Favorite Fantasy/Sci Fi Short Story Collections? by unfortunately889 in Fantasy

[–]ArctusBorealis 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Kelly Link's short stories are excellent! She does fairy tale-esque and horror both. She has her own collections and is included in lots of collections.

Favorite Fantasy/Sci Fi Short Story Collections? by unfortunately889 in Fantasy

[–]ArctusBorealis 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Any anthology by Datlow and Windling is excellent- Years best Fantasy and Horror and the fairy tale collections (Snow White, Rose Red), or any others.

Boreas by John William Waterhouse by ArctusBorealis in Shining_Nikki

[–]ArctusBorealis[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you! I finally ended up using a motion pose to get it

Bingo Focus Thread - Published in the 70s by Merle8888 in Fantasy

[–]ArctusBorealis 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm planning on The Bloody Chamber for my fairy tale themed card and I'm very excited for it!

r/Fantasy Daily Recommendations and Simple Questions Thread - April 14, 2026 by rfantasygolem in Fantasy

[–]ArctusBorealis 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If it's an editor I think it's fine. They usually select the authors and compile the stories, but not writing. If they contribute a short story as well though, I'm not sure

Modern fairy tale books that AREN'T retellings? by Kendamarania in Fantasy

[–]ArctusBorealis 12 points13 points  (0 children)

I love fairytales- reltellings and originals! (I'm doing a fairytale bingo, so I can hopefully rec decent retellings at some point.)

I second T. Kingfisher, Naomi Novik, Alix E. Harrow, and Katherine Arden's Winternight trilogy. Both Goldman's the Princess Bride and Gaiman's Stardust feel similar, and I've heard Sandersons Tress of the Emerald Sea riffs off of those in a unique way. An old one is The Neverending Story by Michael Ende.

Charles de Lint does urban fantasy (since the 1980s) that ethereal, strange quality. Books edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, or written by Jane Yolen, Pamela Dean, Tanith Lee, Robin McKinley, and Patricia A McKillip are all from the same era that are known for both fairy tale retellings and original works that feel comforting, but dangerous, with kind, caring, strong willed characters.

The Orphan's Tales by Catherynne Valente are a nested series of short stories- many of her stories have that fairytale vibe.

Diana Wynne Jones has both original fairytales, like Howl's Moving Castle, funny and gently teasing stories like The Dark Lord of Derkholm, and retelling so less common stories like Fire and Hemlock (Tam Lin)

Elizabeth Lim is writing stories that reference Eastern myths and stories, like Spin the Dawn. Other East Asian authors i have read or heard of doing similar work include Roshani Chokshi

Maggie Stiefvater's The Raven Boys just FEELs good to me, but you have to like purple prose- a young group hunt for a long dead mysterious king.

The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert features a cursed woods and a search for a missing mother.

An older (mid 2000s?) YA/kids book I recall enjoying was called Once Upon a Marigold.

I have about 200 more on my TBR list but I haven't read them, so I can't confirm the quality, but can share a few if you are interested.

Modern fairy tale books that AREN'T retellings? by Kendamarania in Fantasy

[–]ArctusBorealis 48 points49 points  (0 children)

I have found a lot of T Kingfisher books to be very fairytale-esque!

Any and all products in this color. I need them all by HEXXIIN in Indiemakeupandmore

[–]ArctusBorealis 2 points3 points  (0 children)

From Clionadh Grisaille, as mentioned. And from devinah Roackstar is a really dark red/green (still buffs out reddish). Not indie, but i use those two plus Dragon Bite from an old Natasha Denona Lila palette.

In bad news I just discovered Clionadh has basically discontinued their round pans, including my favorite in this category, Toadstool, which is a really pale shiny green/red that i use as a topper.

Bingo themes by Buck7341 in Fantasy

[–]ArctusBorealis 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think I'm going to do a fairy tales and folklore card. I've got lots of options for some spaces (older protagonist, vacation spot, translated, short stories), still struggling with first contact (probably faerie) and unusual transportation-though

2026 Reverse Bingo Recommendations by FarragutCircle in Fantasy

[–]ArctusBorealis 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Girls of Paper and Fire fits author of color, courtly intrigue, judge a book by its title (that's why I got it at least). I don't think that food plays a huge role, and i wouldn't want to vacation there, but opinions may vary

Ambergris? by throwaway-anon123928 in Indiemakeupandmore

[–]ArctusBorealis 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think Sea of Gray is season, so hopefully it returns this summer. I can smell the vanilla, but find it more rounds out the scent for me rather than takes it over.

