Onyx

This is not yet my review of Love Potion: Red, but I'd just like to say that after layering this with Super Happy Funtime three times now (once accidentally, then twice on purpose), it smells like Super Happy Funtime on a swing. Specifically, a mellow swing. I'll save the rest of my sniffie for whenever I have a trial of Honeyed Love Potion. I need to compare the two. What I smelled in my Love Potion: Red sniffie smells like how I remember Honeyed Love Potion from a long time ago.

Okay... I got this because it sounded very foodie to me. I did a blind sniff of the trials that I received and I was not able to pick this out. I had several similar foodie/fruity trials and became very confused lol. What I thought was Odalisque w/ Bang, Bang! (2023) ended up being Flan de Coco! After over a week since receiving this (Day 10), I tried it on my arm again and on a paper towel. What I initially wrote in my notes from days ago still holds true: Orange Biscoff Cookies. 🍊 I don't know how, but this is yet another one that I could taste in the back of my throat. When I sniff this, it really reminds me of those speculoos cookies that I rarely even eat. It's like I could almost taste the crumbs! Yes, specifically the crumbs! It might be the almond note that's giving me the crumbs impression. This scent overall comes across as very similar to the caramelization in those cookies but with an added orange tang. 🍊 I asked Mr. Onyx to remember those cookies and to sniff the paper towel. He said, "It's close, but this (the scent on the paper towel) has something else." While my foodie nose is satisfied, I realized that I do not want to smell like orange biscoff cookies. 😅 They're not the usual cookies I gravitate towards. I think if they were more along the lines of Danish Butter Cookies, I might slather that. But then again, I might not want that either lol.

I did a blind sniff of this along with the others on the day that I received them. I was not able to identify this! What I thought was Katje turned out to be Love Potion: Pink Lace. It's been over a week since I've had this (Day 10) and I tried it out again today. It has a really nice peach scent! 🍑 It is very bright and has good potency. A very good one for summer! 🌞 Unfortunately, to my nose, there is a strong soapy undertone to this. I suspect it's the musk. I've read some comments where some people expressed concerns that some musks turn soapy on them. I thought then, why would soapy be a problem? I thought it would be fine since I associate soapy with clean. Now, I understand. 😭 I thought it was just on my skin, but I put this on a paper towel and I'm still getting that strong soapy taste. Yes, it's a taste for me! Whenever I smell this, I get a strong soapy peach at the back of my throat! 🧼🍑 It's less about the actual soap scent, but more like I can smell it so much that it somehow feels like I have bubbles in the back of my throat. I've tried multiple scents here that use musk, so it may just be the specific musk used here or the combination that's doing this for me. I'm sniffing the paper towel again now that it's on dry down. The soapy sensation has been reduced a little and I'm getting more of the lovely peach again! 🍑 But when I keep sniffing, it returns. 🧼 Both unfortunately and fortunately, this is not for me. It is unfortunate because since this is not the peach I'm looking for, I have to continue with my peach scent quest. 🍑🏰🤖 It is fortunate because I don't have to get a full bottle of this while 'Weenies 2023 is going on. 😆

I was reading the thread about the conception of this blend, considering safety for pets, and adding warm vanilla milk to mimic the comfort of mother's milk. My question is: would this be safe around babies? (Tagging @Potion Master or @luna65 who may be able to answer) I've also seen multiple comments here about how it's better to be cautious and minimize/avoid pheromones around the littlest ones. I'm wondering if this one is the exception.

