u/DiscountLast3151

Hi friends! Seeking fragrances with a clear bee balm note. I was prepping my garden and was reminded how much I love bee balm (monarda) -- it reminds me of if oregano was sweet? I know it's often compared to bergamot, but I want this plant specifically.

The only one I've found/tried is Wild Veil's Alone With Dionysus (blackberries, black raspberries, wormwood, Vermont black spruce and fir, artemisia, bee balm, herbs) which is basically exactly what I want but has NO staying power on my skin (plus insanely pricey). Have you tried any others you'd recommend?

Thank youuuu and happy sniffing!

Excited to have finally tried all the samples in my first Haus of Gloi haul (and to utilize my immense spreadsheet notes). There were so many to choose from and it was hard to narrow down, but I think I've gotten a pretty good sense of things. TAT was pretty quick, everything was well packaged, and I have a few really good hits.

• Blackcurrant Tea: Warm black tea and bergamot, juicy blackcurrant and a touch of caramel syrup.
  • This was a freebie! The caramel syrup comes out kicking as the first note and I'm reminded of a fragrance I'm forever trying to track down that was jasmine black pearls, honey, and toasted caramel. As it dries down, it gets much spicier and tannic with a bit of dark fruit. Unfortunately, my skin ate this one right up, so while nice, probably wouldn't full size anytime soon. 3/5
• Driftwood: Sun bleached driftwood, dry black musk, warm sand, dune grasses and a damp oceanic breeze.
  • I want to love this one. I love a sandy woody fragrance. But the black musk just smells like the incense they had everywhere at Newbury Comics circa 1999. Rebrand this as a turn of the millennium nostalgia scent and I'd probably go nuts for it, but it really cuts through the softer notes. 2/5
• Elderflower Lemonade: Bright California lemons and two varieties of sweet elderflower.
  • Refreshing! The lemon is not too acidic or artificial. I wish the elderflower was a bit stronger, though I know it's a pretty ephemeral note in real life too, a formless sweetness that floats around you. My inner Swede just craves fläder! It does give a bit of fizzy effervescence, and together it's a refreshing, humid-yet-light summer scent. Kinda gets me daydreaming about outdoor showers. 4/5
• Essence of the Forest. A mysterious green brew from the wizard's tower! Ferns, moss, toadstools and a hint of caramel - all thrown together in a bubbling cauldron.
  • I changed my mind SO MANY TIMES on this one, I'm a bit dizzy. I love foraging, so was super excited for this and was expecting something autumnal. At first sniff I was ambivalent, and then with dry down the scent lightened up to something unexpected. I've convinced myself the final result is what Driftwood should have smelled like. Botanical, dry, a bit woody, a bit spa-like. I don't know what to make of it, but I don't hate it. 3/5
• Eudemonia. Warm ginger, coconut cream, Hawaiian sandalwood and a drop of blood orange.
  • You already know what I'm gonna say. I've heard the lore of this fragrance. It's not my usual profile but it's almost summer and I was intrigued. Holy wow do I love this one. Coconutty but not in a sunscreen way, warm spicy ginger and a nice sandalwood base. I didn't get much blood orange but imagine it adds some sweetness. This one seems to have a nice throw as I'd get a whiff of it throughout the work day and just smile. Dries down to mostly sandalwood, but nice and light. 5/5 just ordered a full size
• Lavender Sugar. Bulgarian lavender and a heaping spoonful of pure Muscovado sugar.
  • I don't know what I was expecting. It's a nice lavender. Smells mostly like a lavender essential oil with a slight sweetness to it. Potentially a good layering scent (maybe with the lemonade???) It's mostly on me for ordering something so simple and expecting intrigue. 3/5
• Litchi Milk Tea. Tart litchi fruit and black tea met with a splash of coconut milk.
  • Yummy! Really authentic litchi - sweet, syrupy goodness. However, authenticity in litchi means it also gets that heady, almost body odor scent toward the end. It doesn't stay that way on skin, but it did give me pause. Wouldn't want to accidentally smell like sweaty pits while thinking I smell like a nice fruity tea! 2.5/5
• Little Hedgehog. Spiky chestnuts, autumn leaves, wild mushrooms, and warm brown sugar.
  • Was super excited about chestnuts! There's a chestnut farm near my house that sells roasted chestnuts and chestnutty baked goods all autumn and it's heavenly. Have you ever had chestnut sweet potato soup? You'll ascend. However, I don't really get chestnut from this. In fact I keep smelling green pepper, even possibly jalapeno? It's not a bad spicy green scent, but it's not what I was looking for. Extra sad because I love hedgehogs. 2.5/5
• Mango Sticky Rice. Sweet mango, coconut infused rice and toasted sesame.
