My Haus of Gloi Summer Collection order arrived pretty early, and I went a little crazy with the whipped soaps. This was the last chance to get them before they return in the fall, so I wanted to stock up! Plus, they had the chance to get some rare coconut perfumes, and I had to try one. I already had a few of these perfumes from last year, and I already reviewed those and some of the pumpkin butters here.
About - Haus of Gloi is an indie bath and body company based in Oregon, and owned by Matt and Britton. They sell perfumes, scrubs, soaps, pumpkin butters, hair oils, lip balms, and a few other various products. Everything is handmade and their scents are their own original creations. They have a main line of scents that are sold year round, and then they have quarterly seasonal limited edition collections.
Shipping - My order shipped 4 days after I placed it, and arrived in 2 days via USPS 2-day Priority from Oregon to California.
Product Size - Lip balms, whipped soaps, and the coconut perfume were only available in one size. The perfumes are available in either sample or full size.
Free Samples - I received one free perfume sample with my order.
Basil & Melon - "Fresh basil and cantaloup."
I don't know what it is about this batch of lip balms, but once they're on, they all smell really waxy. And this one just smells like that, it's very off-putting.
Oregon Blueberry - "An all natural blend that is dead on blueberry!"
This one has a blueberry scent, but still has a bit of the waxiness the others have.
Peach & Coconut - "Sweet peach and warm coconut milk."
This one is probably my favorite of the bunch, it actually smells like peaches and coconut.
Pineapple Fennel - "Bright and juicy pineapple with a touch of sweet fennel."
This one might be my least favorite, it doesn't smell at all like pineapple, but just fennel. If you don't know, fennel smells a lot like licorice, and I hate licorice.
Wild Berries & Cream - "Mixed berries and cream."
This is another waxy smelling one, I don't know what happened with these. But I was quite disappointed in almost all of them.
Coconut #2 - "Light and bright: Coconut pulp co2 extration, elimi, Somalian frankincense, benzoin, and the finest vanilla co2 around."
I am not sure what I was expecting with this perfume, but it does smell a bit like the coconut right after applying. But then that takes a backseat to the frankincense which tends to dominate for an hour or two. Then the coconut returns with the vanilla, and it's more of what I was expecting this to be. You can definitely smell the quality of this scent, it's very nice. Just not quite light and bright like the description states. I find it to be a bit more heavy.
Beguiled - "Lemon cake made with the tang of fresh buttermilk and raspberry coulis - an otherwise innocent cake corrupted by cardamom and deceptive pink peppercorns."
I think I like this a bit more aged from last year than I liked it last year. It’s very fruity and sweet smelling, which isn’t usually my thing, but it’s a bit more balanced now. The lemon and raspberry are a bit more melded, and it reminds me of when you cook something but the flavors really meld after a few hours or overnight. The tanginess keeps it from being overly sweet or cloying. This is the scent being sent out as a free sample with most orders, but it should be available in the next restock.
Driftwood - "Sun bleached driftwood, dry black musk, warm sand, dune grasses and a damp oceanic breeze."
As a perfume, this smells very beachy and calming. I really like this as a perfume, it’s much different from what I usually tend to gravitate to. But I will say it is exactly the kind of scent I like in a soap. It’s soft and not exactly fresh, but just very wind blown beach smelling.
Komodo - "Mangosteen, Tahitian vanilla bean, dragons blood resin and faded tropical blooms."
This is an interesting scent, and definitely not for everyone. Mangosteen is the predominant note, but with the vanilla, florals, and dragons blood, it makes it so much more interesting. It is very fruity, so avoid that if it's not your thing. But I really like this scent, and I actually ended up with a full size of this from last year. It is being discontinued, so it is no longer available.
Narcosa - "A thick haze of tonka and black vanilla, three jasmines, tuberose and ylang ylang."
It smells very similar to the lotion on my skin, lots of vanilla and jasmine florals. I like this one as the lotion, but I think the perfume is even better. This might be the one I get full size, which isn’t surprising considering how much I love jasmine scents. It’s just very warm and cozy to me, but still light enough for summer. It reminds me of the scent of walking by a jasmine plant at night, when it’s still a bit warm outside, but there’s a light breeze carrying the scent.
Sanctum - "Muskmelon, coconut water infused with bergamot flower, kaffir lime, polished ho wood and sticky benzoin."
I mostly get cantaloupe and coconut from this perfume, it’s very fruity though. Mine is an aged version from last year, and it smells a bit deeper than I remember from last year. This probably isn’t something I would tend to wear as a perfume, it’s too fruity for my tastes.
