Z is incredibly similar to One Million for 30 minutes.. and while One Million keeps projecting its strong synthetic and narcotic sweet fruity essences, Gold devolves into an emasculated, cheap, generic, woody amber musk skin scent. Two hours later, Gold is barely noticeable – as if the fake veneer (gold plating) has rusted away and you are left with little to show for what you paid. In case you are looking for an example of everything that is wrong with top-loaded celebrity fragrances, look no further than Jay Z.

Disclaimer: Sample came from a Nordstrom’s department store. Image courtesy of Nordstrom website.

Categories
Fragrance Reviews

Lush Scent Snowcake  Fragrance Review

lush-scent-snowcake

* Before smelling the perfume, I stopped by a Lush store to smell the snow cake soap.  It’s sweet almond – almost edible, like a cookie-  maybe an Americanized version of Loukoum.

* Snowcake perfume starts off strangely vegetal.   The almond on top isn’t as sweet – it’s cut with a cooking oil, like canola, that gives its an oddly astringent texture

* Then something seems to go wrong and this odd accord comes through which I think is a mix of fig, ambergris, and sulfur.  It’s not unpleasant – it’s just a bit outerworldly and surreal how it floats over my skin.

* Sometime in that mix I get a bit of rose in the background as well.  

* The dry down is a subtle and sheer dry, sweet vanilla.

Summary:  I had a quick sniff of Snowcake soap at Lush and think it is a little bit sweeter than the perfume.   Snowcake is office-friendly because it is not that loud, yet it’s not exactly a shrinking flower either.  Longevity is the lowest of the series with it becoming a very subtle skin scent after about six hours. Snowcake is nice, but not one that I would strongly recommend, if only because other lines have stronger almond/marzipan/loukoum products.

Other opinions:

All Things Lush (Soap)
Meteo Beauty (Soap)
The Notice
Vampy Varnish (Soap)
Writing Whimsy

Lush Scent Snowcake is a limited edition that was available only from their website. Check there first to see if it is still available. If not, ebay is pretty much your only option.

Disclaimer: Bottle purchased – no disclaimer needed. Image courtesy of Lush website.

Categories
Fragrance Reviews

Lush Scent Ponche Fragrance Review

lush-scent-ponche
* Starts off with the money shot – boozy fruit.  Specifically tequila that is strong- slightly tempered with citrus and a little bit of cinnamon.

* I would not recommend wearing this when driving.  If you happened to be pulled over by a police officer, they won’t even bother with a breathalyzer.

* When the fruit starts to burn off – it’s full-on tequila with a hint of resins burning.  

* You would get the same effects by splashing the real stuff on you and walking by a campfire.

* The base is fruity wood and stays really close to the skin.

Summary:  Ponche has the best longevity of the collection, always lasting over 
12 hours.  I’ve only smelled Ponche Shower gel once and I remember it being tequila and citrus – so, based on that scent memory, this is a faithful interpretation.  Reeking of Tequila is not the best approach for work, so this is clearly not office-friendly.  Although this is full-bodied, I see this being a great spring, summer, and vacation scent.

Other opinions:

Pretty in Pink (Shower Gel)
Musings of a Muse (Shower Gel)
All Things Lush (Shower Gel)
SwatchGirl (Shower Gel)
Scatter Braintures (Shower Gel)
Writing Whimsy (Shower Gel)

Lush Scent Ponche is a limited edition that was available only from their website. Check there first to see if it is still available. If not, ebay is pretty much your only option.

Disclaimer: Bottle purchased – no disclaimer needed. Image courtesy of Lush website.

Notable Scents – Page 14 – A DJ Ron Blog
Categories
Fragrance Reviews

Lush Scent Calacas  Fragrance Review

lush-scent-calacas

* I have never smelled Calacas Halloween-themed slime soap before, but it’s listed as lime jellybeans.

* The top is definitely lime with a hint of tangerine – reminding me a lot of 25:43,  but instead of lime and caramel it is lime with a bit of light floral.

* The citrus gets juicier and sweeter after the initial burst. It quickly becomes a skin scent (after about 30 minutes)

* But wait – it comes back for a second round about an hour later – where it’s new and improved dirty lime. Lime with a bit of skank and attitude.  Almost like a slutty lime, if you could imagine.  

* The dry down is a light and dry floral woody skin scent.

Summary: I’ve never smelled Calacas soap before, so I can’t tell if this is close.  Calacas is definitely a brother fragrance to 25:43 for the lime story, but of the two I prefer 25:43.  Calacas is a nice lime scent and of better quality than anything else in the price point range.  Longevity is good at 8 hours, and this is probably the most office-friendly of the special line.