@Eve, did you get Vessel? I ended up ordering it because it's one of the foodie ones. 😬

I got a little sniffie of this with my most recent order along with Cougar Potion and Love Potion: Red. (Thank you so much to whoever added these! 🥰🙏🏻) I mentioned in my Cougar Potion review that I did a blind sniff and was initially confused between this and Cougar Potion until I saw the notes. It seems like this has changed a lot since 2008. These were the notes according to the first post: I checked the current shoppe page for this and found: Jasmine, Sugar, Water Lily, Maple, Oakmoss, Cotton/Cotton Blossom, Ginger, Anise, Bergamot. I highlighted the ones that were similar to the older version. I am glad for the change because I am trying to avoid scents with tobacco nowadays. I might pick it up as an exception and would probably not get a full bottle unless I really like the scent. Fortunately for me, tobacco is no longer in this because I really like Cuddle Bunny!!! This was once again, such a surprise! It did not make that much of an impression on me when I first tried it. I think it was because I was more surprised by Cougar Potion's brightness. I somewhat expected Cuddle Bunny to be bright. I'm also not into florals so when I identified this as floral, I thought, okay that's nice and moved on. I put this on again yesterday and wow. I don't even know how to describe this. It's floral but ✨ more ✨. I read some comments saying it smells like laundry (I think Sneaky Clean is actually the one that does lol) but to me, this reminds me of the afterscent of this hand wash that I smell every now and then in some bathrooms. I don't know which hand wash it is, but the afterscent that lingers on my hands and wrists afterwards smells so clean and elegant. Cuddle Bunny smells exactly like that. The dry down of this smells very nice and it's pretty much the same as the start. It does eventually turn into this unisex scent on me, but that's after a long time has passed and most of the other notes have faded. I can't quite identify what it is, whether it's green or blue, woody or aquatic. Now that I'm looking at the notes, perhaps that's the oakmoss? This one also lasts a long time for me. I put this on before bed last night and woke up to it still present. I also put Cougar Potion on around the same time, but that disappeared before I woke up. I would really like this in a virgin spray. I saw that Mara made some virgin bottles before. (Ten years ago! 😱) Can this even be sprayed on the hair? I really want to spray this all over! 🤩 I am so surprised since I am not into florals but this one just works for me. ✨ Mr. Onyx also said, "This one I like," when I asked him to sniff this. I like this so much that I'm considering getting a sample of the 'Weenies 2023 version of Vampire Bunny even though I'm avoiding tobacco! Once again, I am so grateful for the sniffie! 🥰 I'm happy to have found something I really like that's part of the permanent collection.

I got a sniffie of this along with my latest order so I got the opportunity to try it. (Thank you so much to whoever put that in there! 🥰🙏🏻) On the day I got my latest package (Day 0), I did not wait and did a blind sniff for Cougar Potion, Love Potion: Red, and Cuddle Bunny. I could immediately tell which one was Love Potion: Red. I couldn't decide between Cougar Potion and Cuddle Bunny because they both smelled so fresh! I went to go look at their notes and from there I was able to distinguish that Cougar Potion is more fruity and Cuddle Bunny is more floral. I thought Cougar Potion would be rich and resinous. I was surprised that this has such a bright vibe! This does not seem to last long for me, but I wore it out today to try it out some more. I was initially thinking something smells somewhat musky, but I don't know if it's the amber or the musk that's giving me that impression. I know if someone's reading this you might say, well you said musky so it must be the musk? I also have a trial of Sugared Amber though and that one is coming out somewhat musky on me. I have yet to do a review of that and I think I need several days of testing to really figure that one out. Going back to this, I know it says grapefruit, but I'm getting guava. I thought it might be the musk/amber that's giving me that impression, but it might actually be the sugar. What gave me that idea is this: Fruit Refreshers® Red Grapefruit in Guava Flavored Slightly Sweetened Fruit Water. I've eaten that before and the combination of sugar and grapefruit might be giving me a guava impression due to the association. I'm also used to grapefruit by itself being more on the bitter and tart side, so it must be why sugared, musky grapefruit is giving me guava. It might also just be my skin. I put some of this on a paper towel and as I'm sniffing it now, I'm getting sweet, sweet grapefruit or slight guava. It's like one of those pictures where you change your perspective and you see a different image. I think I actually kind of like how it comes off as guava on my skin. It's not something I ever considered smelling like, but I'm starting to like it more and more. I don't know why I get this impression, but I think this scent would be even better with some more body heat and maybe some sweat. I'm really grateful I got a sniffie of this. Cougar Potion was not on my radar at all and I would not have picked up a sample. I am glad this is part of the permanent collection because I am very interested in a full size of this! I am currently primarily focusing on fragrances with just the scents though, so hopefully, whenever there's a virgin bottle of this available, I'll be able to snag one.

