A few months ago perfumer Sixteen92 announced that they were going to be hosting a Resurrection event in which older and rare past collection perfumes were going to be brought back for a limited time. I took it as an opportunity to pick up a few that I had either missed previously or had bought and sold for one reason or another. I got mine fairly early and have had them resting from their travels for a bit now and thought now would be a great time to review each fragrance.
Gothic Lolita: Night-blooming flowers, temple incense, sandalwood, peach nectar, apricot.
Gothic Lolita is the darker sister to Sixteen92’s very popular fragrance Lolita which is very light, girly and floral/fruity. Traditional Lolita isn’t my type of fragrance so when Gothic Lolita was announced I knew she had to be mine. It is as you would expect from the name rather headshop-esque at first but don’t let that fool you it tones down to dark florals, think jasmine, mingling with sweet fruits. I get more peach than apricot but it is nice. The sandalwood balances out the sweet fruits really well and I’ve left with a sweet, sandalwood, and peach perfume that just smells wonderful on my skin chemistry.
The Masquerade Party Spiced pumpkin cake filled with toasted pecans and topped with maple buttercream
They smell like the perfect pumpkin roll baked treat. Spicy pumpkin layer with sweet true maple mingles with the richness of buttercream. I get a slightly nutty backing note from the toasted pecans but it isn’t overwhelming. This is as good as a gourmand gets right here. I love it.
Helsing Smoky Lapsang Souchong tea, dragon’s blood, cedarwood, fir balsam, leather, saffron, chai spice accord
I know I say this often but it is another one of those smells that reminds me of my in-laws house. When my husband and I first started dating we drove 16 hours to PA to visit his brother and sister in law and our niece. During our trip in the woods of PA surrounded by the scent of trees, snow and inviting leather from the house, his brother made us fresh ground chai tea. This perfume is that with added smoke and resin from the Lapsang tea and from the dragon’s blood. It is one of my absolute favorites from Sixteen92. I bought this separate from the Resurrection event but when she first relisted them, I’d just woken up and saw the post on Facebook and half asleep read the notes and purchased it. I’m glad half-asleep me thought this sounded good because it is wonderful.
Baker Street Earl Grey tea, dark aged vanilla, sweet tobacco, mahogany chairs, dusty leather-bound books, and a drop of blackest musk.
Initially a lot of leather, softens into vanilla musk and wood. After settling/aging for a few weeks, the earl grey comes through in the opening pretty strongly, drydown is still woody vanilla with musk, slightly more soft. My skin amps up the dark aged vanilla and tobacco. It is pretty much how I imagine Sherlock Holmes would smell.
Talia: Vanilla, soft musk, moss, fern, and stone.
It is a soft, green, musky vanilla. It has an undercurrent of moss and stone. The stone plays as slightly wet smelling. That musky after it has just rained smell and everything smells really green, the sun is slightly shining, and the stones in garden are drying off but still have the mossy wet smell. The vanilla acts as a slightly sweet anchor without overwhelming the other notes. It hugs fairly close to your skin making Talia a pretty good option for work.
Thanks for reading! <3 – K
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