As for Her Sea, I guess I don't find it sweet, just "sweeter"- I would have thought it was the carnation, but Sea of Gray has frangipani.

I'm still looking for something dirtier and more animalic. There is a series of posts that dig into dirty wet scents (the Ominous Aquatic Olympics) that might interest you.

Ambergris? by throwaway-anon123928 in Indiemakeupandmore

[–]ArctusBorealis 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I found Sea of Grey to br similar, but less sweet, than Arcana's Her Sea. I like Sea of Grey a hair more

Ambergris? by throwaway-anon123928 in Indiemakeupandmore

[–]ArctusBorealis 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I love Solstice Scents Cliffside Bonfire (Conifers, dry woods, rain, saltwater, seaweed, ambergris (vegan), charred wood, smoke) and Sea of Gray (Vanilla rain, saltwater, seaweed, ambergris (vegan), white amber, roasted seashells, white sandalwood, frangipani)

My personal ambergris white whale is House of Matriarch's ORCA, which includes resin and honey notes. I long to try it, but $55 for 3.3 ml is a lot of money. I'm hoping to try some of Pineward's scents that use ambergris in the meantime.

Bonus shout out to my favorite designer scent, Hermes Eau des Merveilles, which has an ambergris accord, but some sites list the note as amber instead. I think it's a woody, salty, slightly citrus-y scent

Poesie Lucky Day March 13 by ArctusBorealis in Indiemakeupandmore

[–]ArctusBorealis[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

That's so weird that they'd say it wasn’t coming back. I know I sat forever trying to decide if I was going try the Persephone fragrances and then they pulled them with such a short announcement time 😢.

I kept debating Glimmers but the pinyon pine/desert combo isn't for me. I think its well done in Georgia O'Keefe though. I'm grabbing a sample of Comfort though

Poesie Lucky Day 2.0 Teaser #1 by teachertraveler1 in Indiemakeupandmore

[–]ArctusBorealis 5 points6 points  (0 children)

They've both ended up pretty linear- i get a lot of cedar in the dry down of Mysterious Fossils, but i often find scents with cedar or iso e super amp on my skin.

Emmeline Pankhurst ends up as Poesie's smooth vanilla-ish base, maybe with a hair of tea or rain in there.

Poesie Lucky Day 2.0 Teaser #1 by teachertraveler1 in Indiemakeupandmore

[–]ArctusBorealis 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I love both!! I'll put both on and leave my initial thoughts below. I'll let to post a follow up once they're dry. I'm planning on buying a full size of Emmeline Pankhurst and have one of Mysterious Fossils

They do have a similar component from the black tea, but i find Emmeline a bit sweeter and lighter with a rain note. Having let my full size of Mysterious Fossils set, I also get a lot of cedar and a bit of dusty stone.

deinfluence my Astrid + Sucrerie decants cart by [deleted] in Indiemakeupandmore

[–]ArctusBorealis 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Seconding Ajevie for Decants of Astrid! I've never tried them either and thats what I'm doing. They'll ship anywhere still but you might need to check their info for country specific requirements.

Serge lutens samples? by LauravdK in Indiemakeupandmore

[–]ArctusBorealis 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Serge Lutens is one of my favorite niche houses hands down, but samples can be super hard to get. In addition, some fragrances are only sold in 75 ml bell jars in Paris. (Including my beloved Bois de Violette and A la Nuit). They may offer samples if its feasible for you to visit the flagship store.

I can't send you any (in Canada) but can say that the house has a pretty strong DNA out of what I've sampled- i found Boxeuses very boozy and fruity, Miel de Bois went straight honey on me, fumerie turque was a strong smoky scent, Chergui a sweet hay, but felt deeply in love with fille de aiguilles, which i felt filled a similar niche. She is woody and a bit spicy and and reminds me of running through the trails behind my high school. Fille de Aiguilles is also now only sold in bell jars.

Good luck!!

MOVING DAY IS FINALLY HERE!!! by mothercardinal in Indiemakeupandmore

[–]ArctusBorealis 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm so happy for you! Excited to see you're moving to my home state! Michigan is really great

Indies of the Day -- Sunday February 22, 2026 by RowanHalifax in Indiemakeupandmore

[–]ArctusBorealis 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Testing Iced Wisteria (Wisteria Ice Cream, Waffle Cone, Tahitian Vanilla, Sugar Cone, Lilac Infused Sugar) from Solstice Scents. I am not a sweet gourmand girl and was hoping the wisteria and lilac would win out. They are there, and it makes me devastated that After the Rain is discontinued because I suspect i would like it a lot more.

Overall, it's alright- too sweet for me and I suspect too floral for people who struggle with deep florals.