I looked up the notes for Pink Pumpkin Witch and that must have been good! 🎃🧙🏻‍♀️ I can relate to the excitement and trying to tone it down! I already have a list of samples I wanted to get before these came out, but now I might need to rethink these to stay within a reasonable budget and get all the samples I'm interested in. 💡 Yes, it's quite eerie! 💀 I'm hoping I won't be interested in the notes! 😬😝

I was attracted to the label of Supra but now even more so because it sounds very foodie! 😍 @Femmefatale it might be this one: Sparkle Fuchsia. ✨ I am not usually into pumpkins due to avoiding them from the usual heavy candle scents that I encounter, but I am interested in sampling all these pumpkins! 🎃🎃🎃💖💖💖

The labels are beautiful! One of them is so eerie! 💀 I’m looking forward to the notes so that I can put in my order. 🎃😊

It was around the time when I wrote the above review that I sprayed these three on separate pieces of paper towel: Phero-Charged Money Potion (2023), Super Happy Funtime, and Rubylicious. Interestingly, Money Potion, which faded the fastest on my skin, lasted the longest on the paper towel. I discarded the pieces now, but I think it might have been sometime between 3 and 7 days that it lasted. It was still detectable when I discarded the paper towel.

I expected this to smell bright and open due to the label image of cute Ruby. This oftentimes has a smoky quality to me. It's not quite smoke, but more smoky and closed... somewhat cozy. It was most apparent when I tried it on Day 0. I don't know which note is giving me that impression. It might be the vanilla or the milk/butter/cream. It's a similar smokiness I get from Super Happy Funtime. Now that I am comparing their notes, it might actually be something in the sugar or strawberry notes. It's been almost 3 weeks (Day 20) since I received my package with the Rubylicious trial vial and the scent itself has stayed the same for the most part. Sometimes, I don't get much of the smokiness and get more of the brightness, like when I layered this with something that smells open like Phero-Charged Money Potion (2023). It also gave the Money Potion more lasting power because this stays on longer for me. If anyone else has both, please try this combination! I know this was a summer release, but it smells like a winter strawberry to me. ❄🍓 The strawberry I get from this is not like a fresh, ripe strawberry. It does not have that slight sourness you'd find in one. It's more along the lines of strawberry-flavoured/scented something. It reminds me of a strawberry-flavoured lip balm, but it's not exactly that either. I have one that has more sourness than this. I think the other notes might be rounding out the strawberry and neutralizing the acidity. To me, this gives the impression of a strawberry kiss shaped like a cherry. 🍓🍒 I'm not sure if I'm into strawberry scents, but I'm considering getting this for layering. I'm waiting to see the scents coming out for 'Weenies 2023 though. I hope to see this kind of formulation for other fruits, like orange, lemon, or cherry. 🍊🍋🍒

It could also be one of those things where the "off" notes, whether from the perfume itself or from the reaction with our own chemistry, make the fragrance work when smelled as a whole. We're here trying to detect the notes and form our impressions. 🧐 To someone else, it might just smell delicious. 😊