Other opinions:

Cassandra’s Stuff (Shower Jelly)
Beauty Blogger (Shower Jelly)
The Sunday Girl (Shower Jelly)
Knickers and Nail Polish (Shower Jelly)
Sammy Scribble (Shower Jelly)

Lush Scent Calacas is a limited edition that was available only from their website. Check there first to see if it is still available. If not, ebay is pretty much your only option.

Disclaimer: Bottle purchased – no disclaimer needed. Image courtesy of Lush website.

Categories
Fragrance Reviews Mainstream Monday

Jay Z Gold Fragrance Review (MAINSTREAM MONDAY)

jay-z-gold-macys
* Gold starts off with a loud blast of sweet fruits (a mix of berries and citrus) and spice.

* Initial projection is quite loud and stays strong for about 30 minutes.

* Then the scent fades really quickly into a weak nondescript mix of woods, amber and vanilla.

* Within two hours, you can barely smell it.

SUMMARY:  When I first smelled Jay-Z Gold, I thought, “Wow, this is a knock off of One Million.” Wearing the two side-by-side, I realize that I was only partially right. Jay-Z is incredibly similar to One Million for 30 minutes.. and while One Million keeps projecting its strong synthetic and narcotic sweet fruity essences, Gold devolves into an emasculated, cheap, generic, woody amber musk skin scent. Two hours later, Gold is barely noticeable – as if the fake veneer (gold plating) has rusted away and you are left with little to show for what you paid. In case you are looking for an example of everything that is wrong with top-loaded celebrity fragrances, look no further than Jay Z.

Disclaimer: Sample came from a Nordstrom’s department store. Image courtesy of Nordstrom website.

Categories
Fragrance Reviews

Lush Scent Snowcake  Fragrance Review

lush-scent-snowcake

* Before smelling the perfume, I stopped by a Lush store to smell the snow cake soap.  It’s sweet almond – almost edible, like a cookie-  maybe an Americanized version of Loukoum.

* Snowcake perfume starts off strangely vegetal.   The almond on top isn’t as sweet – it’s cut with a cooking oil, like canola, that gives its an oddly astringent texture

* Then something seems to go wrong and this odd accord comes through which I think is a mix of fig, ambergris, and sulfur.  It’s not unpleasant – it’s just a bit outerworldly and surreal how it floats over my skin.

* Sometime in that mix I get a bit of rose in the background as well.  

* The dry down is a subtle and sheer dry, sweet vanilla.

Summary:  I had a quick sniff of Snowcake soap at Lush and think it is a little bit sweeter than the perfume.   Snowcake is office-friendly because it is not that loud, yet it’s not exactly a shrinking flower either.  Longevity is the lowest of the series with it becoming a very subtle skin scent after about six hours. Snowcake is nice, but not one that I would strongly recommend, if only because other lines have stronger almond/marzipan/loukoum products.

Other opinions:

All Things Lush (Soap)
Meteo Beauty (Soap)
The Notice
Vampy Varnish (Soap)
Writing Whimsy

Lush Scent Snowcake is a limited edition that was available only from their website. Check there first to see if it is still available. If not, ebay is pretty much your only option.

Disclaimer: Bottle purchased – no disclaimer needed. Image courtesy of Lush website.

Categories
Fragrance Reviews

Lush Scent Ponche Fragrance Review

lush-scent-ponche
* Starts off with the money shot – boozy fruit.  Specifically tequila that is strong- slightly tempered with citrus and a little bit of cinnamon.

* I would not recommend wearing this when driving.  If you happened to be pulled over by a police officer, they won’t even bother with a breathalyzer.

* When the fruit starts to burn off – it’s full-on tequila with a hint of resins burning.  

* You would get the same effects by splashing the real stuff on you and walking by a campfire.

* The base is fruity wood and stays really close to the skin.

Summary:  Ponche has the best longevity of the collection, always lasting over 
12 hours.  I’ve only smelled Ponche Shower gel once and I remember it being tequila and citrus – so, based on that scent memory, this is a faithful interpretation.  Reeking of Tequila is not the best approach for work, so this is clearly not office-friendly.  Although this is full-bodied, I see this being a great spring, summer, and vacation scent.

Other opinions:

Pretty in Pink (Shower Gel)
Musings of a Muse (Shower Gel)
All Things Lush (Shower Gel)
SwatchGirl (Shower Gel)
Scatter Braintures (Shower Gel)
Writing Whimsy (Shower Gel)

Lush Scent Ponche is a limited edition that was available only from their website. Check there first to see if it is still available. If not, ebay is pretty much your only option.

Disclaimer: Bottle purchased – no disclaimer needed. Image courtesy of Lush website.