Starring…! Fragrances (Part 2): The Diva & Almond White Cake Reviews

On Monday we took a look at Starring… Fragrances’ philosophy, website, services and their sweet body products. As promised, today we’ll conclude the in depth-look in this niche line with reviews of two fragrances.

I was sent two samples to try (one oil-based, one alcohol-based) and I am very happy to report that not only does the scent of the perfumes correspond to exactly what you’d expect from the descriptions (playful, fun, exuberant indie scents that are very faithful to the listed notes) but also that the quality is of high standards, with clear evolvement, great lasting power and excellent projection. Too, if you do not like oil-based scents have no fear: all available fragrances are also offered in alcohol format as well. Before getting on with the reviews, I also have to say that I was very impressed with how highly concentrated these perfumes are - I’d venture that they are at least EdP strength.

The first perfume I tried was The Diva, belonging to the Leading Ladies Collection. This absolutely incredible gourmand presents such a life-like explosion of notes to the senses, it had me travelling down memory lane. Growing up, my favorite cake of all was Black Forest Gateau and it still remains my number one indulgence. As a child my mom was bemused by my choice (“How prosaic, darling..!”) and the occasions when I could actually convince her to buy it for the house or for friends was rare. Perhaps due to the craving left unsatisfied I have developed an extreme fondness for this confectionary delight and stubbornly (but with great satisfaction!) serve it at each and every one of my birthday celebrations ever since I can remember. The Diva unfailingly delivers the most realistic rendition of Black Forest Gateau in its top notes (The boyfriend declared “I don’t know if it smells like perfume, but I want to eat you!” and that’s good enough for me!). The genius of Black Forest lies in the combination of devilishly rich chocolate and cool sour cherries. The function of the sour cherry freshness is of course to cleanse the palate of the luxurious chocolate and to keep it from overwhelming. This is exactly what happens with this perfume: beautiful, lavish, bittersweet chocolate is tempered by the fruity freshness of cherries and is rendered luxuriant by a dose of Kirsch spirit, just as in the real deal. As the fragrance evolves, delightful red, fresh strawberries peek through the lashings of chocolate, slowly replacing the cherries. Again, the fruit is incredibly realistic. Raspberries, the freshest, most aromatic and pungent of berries start showing through even further down the line and will continue to accompany the darker scents far into the drydown. The chocolate itself becomes progressively calmer, till it reaches a stage that it is no longer perceptibly edible but takes the form of deep, dark cacao. At this point, the base notes truly shine, with a moist, earthy patchouli taking center stage, caressed by musk and subtle hints of rose petals. The deep drydown finds the raspberry and patchouli becoming ever more abstract, leaving an aromatic, dark feminine whisper on the skin.

The White Almond Cake might be listed on the site under the “Single Note Scentsations” category, but in reality this is a non-linear scent with its own evolvement. It starts out with delightful, intense bitter-sweet Amaretto and goes on to reveal yummy butter-cookie dough infused with orange peel and light hints of cloves. Mmmmm! The bitter almond scent is so convincing and strong, it is a huge surprise that the scent evolves past that, but evolve it does. The almonds get progressively subtler and softer, all the while caressing the skin with their nourishing, comforting scent. Soon, a sugar accord manifests, glazed and positively edible. I am not sure if all readers will be familiar with what I am about to say, but the scent mimics the scent of candied almonds exactly! No, I am not talking about the white bridal sugared almonds, I am talking about the candied roasted almonds with the delightfully crispy crust. Yum! As strange as it sounds, White Almond Cake manages to capture the crunchy, sugary/nutty scent and project it over a bed of cream. As time goes by, the scent becomes milkier (and ever more comforting I might add). Adding incredible warmth, cinnamon blooms on the skin and stays strong, lively and spicy to the very end, over a golden brown, sweet ambery accord. This might be completely out of season now, but it will make an incredible, festive holiday scent. I crave to wear this when it’ll be snowing outside.

