Otterling

Got this in the mail today and couldn't wait to try it on. It's like nothing I was expecting but entirely lovely. In the bottle: Bright lavender cut through with something green. It reminds me of clipping fresh lavender sprigs in my yard and smelling my hands. The cut green stems give off a tang and that seems to show up here. The lavender is front and center, followed by that sharp green scent and under laid with hints of the cognac. Wet: The floral note is still bright and fresh, intensely lavender but quickly mellowing into something else. Dry: Man oh man. This has changed. The floral notes have all but disappeared, absorbed into this musky, slightly smoky but sweet scent. There's not much throw, this one stays close to the skin, but the scent is warm and rich. It's entirely gone androgynous on me, somewhere between a perfume and cologne but without venturing too far into either. It's not cloyingly sweet, not overly floral, not heavily musky. The scent is like walking into an old drawing room where flowers had once been sitting. The scent of them still lingers just out of reach and mingles with the more masculine scents of the room. It reminds me of old houses with the lace curtains drawn and sunlight filtering through. Definitely glad I got more than one bottle.

I am so glad I bought a bottle of this. OMG. The smell....so...pretty. Ahem, anyway, formal review. In the bottle: This is a truly lovely light floral scent. Not the cloying kind of floral that I often avoid as they tend to smell like a whole bouquet or a giant air freshner. This is the light floral of standing outside on a bright spring day and catching the first breath of cherry blossoms wafting across the breeze. There's a lovely sandalwood note that isn't too strong and the vanilla adds just a hint of sweetness that brings the blend together. Wet: Once on the skin the cherry blossom note really sparks up. It's bright and vibrant without being overpowering. Almost immediately though, that sandalwood starts coming back to the surface. It takes this from a strictly floral blend to an almost zen one that is one of those "can't quite put my finger on what that scent is" kind of blends. The sandalwood hugs close to the skin and stays tinged with the cherry blossom quite a while. Dry: The woody notes have blended nicely in with the cherry blossoms by this point. It almost smells, dare I say it, the way drift wood does when fresh off the beach. There's that clean air and wood smell that I love. It's got very subtle undercurrents of vanilla but that has taken a backstage on my skin. The sandalwood plays most powerfully here. All in all a really clean, gorgeous scent. It's subtle, pretty, and lingers a good long while. Definitely worth snagging if someone has a spare bottle out there. I'll be keeping mine and waiting to see what aging does to this!

I had really hoped for tobacco with this as it's one of my favorite scents but this bottle has been sadly disappointing. In the Bottle: VERY cocoa. Super chocolate to the point where I can't smell anything else. I don't care for fake chocolate scents and this one had me a little worried from the start. Wet: Still super chocolate. I'm not honestly smelling anything at all else. Dry: After a bit there is indeed some tobacco but it's not the kind I'd hoped for. It's a deeper, muskier tobacco that is still laden heavily with chocolate. All in all, not for me. I have two bottles due a mixup in ordering but I'll just see if they can go to someone else who will enjoy this.

If you’re not a fan of sugar or don’t like sweet foodie smells, then do yourself a favor and run from this. Personally, I find it heavenly. It’s reminiscent of walking into a little cafe, finding a chair in a sunny window, and ordering the most decadent drink on the menu. In the bottle it’s buttery, warm, and the hints of irish cream are strong. There are touches of vanilla in there that make the whole bottle smell like fresh baked butterscotch cookies. Wet on my skin, the Irish cream notes really brighten up, underlaid by a lovely buttery scent. It’s the kind of whiff caught on the air as you walk past a summer cafe or little bakery. It’s sweet without being cloying. Once dry, the scent of coffee becomes more apparent, layered in whipped cream with a dash of irish cream still settling nicely underneath. Usually once I put a scent on, one or two notes will rule the day and edge out everything else (I’m looking at you, Miskatonic….) which isn’t a bad thing in itself but it requires me to know in advance how the scent will sit on my skin. With this, however, none of the notes go away entirely. It keeps that full bodied warmth, the notes of butterscotch, whipped cream (a soft vanilla), irish cream, and coffee. It’s become one of my favorites already and I’ll be guarding my bottle closely. I genuinely hope this amazing scent gets to stick around so I can keep ordering it!

After my joy over the Irish Coffee Buttercream sister of this scent, I was all a twitter when I came across this at a Lunacy event. I even had it in my basket online at the BPAL site and just hadn't gotten around to ordering it yet. I'm afraid I have to say that I'm glad I didn't. If Irish Coffee Buttercream is the good sister, Spiced Rum Buttercream is the bad one throwing a tantrum. In the bottle: The first whiff was pleasant enough to make me try it on. Strongly spicy with heavy cinnamon notes but with the sweetness of buttercream underneath it. The smell was sharp and yet buttery, like a pastry with heavy spices layered over its flaky crust. I was sure I was going to like this. Wet: Oh no. The buttery notes I'd so loved in the bottle just up and disappeared on me. What I was left with was a bright, sharp slap of cinnamon and the cloying scent of rum. I smelled like I'd just held up a liquor store. If you like rum a lot, that's great, but the rum was so overwhelming on me that all I could do was frown at my arm. 20 min later: I wish I could say I let this sit for a full hour but every passing minute that it dried, I just got more and more alcohol scent until I couldn't stand the smell of me anymore. I WAS the liquor store. I smelled like I'd been partying all night with cheap booze and had sloppily dragged myself out into public afterward. This is not a smell I can wear to work and certainly not one I want on me at all times. I'm glad I tested before I bought it. Given that this was for a good cause though...I went ahead and bought more Irish Coffee Buttercream instead.