Soul Cakes is really, really delicious. When wet, it gives me a slightly boozy vibe in the very beginning, which I think is due to the maple and raisin/grape. It could also be slightly from the nutmeg. Maple can sometimes be bitter to me, and this is very mapley 🍁🍁🍁, but I think the other notes like the milk/butter/cream, oats, egg, and vanilla give it enough body to give the impression of a dessert and not just smell like straight-up maple. I've been comparing this to Creme Cake a lot since Mara kindly suggested and gave me Creme Cake (2021). To me, they both give the impression of cakes with pleasantly-spiced frostings. It depends on the potency you'd prefer (Creme Cake is lighter and Soul Cakes is stronger) and which frosting you are feeling: whether you'd like something leaning more towards coconut cream and cinnamon (Creme Cake) or more maple and raisin (Soul Cakes). In terms of cake impressions, Soul Cakes, especially in its dry down, gives me more of a cake feel. Creme Cake dries down oily instead of creamy to me. This one works best by itself. It's so potent and whole that it's eaten what I've tried layering with it so far. I am interested in getting a full bottle of this, but what's stopping me, aside from it being unavailable (which is quite significant lol), is that sometimes after the dry down, it smells somewhat, sour? If you can still recall, was it similar for you, @Femmefatale? I'm not against sour, but it's somewhat strange to me after smelling its sweet, dessert deliciousness to get that kind of dry down. It's also somewhat interesting that Creme Cake, which actually starts out a bit sourer on me (in comparison to Soul Cakes) due to the coconut cream and its oiliness, dries more sweetly. I did not mention it in the Creme Cake thread, but when I received Flan de Coco 🍮, I started adding a patch of that whenever I tried Creme Cake and Soul Cakes. That one is the one I gravitated towards the most and it went way up on my list. I've yet to review that one, but I'm mentioning it here in case someone reading this enjoys Creme Cake and Soul Cakes and is looking for something similarly foodie and delicious.

On Day 0 for me, Creme Cake (2021) was strong and I did not like it. Something did not agree with me and I actually felt somewhat sick when I smelled it. When Mara suggested this to me because I missed out on Fairy Cake: Oatmeal, I was initially worried about the cinnamon. It's there in a well-blended way that gives this more depth and does not smell like an Autumn candle. 🍂🕯 I think what I actually had an issue with was the coconut cream. I left it alone and kept trying it every once in a while. This mellowed out more and more each day. I started to truly appreciate how Mara blends fragrances because it really changed after resting, until one day, it just became delicious. Now it smells like a nice and comforting creamy cake with sweet frosting. The overall feel is oily and sheer. I have to compare this to Soul Cakes because although their notes are different, I kept wondering when I was checking out their review threads before, how are they different? They are both cakes. I usually try them out one on each wrist. In terms of potency, Soul Cakes is stronger. When I have them both on my wrists, I smell a delicious, dessert sweetness when I'm out and about, but I know I'm smelling Soul Cakes because it has more sillage. It also gives me a slightly boozy vibe in the beginning. I think I get that from its very forward maple and the raisin/grape. It's been over 2 weeks (Day 19) since I received my package and I have this on again on my left wrist with Soul Cakes on my right wrist. I put on Soul Cakes first, but that one is still staying strong. Creme Cake is now very mild and seems to have faded, but I can still smell it when I get up close. As a scent by itself, I prefer Soul Cakes. However, together with other scents, Creme Cake works better. I tried layering Soul Cakes with Black Panther and Soul Cakes just overwhelmed it. I have Black Panther now underneath a layer of Creme Cake and the vibe I'm getting from it is that Black Panther transformed into a woman with oily, sexy skin. I also have a patch that I layered with The Cream Mother and it mellowed out the cardamom note for me. This could be nice for layering if the scent lasts well on your skin. I'm considering getting the 2022 version, Torta de Crema, because it's still available and I would really like something creamy and/or cakey for layering. What's holding me back though is this fades quite quickly on my skin. I actually reapplied Creme Cake to the patches of Black Panther and The Cream Mother on my arm just now because it faded so quickly even though it hasn't been an hour yet. I would like the scent to last longer so it can continue mellowing out and giving a creamy vibe to whatever I layer it with, but I find that the scent disappears and I'm just left with the impression of oil. 🪔

