Baby’s First Political Campaign

[Seajewel]

A scent of triumph and connection: French lavender, warm ambrette seed, wildflower honey, and orange zest.

[Casablanca]

A surprisingly potent, sweet lavender, mingling in the first phase with orange. It's a little sugared, somehow -- like sugar cookies, sans cookies. It's also a little powdery in a white musk way. This sweet, almost sugary lavender and orange combine to remind me of Pere Noel.

 

Behind these is a smooth, warm ambrette, a more mature element. I get only hints of the wildflowers, though some of the sugary impression I'm getting might be arising from the honey. I don't really notice honey on its own much here.

 

I'll enjoy this decant.

[marared]

In the bottle: licorice, for some reason. I knew I didn't order a licorice scent, so I waited a minute and sniffed again, and ... licorice. I think it's the ambrette seed plus the lavender. Once I put it on my skin it doesn't smell so much like licorice - it's a low-key floral lavender with a mildly sharp musky bite to it. I don't get any of the honey, but I think I do get the zest - only the barest hint of citrus, and it's just slightly bitter.

 

ETA: Six weeks later, I get crayola crayons. WHAT EVEN IS THIS. So weird.

Edited January 24, 2022 by marared

[Tamarinda]

In the Imp: pure lavender 

 

Wet: Sweet lavender with... something else.

 

Early Dry Stage: Sweet lavender and a slightly creamy honey scent and just a dash of something citrusy. 

 

Dry: Weirdly enough, the lavender disappears mostly and I'm left with a vaguely lotion type scent that I think is the ambrette sweetened with honey. 

 

This decant is only two days old so it might need more time to settle before it's personality really comes out. As of now, it's an inoffensive smell with a low throw. It's only been an hour so I'm not sure what the wear time looks like. Will update on next test.

[torischroeder9]

In the decant: Very lavender, almost soapy. 

 

On my skin:

 

Wet, orange zest comes out right away, followed by beautiful musky ambrette seed. I don't always love ambrette seed, but this particular phase of it is absolutely stunning. As it dries, the ambrette becomes the star of the show. I get warmth rather than sweetness, and nothing I can identify as lavender, wildflower honey, or orange zest, but I. Do. Not. Care. This is amazing. 

 

After a while, a touch of honey comes out to sweeten this, which is still pretty great, and the change is subtle. I want to say this dials back to be more of a skin scent, but I still get whiffs of ambrette seed in the throw, so that's not quite right, either. 

 

I got this decant mostly for the title, so I wasn't actually expecting to be wowed by it, but this might be bottle worthy on me. It's sophisticated and warm without being overly sweet or sharp. 

[zankoku_zen]

Lavender, honey, and musky ambrette seed. Good throw and wear length.

[theredkilt]

Strong burst of herbal lavender with some lipstick-like waxy touches. Little by little it turns musky. There's some really really faint sweetness in the background. Overall while the lavender becomes breezy and the ambrette seed asserts itself. I still get no sweetness out if it.

[groovyrooby]

I've been on an orange kick lately and was very intrigued how it might work with lavender. But maybe I don't know ambrette seed very well.

 

The orange was oddly sedate here, almost waxed over. This has a warm glowing feel to it, but almost watered down or smothered. Not orange juice but orange drink. And either the honey or the ambrette seed gave this a waxy feel. The overall effect was like the smell of a hot oil treatment. Polished and sophisticated, but not perfumey. A whiff of salon hair product. 

[doomsday_disco]

Take 2008: Sugar Phoenix, replace the sugar with honey, and the grapefruit with orange, and you get Baby's First Political Campaign. 

 

This is mostly about the honey-sweetened French lavender and orange on me, and I'm here for it! The ambrette seed provides some musky warmth in the background.

 

As someone who loves lavender and citrus scents, and whose back-up bottle of 2008: Sugar Phoenix ended up breaking in their bag when they were forced to come into the office this summer (it was in a rollerball, which obviously did not end up being a safer travel option), I'm happy to have a bottle of this one!  

[LavenderCoffee]

I snagged this at the last minute on the off chance it would be anywhere in the neighborhood of Beeswax, Lavender, and Acacia Honey. I know this is wildflower and not acacia honey, and beeswax is not present, AND honey in general does not always agree with me, so it was a stretch!

 

Maybe it's wishful thinking, but I do get an echo of the booming golden sweetness in the aforementioned mènage from the honey at the center of this scent, and I'm tempted to layer it with other beeswax or honey blends for science. The orange is quite subtle on my skin, adding brightness, and the lavender is a very cheerful herbal skewing sweet rather than sharp. It's a delight, and I'm glad I got to check it out.