Sol - "The sun at its apex: Dry gingergrass, litsea cubeba, neroli, frankincense tears, saffron infused honey, rosemary and the faint touch of true sweet cinnamon bark."
As a perfume, this scent smells very much like heavy lime/citrus right up front. It definitely smells “hot”, like temperature-wise, if that’s a thing, a great summer scent. This is not going to be for everyone, and I like it less as a perfume than as a whipped soap. It’s got a bit of a herbal feel as well, which might turn some people off. It’s not too strong though, which I was a bit worried about. I look at the notes and think that it’s going to a pungent perfume, but it’s actually not too bad. But it is probably my least favorite of the collection.
The Brier Path - "Sun drenched trail leading to a day dream of ripe berries and woods rose, rich forest loam, ozone, dark amber and cream."
Definitely very forward fruity, with darker woodsy notes in the background. I get a bit of the cream, and the new blackberry note they used for this makes it an awesome perfume. I love the darker fruity vibe it has, I would love wearing this in the summer or in the fall. I didn’t much care for the last year’s version of this as a pumpkin butter, it was a little too pungent for my taste, but the perfume is more mellow and balanced.
Zazz - "Tart cranberry, pink grapefruit, sparkling champagne all shook up with crushed ginger root."
My sample is from last year, and it doesn't smell as tangy and fruity as it used to. I don't think it aged well, it smells more like the ginger root now than it used to. It could also be my skin chemistry messing with it, but I don't think it smells very good. At least not like it did when I first got it. It's still very bubbly though, with the tartness of the cranberry and citrusy lightness of the grapefruit.
Driftwood - "Sun bleached driftwood, dry black musk, warm sand, dune grasses and a damp oceanic breeze."
I love the perfume of this, and the soap is awesome too. It's very woodsy, but not heavy. It's light and a bit masculine. I really like it, and it's probably one of the only scents B will use, so he will probably get this jar.
Komodo - "Mangosteen, Tahitian vanilla bean, dragons blood resin and faded tropical blooms."
As a soap, this smells much more fresh than the perfume smells. It's fruity and sweet, with a bit of floral. Very nice, one of my favorite whipped soap scents.
Sanctum - "Muskmelon, coconut water infused with bergamot flower, kaffir lime, polished ho wood and sticky benzoin."
I really like this as a whipped soap, it's definitely not my taste as a perfume, but as a soap it's perfect. I do kind of wish this was a melon and mint mix, because I love that pairing, but maybe they don't because it's overdone.
Sol - "The sun at its apex: Dry gingergrass, litsea cubeba, neroli, frankincense tears, saffron infused honey, rosemary and the faint touch of true sweet cinnamon bark."
As a soap, this still smells like limes to me, and it's very warm with a bit of a woodsy scent. It is kind of strong though, but I do like it as a whipped soap better. It does seem like a scent that might not make it through to next year though, I don't think it will be a crowd favorite.
The Brier Path - "Sun drenched trail leading to a day dream of ripe berries and woods rose, rich forest loam, ozone, dark amber and cream."
Berries and woods, that's pretty much what this smells like. I was surprised by how much I liked the perfume, but the soap is good too. The cream adds a bit of sweetness that makes this a nice scent for a whipped soap.
Zazz - "Tart cranberry, pink grapefruit, sparkling champagne all shook up with crushed ginger root."
This soap smells pretty much exactly like the perfume, very bubbly, fruity, but zingy.
Overall, I liked a lot of the summer collection, but not all of it. I thought the lip balms were a bust, but I enjoyed most of the perfumes and whipped soaps. I haven't decided for sure on full size perfume purchase plans, but I'm leaning towards Narcosa, Driftwood, and maybe The Brier Path. I did like Beguiled much more aged, so if that's your kind of scent getting a full size bottle in the restock and aging it might be the way to go. And I am glad I stocked up on whipped soaps, because I find I can appreciate almost any Haus of Gloi scent as a whipped soap. I don't know if I like the coconut perfume enough to need a full size and pay $30 for it, but luckily I split it with a friend, so it was a bit more reasonable.
Customer Service - I did not have to contact customer service regarding any problems with my order.
Availability - Quite a few of these scents and products are sold out, but everything but the whipped soaps and anything in Komodo will be restocked June 14th.
Overall Satisfaction - My favorites were Narcosa, Driftwood, and The Brier Path as perfumes. And my favorite whipped soaps were Driftwood and Komodo.
What did you think of this year's Haus of Gloi Summer Collection? Let me know in the comments!
For all other Haus of Gloi reviews, click here
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