Indie Weekends: Solstice Scents Autumn Collection Review

Welcome to another Indie Weekends review! I have the Solstice Scents complete Autumn Collection perfume samples and a few whipped soaps, and a body ganache to review, and when I ordered they were offering an extra free sample with order (on top of the usual one you get with every order, than can be chosen at checkout), for new customers! So I picked my two extra samples, and I noticed in my shipping notes they also noted to include an additional sample for me! So sweet of them! And look at the packaging! There were lots of pretty postcards in the box, along with all this fall themed raffia and decorations! And all my perfumes were in a plastic bag, it was a very nice presentation.

If you've never heard of Solstice Scents, they are an Indie bath and body and perfumery, that sells perfumes, whipped soap, body ganache creams, bath soaks, and their burnishing glace sprays, which are kind of like body mists or can be used as bath oils. They are based out of Florida, and offer a main collection scent line, as well as seasonal collections that can mostly be ordered all year in sample form. I got the Autumn Collection Perfume Sampler, and also two whipped soaps, and a body ganache.

My order was shipped via USPS 3 days after purchase, and arrived in 2 days from Florida to California! That is crazy fast, it was a normal First-Class package, so USPS was on top of their game I guess. At the time of ordering, Solstice Scents had a 48 hour turnaround time, Monday through Friday. That was indeed the case for my order, as I ordered on the weekend.

And look at the packaging! All the decorations in this photo were in the box, right on the top, and the perfumes were all together in the bag. It was nice, because I wasn't digging around in the box trying to make sure my samples weren't floating around in there.

And can I just say, that I love that the name is written on the label and wrapped around the vial, instead of leaving a little label tab hanging off the side like most other indie perfumes have? Because it's much easier to read the name when they're stored, and I don't have to wrap the label around the vial to store them. And I like that they are handwritten, it adds that handmade touch to them that I appreciate.

I actually placed two orders for this review, so not everything is included in one photo.

Blackburn Farmstead - "Blackberry Jam, Boysenberry Preserves, Vanilla Bean Accord, Creamy Vanilla & a Touch of Vanilla Musk"

This smells like the bad imitation blackberry scent at first, and then it starts to dissipate to reveal the vanilla. It's sickly sweet, and I can't say I like it. Luckily it doesn't have much silage, but I probably won't be wearing this. I don't like really sweet smelling perfumes.

Devil's Tongue - "Chypre, Brown Leather, Warm Tobacco, Woods & More"

This perfume comes together beautifully without smelling like leather or tobacco, but just smelling deep and dark and a little manly. After the dry down, you can definitely pick out more of the leather note, and woods, but this is just such a lovely leather and tobacco perfume. If you are into leather scents, this would be great for you! I'm really enjoying it, I keep smelling my wrist!

Foxcroft - "Ozone, Rustling Leaves, Rich Black Soil, Chimney Smoke & Woods"

I can definitely smell the ozone and soil in this one, it's kind of nails that smell after a good rain. Like really well. I really like these kinds of scents, fresh outdoorsy smells are some of my favorites. It dries down to be not very strong, almost hard to smell even up close, but it smells very fresh and clean. I really like this one, I think I could slather this all over on rainy days. 

Gehenna - "Red Musk, Dragon's Blood Resin, Burning Wood, Somalian Myrrh & Egyptian Musk"

I have to admit, when I was testing these, I kept putting this one off, but I gave in and I absolutely love it! I've always liked dragon's blood scents, but this with the musks and the burning wood smells so lovely. If you like the smell of candle stores or incense stores, you'll probably enjoy this. It reminds me of the stores in San Francisco that sell knick knacks and candles and incense, usually the ones on Haight St. This perfume smells just like that without smelling like a head shop, or too hippy-ish.

Halloween Night - "Sweet Candy Corn, Chocolate Candy Wrappers, Melty Gooey Marshmallows, Sticky Caramels & Black Jelly Beans"

Out of the bottle, I can smell the chocolate, marshmallows, and caramel, but on the skin I can get a hint of the black jelly beans. I don't like black licorice though, but it's not overpowering. It's basically a combination of all of the delicious candy (except black jelly beans, which I don't like), but it smells ok for a candy smell. It's good, but not my favorite. 

Pumpkin Spice Latte - "Sweet Pumpkin, Cinnamon, Gingerbread Whipped Cream & A Drop of Nutmeg"

This is just the perfect pumpkin spice latte scent if there ever was one, I can smell everything, the pumpkin, the cinnamon, the gingerbread whipped cream...I'm not usually one for being in line at Starbucks to get the first pumpkin spice lattes of the season, but if it tasted like this smells I might! Very impressed with this scent, I can't wait to wear this around when it gets cold enough for a sweater.


Thornwood Thicket - "Sugared Blackberries, Black Agarwood, Aloeswood, Sweet and Smokey Guaiacwood & Amber"

Now for the one I was dreading, because it smells pretty terrible in the vial, this smells like really fake smelling blackberry candy. Once it dries down though it smells more tolerable, and you get more of the other notes. There's something in there I'm smelling that's kind of spicy that I'm not sure if I like. Nope, still don't like this, it's my least favorite of the whole collection. I would not recommend this unless you are a fan of sickly sweet fruity smells.

Witch's Cottage - "Warm Baked Goods, Dried Herbs, Sweet Annie, Soft Woods & Fragrant Hearth Smoke"

All I really smell in this is the dried herbs and the hearth smoke. It definitely reminds me of what I would imagine a witch's cottage to smell like, but I don't know if I like it. It's a little too strong for my tastes.