  • My favorite dessert! This had a nice sweet rice note that went slightly sharp on the dry down. What this one needed to really blow me away was a super juicy, luxurious mango (think Fyrinnae's Jade Dragon), and it didn't have that. This was giving candle or body care more than perfume for me, sadly. 2/5
• Milkmaid. Flushed, but demure. Fresh milk, clean linens, pale musk and pink sweet pea blossom.
  • Oh my goodness. A skin scent that my skin doesn't totally curdle! It's a nicely balanced milky light floral with a bit of super light musk and linen. Up close it gets a bit sharp at dry down with the musk, but it creates a sweet milky cloud aura around me and I feel like a heroine in a fairytale--not a princess, but a salt of the earth kinda heroine. 5/5 I already ordered a full size of this, but I also see that it's listed as limited stock. Does anybody know how well this brand keeps on the shelf? I'm tempted to get a backup but not if it's going to go off. Help a girl out!
• Plotter's Breakfast. Oaty porridge, stove smoke, kindling wood, a hint of gunpowder and a pinch of sweet pipe tobacco.
  • The smoky note in this is soooooo good. It's fresh, warm woodsmoke (maple wood I think) that captures the atmosphere of driving down a New England street in winter when people have their wood stoves going. None of the heavy smoke add-ins you sometimes get. Nicely atmospheric with light starchiness from the porridge and a bit of bite from the gunpowder. I got this to test for my husband, but I kind of want to keep it for myself when I need to be cozy. 5/5
• Ploughman: Well-worn leather, dirt n' dandelions, carrot, a pinch of tobacco and a light sheen of feral skin musk.
  • Weirdly, my entry point to this house. I remember being super fascinated reading about carrot notes a few weeks back and seeing this one recommended, so thank you whoever shared that one! This one is cool. Cold, actually. Cold, sharp, and masculine but without your usual woody/smoky/boozy notes that the super masc fragrances tend to have. Very leather forward, sharp bittersweet carrot note, rounded out by the slightly sweet dandelions and a bit of musk. I need to test this on skin more admittedly, but I do love huffing the bottle. 4.5/5
• Root Beer Barrels: Nostalgic root beer hard candy.
  • I love root beer and birch beer. I once had a $5 root beer candle from Marshalls that I treasured for ages. I like a bit of fizz in my fragrance some times, and the spicy almost wintergreen notes of an old fashioned root beer are actually a great scent note! I'd love to layer this with other autumnal scents in the fall to add a spicy effervescence to a season that can get stuck in the gourmand and smoky worlds. Would like to get a full size eventually. 4/5
• Sanctum: A welcome respite: Muskmelon, coconut water infused with bergamot flower, makrut lime, polished ho wood and sticky benzoin.
  • This one is very neat. Humid, sticky, and indulgent. Tropical fruits that evoke musky jungles instead of bright splashy beaches. Sleepy, rich, and then a nice bright lime to keep you awake. Reminds me of Thailand. I only docked a point because the scent does. not. last. on my skin and I'm salty about it. This would be a holy grail scent if I could get it to stay. 4/5
• Sparkling Crystal: Clean musk, vanilla-infused sugar, blonde woods, bright bergamot and sparkling aldehydes.
  • Was expecting a bit more sparkle and brightness from the bergamot. What I got was a light, sweet, fluffy sugar scent. Like a slightly more mature cotton candy. I'd need a little more dimension to go full size. Pretty good lasting power for something so light though. 2.5/5
• Splendiferous: White cake, lemon zest glaze and sugared violets.
  • I don't know what it is but something when you sniff this wet smells briefly of fish sauce. It goes away, but it's jarring. Dries down to a light lemon cakey fragrance, maybe angel food-y? I don't get much violet, which is unfortunate because it needed that purple note to round everything out. 2/5
• The Briar Path: Sun drenched trail leading to a daydream of ripe berries and wood rose, rich forest loam, ozone, dark amber and cream.
  • I'm so sad about this one. It just smelled like a candle to me. Mostly rose, slight bit of berry and amber. Somewhat headache-y for me. I keep wanting to try this one again and see if it's different this time, but it's like going back to the fridge when you're hungry to see that no new exciting food has appeared. 1/5
• Tonic #7: Fresh green tea, crystallized honey, spearmint, ginger root and an orange slice.
  • Yay, light sweet and refreshing! I love the spearmint note in this one so much. On dry down it leaves a citrusy honey that loves warm skin. Stays bright but smooth. Kind of reminds me of that sweet warm green smell you get when it's been a hot, sunny day, and all the plants in the meadow are cooling down around dusk. 5/5 ordered full size
• Wildflower Honey: Golden honey infused with chamomile, sweet alyssum and heather flowers.
  • I should love this. I love honey scents, and all those flowers. But it's a very cold honey, lacking the warm, golden feeling that the honey in Tonic #7 had. It's fine, but I already have Tonic #7. 3/5

