u/chicken_tendor

From their FB:

>It's with a heavy heart that I announce that Vintner's Reserve will be shutting it's doors. As the sole owner and operator, I am relocating for work, and unfortunately will not have the space to bring the business as well. The shop will be open for orders through June 5th, and all orders will be filled at that time. All collections are available for purchase on the website, and to clear out extra stock, mystery boxes have been discounted an additional 20%. I want to thank you all for a wonderful nine years.

Subtitle: That I've Been Meaning to Review For Months 😅

Hello hello. I've been sitting on these since like.... January? Life was lifeing. On the upside, I've now forgotten the notes!

Some of these are from their Winter catalog which is not currently available but will return because they are a no FOMO house! They are UK based but they ship to pretty much anywhere as far as I can tell from their site. Great TAT, nice packaging. They always send cool art cards with your sample selections notes printed on the back which is very cool imo.

Anyways, here's me trying to parse out what I'm smelling, vaguely in order from ones I enjoyed the most to ones I was eh on:

🍞 Hobgoblin: Buttered bread. Like holy cow that is crazy realistic. Maybe honey butter, but like brown bread with oats on it, rich and warm and slathered with butter. Wow that is kind of phenomenal. I've been wearing it to bed because it's so cozy haha.

(Notes: Warm, buttered bread, lightly spiced, honeyed oatmeal, and a wooden bowl of vanilla cream.)

💄Vestige of Yearning: This reminds me of BPAL Jiroft Red but less challenging. A floral cosmetic scent. But where Jiroft was a whole vintage makeup cabinet, Vestige is a single tube of Estée Lauder Winter Rose found in the dry earth. An archeological dig of vintage lipstick. Pretty and femme with a nice earthy twist. I honestly thought this would have more notes in common but iris at least makes sense.

(Notes: A hot cup of earl grey tea enjoyed among blooming irises and lavender, the scents of freshly turned earth and church incense wafting through the air.)

🌞 Glimmer & Blossom: Warm honeyed florals. This might be the most user friendly honey I've encountered. It's a light honey glaze, not confrontational at all. It's like smelling a sunbeam. Golden and soft. I think there was gorse in this, I know one had it, and this has a softly coconutty vibe without being sunscreen. Looking at the notes, I can't separate out the acacia here and the daffodil is not indolic at all. 

(Notes: A garland of gorse, acacia and daffodil, golden amber, wildflower honey and tangy red mandarin.)

🐈‍⬛ Woodward Cat: Woodsmoke and fireplace ashes. No wait. Leather. Maybe both, but definitely leather.  This smells like a great scent for cosplaying Geralt or Aragon, tbh. Rough leather and a sort of outdoorsy scent without being mens soap. This is really nice actually, I didn't love the opening but the dry down is 🤌.

(Notes: A forest floor littered with dry leaves and fresh pine needles, birch wood and soft dry hay envelop a core of russian leather and hints of warm ginger.) Actually this one might be above the previous two the more I wear it lol.

📔 Lady Palimpsest: I don't... think this was a book scent. Maybe it's the name but I swear this smells like parchment. Maybe a hint of floral, like finding pressed petals in an old book. So, no idea why but this smells like a dusty book scent, despite the fresh floral notes.

(Notes: A heart of powdery soft wisteria and pink roses, topped with bergamot and clary sage on a base of ambergis.)

🏕️ Cause For Caroling: This one had a weird opening that I think is pine sap or wood interacting with... Something. It's strange and kind of playdohish? But the drydown is a lovely realistic waft of woodsmoke and dry woods. No idea what the opening is about.

(Notes: Sweet baking spices, boughs of spruce and fir, clove-studded pomanders, a small fire in the hearth and vanilla snowdrifts.)

🐦‍⬛ Fettered Raven: Dark wood. Rich and academic. Hint of ash. There's also paper in this, I think. A nice library/study atmospheric. Looking at the notes....I do not get whisky at all, surprisingly! Maybe a hint of alcohol that I was chalking up to a lacquered note?

(Notes: A tumbler of whisky dusted with white pepper, lit beeswax candles and ancient parchment scrolls spread across a polished wood desk.)