Foxcroft Whipped Soap - "An incredible blend of ozone, rich black soil, rustling leaves and chimney smoke, Foxcroft is at once cool air coupled with firey red, orange and golden leaves, a sweet sharp green note, fertile wet dirt and a touch of woods laced with the intoxicating smoke from fireplaces burning throughout the countryside."

It mostly smells like the soil note right out of the jar. It definitely reminds me of a cool fall day right after a big rain. I thought this would be a good mellow scent for the shower, but it's kind of like a "get dirty before you get clean" scent. The whipped soap doesn't lather much, it's just more of a light cream, but it does feel very moisturizing.

Wail of the Banshee Whipped Soap - "It is heavy on the patchouli, woods and dank bog notes followed instantly by fresh rain and salty waves, smokey vetiver and finished with a hint of moss in the background.  In use, Wail of the Banshee has a woody body coupled with an aquatic note."

This is a softer watery scent, but you can still smell a little dirt in the background. I'm not really sure which note it is, possibly the moss? I thought the aquatic aspects of this would be good as a soap, a nice fresh clean scent, but it's definitely not fresh. But it's not as strong as Foxcroft.

Manor Body Ganache - "Manor is a blend of woody-vanilla musk coupled with an incredible vanilla accord and exquisite aloeswood.  The scent is sweet and rich due to the vanillas,  woody and incensey from the aloeswood."

When I first opened this jar, I smelled it and said out loud, "oh my f-ing god" because it smelled like something I wanted to eat! To me, it smells like vanilla pudding, but then once you read the notes, you can start to get some of the woodsy notes. But my first instinct was that it smelled like a vanilla food. On the skin, the aloeswood comes out more, even though I didn't know what that would smell like before getting this body butter. But it's definitely still in the same realm of "could be a food, could be dark woodsy scent." It's really hard to describe, but I think in general if you like vanilla or food scents, you will love this body ganache. 

Here is the whipped soap texture. It's very light and fluffy, but also moisturizing. It doesn't lather, but still feels luxurious.

And the body ganache texture. Much lighter than the Haus of Gloi pumpkin butters, but still very moisturizing. The scent seems to linger for a fair amount of time, but it still isn't too strong.

Cocoa Mallow - "A combination of devilishly tempting rich dark chocolate and fresh sweet marshmallows that will leave you salivating."

I picked this as my free sample with my whipped soap and body ganache order, I just wanted something decadent. I think I also asked B which he preferred, coffee marshmallow or cocoa, and he picked this one! Out of the vial, it smells like chocolate, pure and sweet. Once it dries down on the skin, you can smell more of the marshmallow. It's sweet without being cloying, but it's definitely a foodie scent, if you don't like those, steer clear. This would probably be good as a lotion as well, but I'll have to wear it for B and see what he thinks, since he picked it out without knowing!

Here were all my bonus samples, they were very generous in giving me three! They are offering new customers a second free sample with order, just note in the comments of your order that you are new and which other sample you would like. The first can be selected in the free sample drop down selection menu at checkout, just be sure to make your selection and notes after logging in to Paypal if you're paying that way. Logging in to it and then coming back to checkout will clear your sample selection and notes, if you entered any before.

Jack & The Devil - "Vanilla, tobacco, oakmoss, amber, Patchouli, pumpkin and soft spice.  Contains vanilla, tobacco and oakmoss absolute with patchouli essential oil and fragrance oils."

This is a great pumpkin scent for people who don't like over-the-top pumpkin scents. It mostly smells like vanilla and the soft pumpkin spices, I don't really get the other notes. I'm glad I picked this as a free sample, it's going to be a good scent for fall, and it's not overpowering either. Some pumpkin spice scents can be too much, but this stays close to the skin.

Kitchen (The Manor Collection) - "Pumpkin, Sugar Cookies, Peach Preserves, Spice Breads, Danishes, Caramel, Vanilla & Sweet Wood Smoke."

I put this on and smelled it before reading the notes, and I said "oh there are peaches in there" so you can definitely pick those out, but it's not sickly sweet. It's not very strong either, but I like that, this is more of a peach scent than a pumpkin scent I think, but you can definitely tell that it's got some spices in it. Almost like a peach pie with some ice cream. I am glad they decided to include this for me, I really like it!

Maine Moon (The Foxcroft Collection) - "Crisp Fall Air, Wood Smoke, Leather Seats & Concessions of Root Beer, Popcorn & Chocolate Covered Caramels."

I can definitely smell the leather, root beer, and chocolate caramels, but once they all come together, it just paints a picture of sitting in a stadium with root beer and popcorn spilled all over the floor. It reminds me a little of Halloween Night, but with the root beer and fall air added. It's not my favorite, but I can appreciate it. Oh and it dries down to be very sweet and I get more of the chocolate and caramel...yum, it's making me hungry just smelling it. 

Overall, I really liked this collection! There are a lot of foodie scents from Solstice Scents, so if you're into those, this collection is a good option for you. Also, if you like Fall scents in general, there were some really good pumpkin scents. I love the packaging, the customer service was awesome, I would definitely order from Solstice Scents again! I do wish they had more samples available, but perfume samples are some of my favorite, so I am glad you can get those, and choose which one you want free with any order. If you're a new customer, be sure to take advantage of the extra free sample, just list it in the notes section at checkout!

If you'd like to check out what else Solstice Scents has to offer, you can check out their website here. 

For all other Solstice Scents reviews, click here