Arcana – Dollparts Collection 2017 Review

Hi ya’ll! I hate being one of those bloggers but I must apologize for my absence, two weeks ago I got a job as a Studio Manager for a Wedding Photography company here in LA and I’ve just been swamped.  I have a lot to learn at my new job in order to be ready for the busyness that is wedding season, so unfortunately that means posting less on my blog until I can get a good balance between PacificRedhead and my work duties. I hope ya’ll understand. :]

With all that said, I have a new Arcana review for you today! These babies have been aging since I received them February 23rd.  Before I get into the reviews I want to talk about how amazing Julia of Arcana is, really amazing doesn’t even cover it.  I ordered 4 bottles, 2 for myself and 2 as a gift for a friend, which was perfect because I was able to get the gift with purchase scent YLIAMMTLL (look below for the long and poetic name).

A few days after I placed my order Julia messaged me on Facebook letting me know that Strawberries Crave Pie, one of the scents I got for my friend, had oversold.  She asked me how I wanted to proceed and gave me a few options, she could either refund me or she could track down a bottle.  I asked her if she wouldn’t mind tracking down a bottle, since it was a gift.  She generously offered while she tracked down a bottle to send me a extra bottle of perfume (I chose Snug, a perfume I’d been wanting for a while), I gave her a few options and totally forgot about it.  3 days later she messaged me again letting me know that she made an entirely new fresh batch of Strawberries Crave Pie, honestly I was floored and amazed.  I’ve always been incredibly lucky with customer service from all my favorite indie perfumers but this was above and beyond to me.  She let me know on the 19th that my order had shipped and to keep a look out for it shortly.  Thankfully, as you know I’m in CA and Arcana is out of Oregon so we aren’t to far apart.

I mentioned earlier I got my package on February 23rd and to my surprise not only was Snug in my package but was was Carvel’s Ring & The Hooded Lady.  Julia truly made my day.  Of course I had to message her on Facebook and let her know just how grateful I was for the extras.

Before we get to the reviews I have some exciting other news. Firstly, I’ll be doing a interview with Julia in the next few weeks, it’ll be conversation style than my past interviews.  Second, I’m going to be doing a giveaway with a 15ml Arcana perfume and some other amazing Indie Companies such as; Villainess Soaps, Twisted Wonderland, Epically Epic Soap, Cosmic Cleanse Scentsations and a few extras from my personal collection.  I’ll be setting up a Rafflecopter giveaway and post all about it in the coming weeks.  Keep an eye out on my Instagram and Facebook page for details. 

On to the reviews! 😀

Glowing Pearl Atmospheric woodsmoke eddies softly around labdanum absolute, pearlescent musk, coconut milk, and bittersweet chocolate.

In bottle, GP smells like a tootsie roll, something musky & a little like incense.  It’s an interesting chocolate perfume, in that it actually comes across as more than one note.  I often find that chocolate overwhelms other notes in perfume and that is usually all I can detect.  As it settles on my skin something smoky and a little musky comes out and intertwines with the light milk chocolate.  It has a creamy quality but different from the typical Arcana milk note, it doesn’t go rotten on my skin thankfully.  I’d have been super sad if it did.  I think this one will smell even more amazing after a few months of aging.  I think this one, Snug & MoAs are my favorites from this batch of Arcana’s.

This one hugs a little closer to my skin but it did last on my skin for a good 6 hours.

You lie in all my many thoughts, like Light (YLIAMMTLL) The scent of succor from a cup of black English tea with warm bread, blood oranges, tangerines, clementines, ripe apricots, and a glowing sunrise

In bottle, it’s bright citrus, fresh bread and a big ol’ cup of tea with lemon.  I can envision a scene with this scent. A table filled with different citrus and fruit jams, fresh baked date bread and black tea with lemon.  It settles on my skin into a bright tea scent.  I really like it.  It is totally different than what I normally wear but the tea is just so accurate! I don’t think I’ve smelled another tea perfume that smells quite as real as this.

The Hooded Lady Arcana’s Smoked Vanilla with sweet, fresh peach, linden, jammy fir absolute, and a tiny tingle of spearmint blossom.

In bottle, I’ll be honest I really don’t like it.  It is kind of off putting and I think it is the spearmint that is throwing me off, I kind of hate mint scents. I can’t get passed anything else other than the mint.  On my skin it is minty trees. I find these notes so overwhelming that it is hard to get a sense of anything else.

Even as it dries on my skin it is still just mint. It is kind of like a weird minty wet cucumber.  I just I can’t.  I had to scrub this off.

This one is going into the destash pile for me.

Carvel’s Ring Vanilla-infused candy floss, sugared violets, blackberry jawbreakers, Tuscan grapefruit, and green musk. 

In bottle, Carvel’s Ring is grapefruit cotton-candy with a little kick of something sweet and green. It honestly smells like a peach ring candy. The grapefruit isn’t dark or bitter and actually comes across more peachy.  The violets give it a little soapiness but that doesn’t really turn me off.

I happen to be working on this review with my husband and friend Alina in the same room so I asked their thoughts as well;

Husband says, It reminds me of a soap or shave soap his dad had as a kid.  He says it isn’t a bad and that he really likes the scent and thinks that it is well blended.

Alina says, it is sweet, fruity and reminds her of a BBW spray she had as a teen.

I always find it interesting how everyones nose picks up something different.  This is a fairly light scent on me and about an hour into wearing settles down to this super delicate vanilla and fruity scent.

Snug dark honey amber, marshmallow, and the glow of beeswax candles.

Snug in bottle is glorious rich & seductive amber with a rounded out sweetness. My skin brings out a waxy honey scent that mixes really well with the richness of the amber.  The longer it is on my skin the more of a incense and lightly floral but not REALLY floral tone emerges.  I assure you I’m not exaggerating when I tell you the second I tried this it instantly became one of my top 10 Arcana scents.

Snug is like being wrapped in a big comfy warm blanket in front of a fire and watching the snow fall outside and your room glitters from candle light.

Mother of All Souls Three dark, decadent vanillas entwine around white chocolate, a small sip of rum, and one drop of French cognac.

Booze, booze, booze.  I feel like MoAs is if 3 Finger Ballet and Witches Draw Down the Moon got drunk, had sloppy perfume sex and made a baby.  It’s richly vanilla and a little bit smoky but not smoky in the same way as say The Kraken.  It has a similar baked goods note to Vanilla Craves Bread but without the yeasty bread quality.  MoAs is a gourmand taken to the next level. In bottle, MoAs is more lightly boozy with a little sweetness, my skin brings out almost a honey/maple syrup quality with a spiked eggnog sort of twist.

Husband says, “It smells like urethane on wood.” I’ll just say my husband has the weirdest nose ever.

My friend Max says, “It smells like Vanilla.”

This is STRONG on my skin and definitely wafts around me.  As it settles it becomes a lightly cinnamon, bakery, vanilla scent.