WOW. Writing all that out feels a bit excessive, but at $3 per sample I treated myself to a deep dive. Happy to get some good hits from this list, and explore a bit. If you're still with me, heck yeah!

Other scents from this house I'm wondering about if you have tried them:

• Boca Chica
• Honeysuckle Lemon Curd
• Insalata Nocturna
• Lipstick & Bubblegum
• Paper Doilies
• Picaroon
• Satyr

I spent a lot of time this fall and winter exploring House of Bo. I don't see anything in here about them, so maybe they're niche rather than indie, but I don't think they're owned by a parent company. May be a bit more traditional perfume-y than our beloved indie brands but certainly more unique than the mainstream.

I was lucky enough to catch when they made free sample trios available around Black Friday as aren't usually available onsite under 10ml. I ended up getting a full size from them which came with another free sample on delivery, so have a good number to review!

Overall a good experience. Not an accessible price, this is a SPLURGE for sure. Full disclosure I received my full size as a Christmas gift that I believe was purchased during a 30% off sale, and would not usually go for something this pricey. But I would genuinely say the value is there if you can swing it. They had good sales around the holidays. These fragrances are strong, long lasting, and exciting, at least to me. TAT quite quick. Packaging is gorgeous. The full size bottle is capped with a huge, heavy stone that varies in type and color by fragrance. It came in a lovely gold and white box and has a soft carrying bag with it as well.

On to the fragrance!