Okay, I have an unfortunate experience with this one. I'll be going off my memory instead of a fresh sniff. I remember on Day 0 when I tried this along with everything else I ordered, it didn't leave much of an impression on me. It could be because I did blind sniffs (I was trying to guess which sample I was trying based on the notes and what I could smell) and it might have been beside some stronger ones. It just smelled fruity to me and I was somewhat confused between this and Super Happy Funtime even though they are very different. That one has a very strong blueberry note though, and it was quite smoky especially before it rested, so I was able to distinguish between the two eventually, but I didn't quite get the clementine on this one yet. I waited a few more days before trying it again. It might have been sometime between Days 4 and 9 of receiving my package that I revisited this. I put it on my arm and smelled something like orange cake or sponge cake with orange frosting. I checked the notes to compare with what I smelled. I don't think I could pick out the smell of lemon, strawberry, and coconut separately, but the combination of those with the milk/butter/cream, sugar, amber, and vanilla notes must be giving that cake accord! Ugh, it was delicious!!! 🍊🍰 I wanted a full bottle! 🤩 It's sold out! 😦 Disappointment! 😞 This is something I would have liked getting just the fragrance itself. I can imagine just slathering this with a spray. I actually did slather it that day and enjoyed its deliciousness on my arms. I accidentally put too much on and got some on the label too. I put it back in the box where I keep my other fragrances and the delicious orange cake goodness wafting from the fragrant label could be detected for the rest of the day! 🍊🍰🌬👃🏻 I decided to wait a few more days before trying this again and doing a review along with longevity. I also wanted to check if trying it on another day will wow me again. However, yesterday, I could not find my trial vial anymore. I was quite confident that our couch simply ate it due to its yumminess, but Mr. Onyx and I looked underneath it and also around the coffee table but we just could not find it. It disappeared! 😦 Hence, my unfortunate experience. I am not that sad though because this seems to have returned, and if it may be a while before it makes a reappearance, it seems there are other orange cake-type scents that are made every now and then. I'm looking forward to seeing this again or perhaps something similar to this! 🍊🍰✨

That's so interesting, @Amanda! I did have monoï oil underneath as my post-wash moisturiser when I tried it. (Thank you so much for mentioning that, by the way!) I wonder if that affected my results. You mentioning the word purpose reminded me of the books: Man's Search for Meaning and The Purpose Driven Life. I've recently been meaning to get back into reading books that are not digital. I'm looking forward to experimenting to see which scents might go well with the books I read, or perhaps just something to smell while I am reading.

When I tried this on Day 0, it smelled somewhat smoky to me and very similar to a cotton candy accord from a different fragrance I smelled recently. I left it alone for a while and tried it again with Super Happy Funtime on Day 14. That one is more potent and has more sillage. It is currently my top contender for ✨ Best Fragrance While Changing Diapers (2023) ✨. 👶🏻🧷👌🏻😆 Going back to this fragrance, I no longer smell smokiness. While wet, I can distinctly smell the melon. It says watermelon in the description, but I'm getting more of a cantaloupe scent. It is reminiscent of a melon ball salad like what @RosesArePink mentioned. I decided to compare this to the Phero-Charged Money Potion (2023) due to the similarities in melon scent. Cotton Candy Clouds smelled simpler and subtler, while the Money Potion smelled brighter and stronger. During the dry down, I get the wonderful cotton candy scent. I don't know how the combination of melons, milk, butter, cream, and amber resulted in that scent, but it's sooo good! I was huffing my wrists and arms during bedtime because I enjoyed the scent so much! Unfortunately, this fades way too fast on my skin. It significantly faded to perhaps only 10-30% of its strength after 20 minutes. I could still smell it, but I had to really get in there. I reapplied after 3.3 hours so that I could enjoy its scent again. I enjoy this the most around 5-15 minutes after application. If this lasted longer on me and had more throw, I might have seriously considered getting a full bottle. My search for my favourite Cotton Candy scent continues...

