Grace Notes @ Snarkattack

I’ve been a bit neglectful of the whole olfactory pleasures of late…

And naturally, I’m up after having slept some weird hours, so thought I would test my ‘I Smell Good’ decants. I don’t really know much about this company, but thought I’d give the decants a shot because someone was running a circle for them.

First up…

Grass - this is much more fragrant and flowery than actual grass. I was just expecting…well, grass. A fair enough call given its name…would you not agree?

Apple - the apple here is red apple, which is my least favourite type, alas. It’s very true however, that must be commended. It smells a little sickly on drydown, unlike the Grass note.

Mango - this is perfumey mango, not true mango. It’s nice but there is something too sweet about it, and too artificial. Perhaps I’m being overly critical because I like it when mangoes are slightly sour. There is a hint of greenness in this that makes it stand out.

Rose - quite true to the smell of an actual rose, but there is a funny ‘off’ note in it. Don’t seem to be having much luck with these decants so far! A bit later, this is giving me a headache, have to wash it off unfortunately.

Almond - hmm…it’s a nice almond, but there is a slightly unpleasant note lingering in the background whilst still wet. On drydown it does not smell like almond, however.

Peach - ooh yum! I’m rather partial to peach scents! This has a funny…rather smelly undertone though, which is a little sad. This is while it’s wet, it may drydown very nicely, we’ll see. Again, there is no depth to this fragrance. Disappointing.

Violet - hmm, very lavenderish! Probably the nicest out of the ones I’ve listed above so far. However, it smells more soapy than it does of violet. It’s nice, and inoffensive, but alas not true to its name. It fades fairly quickly, too.

Amber - um, what’s going on here? This is way too sweet and desserty to be amber! I’ll let it settle down and dry a bit…hmm. It’s amberish I guess but I’m wondering if my decanter accidentally mixed this up with the Chocolate decant? I think there might be a touch of cinnamon in this. Hmm.

Chocolate - okay, so this is different to Amber, and smells really similar to Arcana’s Single Layering Note in Chocolate, but not quite as good as that (it is fantastic, truly). Pretty nice, and it’s a dark chocolate too. I quite like this, but I already have a fantabulous one.

Berry - hmm, tart red berries. As it dries it gets a little softer. This is okay, nothing special, but nice.

Vanilla - left one of my general favourite scents till last…hope this will be good! Reminds me a bit of Possets’ ‘Fluoxetine’ (lovely perfume, terrible drug - at least for me it was, horrendous side effects). The vanilla fades pretty quickly and then it just smells…well, oily. I know that probably doesn’t make a good deal of sense but…there it is. It drying doesn’t seem to help its cause either, sadly.

Lily - I adore lilies, of various kinds, so I have high hopes for this! It’s nice and heady in that floral, intoxicating way that I like my lilies to be, I do so hope that lasts. Hint of greenness and freshness about it too. As it begins to dry, its floral quality starts to die away and it starts to get a hint of that soapiness I detected in Violet. A bit disappointing…

Overall verdict: for all these decants, I’d say a disappointed 5.5 out of 10. I didn’t test all of these in the one session, I tested them over several sessions, in case you’re wondering, so I did give them a chance. Clearly, Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab has spoilt me far too much.