🧺 Mother Dusk: Warm wool. There's something else in here that I cannot put a finger on. A clean scent. So maybe freshly laundered wool that has been drying outside and is sunwarm. Maybe a hint of grass.

(Notes: A steaming mug of coffee, coriander seed and a cozy wool sweater, sheltered by pine and fir trees while the gloom of night is kept at bay with bursts of sweet orange.)

🌲 Secrets of the Earth: Conifers, big time pine or spruce needles. Maybe fir because it's making me think of Christmas. After it's dried I'm pretty sure it's spruce but I could be wrong. It's got that blue edge to it. Maybe some earth/dirt?

(Notes: Hemlock spruce, earl grey tea, belladonna, bay laurel, sacred resins, black musk and patchouli.)

🫖 Father Frost: Woods, almost mentholly. A dark smoky scent with a hint of sweetness, but not sugary. This smells like a smoky tea with dried berries. Lapsang? Maybe? It's smoky without being smoke.

(Bitter cold wind howling through a dense silver birch and pine wood, withstood only with the help of a hot mug of lapsang souchong tea and a pot of redcurrant jelly.)

❓Springing Lark: .... Also conifers? But dialed down a few notches? There's a sweetness under them but I have no idea what it is. Vaguely incensey. Maybe a really soft nag champa? Dried down there's something red-berryish without being the usual suspects. Maybe red currant? Oh. Red musk and dragonsblood. Huh.

(Notes: Red musk and dragonsblood support a posy of lilies, roses and lavender trimmed with conifer boughs.)

Hobgoblin was the surprise winner here, total dark horse. I'll definitely be going back to try more of their florals though. They have a very distinct house vibe that I enjoy. Plus their samples come in little flip cap stopper jars and their FSes are really nice looking. Lmk if you have any questions re: throw or whatnot, I can retest and pester Mr. Tendor into providing feedback. 🫡

From the email:

>Good morning!

>I am starting this week off with the release of the remaining stock of the third Lemon collection from the summer of 2021. I really love this group of perfumes! All but two, Carousel and Moonburn (which you will see these both again), have some stock left. Some of these are a little less lemony since citrus does soften over time, but they are all still really lovely in each of their own way.

>Wishing you a good week to come and may something happily unexpected find your doorstep or heart!

>In art and fragrance,

>Astridxo

The Scents:

Afterglow: Sage, amber, dry wood, vetiver, Argentine lemon, lavender, vanilla, and a whisper of velvety musk.

 

Alebrije: Egyptian musk, bergamot, lemongrass, pineapple, lemon, maraschino cherry, coconut, and beach accord.

 

Apólafsi: Peach nectar, peach blossom, jasmine Sambac, vanilla CO2, lemon, hibiscus, apple, and sweet orange.

 

Coeur de Grenade: Red musk, pomegranate, lemon verbena, cassis, white grapefruit, sea buckthorn, and petit grain sur fleurs.

 

East Grinstead: Cold black tea, melon, lemon juice, tangerine, and sugar.

 

Ensoleillé: Orange blossom, bamboo, vanilla musk, lemon, sugar, palo santo, and litsea.

 

Evelyn: Lei flowers, pink grapefruit, yuzu, and benzoin.

 

Frozen Charlotte: Brioche, dried strawberries, oats, lemon, a dusting of cinnamon, currants, sugar, and citrus zest.

 

Gaugin: Papaya, sweet orange, clean linens, mango, lemon and tropical greenery.

 

Hinode: Quince, bamboo, lemon, cypress, and geranium absolute.

 

La Ponette des Rosiers: A blend of rose absolutes, white tea, lemon, and fresh ginger.

 

Loathe to Bother: Coconut milk, orange blossom, lavender absolute, lemon, fruit cocktail, sandalwood, cream, lemongrass, and benzoin.

 

Mariposa: Strawberry ice cream, lemongrass, litsea, and benzoin.

 

Meteorite: Lemon, oud, violet leaf, incense, soft wood accord, dark patchouli, holy basil, black pepper, lavender, and blackberry

🍋💛🍋💛🍋💛🍋💛🍋💛