I hope that lifts you up, @Amanda! By the way, if I may, what I've found that can help is rediscovering something that you've previously not thought much of. It could be an activity, a connection, or even a trial/scent that you put aside because it's not for you. For the scent piece, I find it quite refreshing to go back to something and find that it gives me joy now! 😊

I thought I would just come in here and say that blueberry is not for me. When I tried this on Day 0, and every other time I've tried it since then, this was primarily smoky blueberry on me. I could detect the sugar from the sweetness, but I couldn't isolate the other notes. I also applied this on a paper towel around Day 9 along with Phero-Charged Money Potion (2023) and Rubylicious. How it smelled on my skin was the same as on the paper towel. This is not the same smell as when you sniff a natural blueberry or bite into one. It's the type of scent I remember smelling from a blueberry candle I sniffed at Bath & Body Works. It was a very sweet, artificial blueberry. The difference is, this fragrance somehow smelled elegant due to the smoky quality that I was getting. Speaking of Bath & Body Works, the vibe of this reminds me of their Black Cherry Merlot. To me, they're both evocative of dark, elegant berries. I used to enjoy that type of scent a couple of years ago, but I'm in a different phase now. If I were just going by the names, this is what I would have picked for a Money Potion: a dark, elegant, yet fruity and uplifting scent to wear before you swim with the sharks at work. I thought it was a fine scent by itself but it just wasn't for me. I resolved to perhaps give away my sample later on. Today is two weeks later (Day 14) since I received my package, and I tried a little drop of this again to remind myself of how it smells for writing my review. I thought wait, do I like this now? I put on some more and actually enjoyed it! It does have pretty good sillage even from a small amount. I did not originally enjoy that aspect because I thought it was too strong for a scent I did not really care for. Let me tell you though, that good sillage helped me during a diaper change. Its scent wafting from my right arm felt like a fresh, blueberry-scented breeze. 🔵💨🎐🌬👶🏻🧷😆 I also had Cotton Candy Clouds on my left arm and that one just cheered me on from a safe distance. I can see how this is easy to overdo, @Artemis. I just have the trial, but I put this all over my arms and above my clavicle before heading out. Mr. Onyx thought it smelled plasticky, but after I just put on a modest amount, he sniffed it on my wrist and said that it reminded him of a spiced fruit candle. I am also now getting some tartness (jammy) and some of the pinkness from its description. This truly did age well and I am looking forward to future reviews from those whose samples or bottles will age even more. I don't think this is a full bottle for me, but I am going to enjoy the rest of my trial. By the way, I accidentally layered this on top of some Love Potion: Red and it smells interesting. I think I need to try that out again later.

It's like that for me too with some unlit candles! The throw is unreal! Thank you for your review, @RosesArePink! I share similar concerns with some strong fragrances. It's okay if they're just trials because that's what trials are for, but for the ones that I got full bottles unsniffed, I get very relieved when they start to mellow down. 😌

Anticipating the 'Weenies! 👀🍂🍁

@Amanda, I am sorry you are going through that. ☹️ I am glad that this fragrance gives you some comfort. Thank you also for this fragrance; I have enjoyed it immensely. ❤️ Speaking of, I received the seaweed oil vial yesterday. I opened it just to sniff and, oh wow, salt of the sea!!! 😱🌊 I was not sure whether I actually wanted to put it on my skin. 😅 I decided to go for it. 🧜🏻‍♀️ I applied Beach Sol on both of my wrists and arms. I put a little seaweed oil on my left one. I could smell it quite strongly while it was wet, but then, it started melding into my skin and the scent somehow smelled like a more noticeable Beach Sol. So, I put more seaweed!!! 🧜🏻‍♀️🧜🏻‍♀️🧜🏻‍♀️ After the initial wet smell, once again, it enhanced the smell of Beach Sol. I could smell it more on my left wrist than on my right wrist where there was no seaweed oil. It also seemed to make it last longer. I woke up to my left wrist still having remnants of Beach Sol while my right wrist did not have it anymore. I have other scents I'm still in the process of trying, but I would like to go back to this again and repeat the seaweed experiment. 🧜🏻‍♂️

Is this more of a foodie scent? By the way, @july_girl, you chose such beautiful pictures for your labels!

Thank you, @RosesArePink and @Kayla! I am very curious about this but I am wary about the lavender and the spices. It's good to know this is sweet! The typical Autumn spice blend (usually in candles) can oftentimes be too strong for me. I'm considering whether to get this, either the Private Edition or the 'Weenies version.