• Bombon: A white floral gourmand, described as "Seductive – Fiery – Lustrous". Lychee, lily of the valley, white saffron, pink pepper, marshmallow, bergamot caramel, white birch, aged cognac, and ambergris. This one is less gourmand than I expected, a slight sweetness but mostly floral forward. White florals and light, with some boozy depth from the cognac. This is the most traditional perfume-y of the fragrances I sampled. No criticism but I don't usually go for floral-dominated scents so not my vibe for full size. 3/5
• Cosmos: A metallic gourmand, described as "Smoky – Metallic – Decadent". Praline, metallic musk accord, aged whiskey, Mexican cacao, dragon's blood, charcoal, orris concrete, smoked leather, and agarwood. WOW. This is unlike anything I typically go for but I couldn't put it down. There's a salty mineral note to the metallic that keeps it erring warm instead of the cool you usually see with metal. Just sweet enough with the praline, and then a grounded almost fizzy base of cacao, orris, and leather. The metallic musk stays strong even past dry down and hours later. This is probably the strongest perfume that I own and I use it accordingly - I often apply this one under my clothes unless I really want people to smell me coming. A friend who is particularly sensitive to fragrance did request that I not wear it when hanging with them, so keep that in mind in terms of throw and sensitivity. This is the one I ended up getting full size, I wear it for special occasions like going to the office (I usually work remote) or dressing up. 5/5
• Oro Verde: An aquatic fougère, described as "Adventurous – Watery – Green". Calabrian bergamot, cannabis, watery notes, basil, watermelon, vetiver sables, ambergris, palo santo, and tree moss. Adventurous is a good word to describe this fragrance. It's green, damp, and lush. Very summery. The notes that stand out most to me are watermelon, which smells mostly of watermelon rind than sweet flesh, the "watery notes" which smell humid like a greenhouse or a rainforest, and the cannabis, which lends a sharp almost bitter resinous note. This errs slightly bitter on dry down, but keeps the wet lushness pretty well. I really enjoy this one and would consider FS for summertime if my budget ever allowed it (holding out hope for a rare sale!). The cannabis gives me slight pause just for personal preference, but if you like a bitter cut this will do the trick. 4/5
• Casa Blanca: A woody herbal, described as "Philosophic – Impeccable – Smoky". Creamy minerals, white tea, labdanum, copal blanco, desert fig, white suede, tobacco, white oud, vanilla bourbon." This scent to me is warm and dry. It is described as Mediterranean but to me reads almost more desert-like. Reminds me of "The Dunes" by Wild Veil if you've dried that one. Not the same, but in the same world. Labdanum is an indicator of desert for me. I need to give this one a bit more attention. It came with the full size Cosmos, which I immediately started working into my rotation and this one got left behind a bit. I really like it and can't wait to bring it out for summer and get more acquainted. 4/5

They also recently released a new fragrance called Xuxu which I've been dying to try. I was able to track down a sample via Surrender to Chance, and it's on the way to me now! Will report back.

• Xuxu: A fruity floral musk, described as "Sparkling - Decadent - Spicy". Clementine peel, chili pepper, champagne, Damask rose, blackberry macaron, earl grey tea, white musk, Mexican vanilla, saffron. I'm super excited for the champagne if it's fizzy enough, and love the berry/tea combo. Slightly nervous about the rose and hope it's not overpowering as it's an iffy note for me. Same with saffron, which I love IRL but gets kind of musty attic on my skin at times. Can't wait! TBD/5

Has anyone else tried this house? Would love to hear your experiences! Especially if you've tried Espiritu or Rosario!

<3H

Hi! Totally new here, and new to the indie fragrance scene in the last year, have been shopping mainly at Sorce, Amorphous, Lovesick Witchery, and House of Bo. Recently splurged on samples from BPAL, Hexennacht, and Cirrus. Totally hooked.

ANYWAY. Just got my first order from Blood Moon Botanica and I have to shout from the rooftops about how amazing Chanterelle (Fresh fungi with notes of apricot, almond and black pepper) is. If you're into foraging mushrooms, you'll recognize the scent immediately. It blooms on the skin into a scent that's both photorealistic to a chanterelle, but also a sexy, your skin but better vibe. I wish it lasted slightly longer, but that's always been an issue with my skin. Seriously considering buying multiples and stocking up.

TAT was super fast too, I ordered on the 8th and received on the 14th.

If you're looking for something subtle but unique, this is worth a try. Always open to other suggestions of weird and unique scents that manage to be delightfully wearable as well.