Images: www.starringfragrances.com, flickr by mwri, flickr by busymommy, www.notenexpres.nl & Flickr by 00dann

Starring…! Fragrances: An In-Depth Look at A New Niche Line (Part 1)

Well, I am excited. As I have already mentioned, it’s been all about the comfort of gourmand fragrances with me lately and I’ve hit the motherload with my discovery of Starring…! Fragrances. Starring…! Fragrances is a small, Los Angeles based niche fragrance line created by actresses Courtney and Ashley Peldon, dedicated not only to providing unique, hand-crafted scents, but also to a green philosophy with respect to the environment and personal health and wellness. The company’s commitment to a green, eco-friendly philosophy is evident in all stages of production, with recycling, locally sourced materials, local business support and use of natural and organic ingredients. You can find out more about the ingredients used in the products by clicking here.

What excited me most about this new discovery of course, was the huge collection of sweet fragrances with edible notes to satisfy any craving! Despite the fact that there is an extensive selection of just about any type of scent (musk, floral, oriental, amber, citrus and tropical scents just to name a few), there is no denying the fact that the website is a veritable gourmand playground! Give me a lovely cup of coffee and I can get lost playing there, like Alice down the rabbit hole. Admittedly, the site itself is not so easy to navigate (as is the case with any site offering such an extensive collection), but the trip is well worth it. With their cheeky names (which co-founder Courtney affirms they are meant to appeal to the fun-loving, kitschy side in all of us) and their delicious short descriptions and note listings, the perfumes had me clicking through with a smile on my face.

Aside from an extensive scent line-up, Starring…! Fragrances also offers unique, fun services. What’s even more exciting is that -just as the scents themselves, these services are offered at excellent prices. Case in point, the Wedding & Party Favors, which I think is a brilliant idea! The company offers the possibility to enhance any event (such as wedding, birthday and bachelorette parties or bridal/baby showers) by presenting guests with a scent. It is even possible to choose two different scents (a masculine and a feminine for example). Bottles are personalized with the name of your choice, such as with the name of the event, the honored person, the wedding couple etc. A minimum of 50 bottles (the website mentions 25 as the minimum which would be even more affordable, but when I tested this I was only able to place orders for 50 pieces or more) has to be ordered, but the prices are excellent: 8$ per 15ml spray, 5$ per 10ml roll-on or 13.50$ for the 1 oz perfume spray.

Another fun feature is the Custom Perfume service, which allows you to create your own custom perfume based on either one of 10 different (mostly gourmand) categories (my favorite is the custom pumpkin!) or based on a personality test, all for the small price of 26$. For something even more tailored to your own tastes, you can choose the Starring...! YOU! A Custom Creation category and give a brief with specifications or even send in a sample for duplication, all for just $40.

There are many, many goodies to be discovered on the site, but what I want to focus on today are a couple of the Bath & Body products I got to try. More specifically, I want to tell you about the Body Butter and the Organic Premium Silk Crème, which are both excellent. The Body Butter is, in a word, SUMPTUOUS! I dipped my fingers in the small sample pot and had to actually exclaim with pleasure, because the texture is just SO amazing. This is a rich, thick cream, with a delightful, whipped texture. It might be rich and thick but it is also incredibly soft to the touch. It is easy to work into the skin, melting in almost instantly and leaving absolutely no grease, tackiness or an oily feeling behind. It is made with superb emollients (shea butter, cocoa butter and coconut oil) and is enriched with free-radical fighting antioxidants such as grapeseed oil, green tea extract and vitamins E & C. This is just perfect not only for everyday use, but also for overnight hand and heel treatments used with gloves and socks. The Organic Premium Silk Crème has a completely different feel, having a light, silky, rather flowing liquid texture. It sinks in beautifully and leaves skin feeling deeply hydrated and moist, as well as looking gorgeous due to the soft sheen it leaves behind. It is 82% organic and contains wonderful nourishing and emollient ingredients such as silk amino acids, avocado, coconut & jojoba oil, aloe and several antioxidants including grapeseed oil and black willow bark. I loved using both samples I was sent and heartily recommend them. The price is the same for both (smallest size is 2 oz for $7, largest 8 oz for $16) and you can select both the fragrance you want your moisturizer to be scented with, but also the scent intensity (low, medium or high) for no extra cost.

I look forward to seeing you all on Wednesday for the second part of my Starring…! Fragrances exploration, when I will be reviewing two beautiful gourmands, The Diva and White Almond Cake.

Images: Flickr by Xurble, www.sxu.hu and www.starringfragrances.com