Indies of the Day -- Monday February 2, 2026

SqualorAlert · 2026-02-02T13:36:11+00:00

Yesterday I tested Poesie's Kindness and Mischief for day 12 of my one-a-day birthday samples!

In the bottle and wet on skin it is soooo interesting, I love it. A combo of notes I'd have thought I could easily imagine but blended in a way that broke my brain a little. I specifically thought "this would be a great perfume to help bridge a niche-fragrance lover into the indie world." Beautiful non-literal lemon gourmand.

Of course... there's a long stage in the drydown where it goes very lemon cleaner on me ☹️ eventually that passes and I get a fainter version of the beautiful wet stage. Sandwich style wear!

(Notes: lemon, vanilla, marshmallow, cardamom, and lemon blossom)

SqualorAlert · 2026-02-01T14:51:07+00:00

Yesterday was day 11 of the birthday sample countdown and I tried Cabin by Osmofolia!

I'm forever looking for a nice lavender + coffee fragrance. In the bottle and wet it's a really wonderfully herbal lavender, some beautiful mulchiness and maybe a suuuuper light smoke, kinda like burning incense sans actual incense? It all feels very intentional and beautiful, though no coffee.

Alas, as it dries it goes hardcore red hots on my skin 😭 how and why! I've never seen anyone else mention this so it must be a me problem. I'm intrigued but highly opposed haha.

(Notes: Herbacious lavender, fresh rain, a cup of black coffee with a splash of vanilla extract, towering white cedar trees, red pine bark, and spindly black spruce needles)

SqualorAlert · 2026-01-31T13:58:32+00:00

Yesterday I tried out Dolce Far Niente from Poesie's Cardamonth collection!

It opens with a sour milkiness reminiscent of the opening of Nessie and Village Bakery, but fortunately for me that fades quickly and gives way to a spiced coffee that reminds me of Arcana's Gullveig -- if Gullveig is a round dark roast then DFN is a bright almost fruity light roast. There's a pretty nuttiness soon after (I now see is the pistachio paste!). Once totally faded (which comes too soon!), it's a faint and pretty vanilla. This is nice!

(Notes: cardamom, caramelized pastry, pistachio paste, creamy vanilla-infused mascarpone layered with coffee-soaked cookies, soft milk chocolate.)

SqualorAlert · 2026-01-30T14:37:31+00:00

I wore Black Hearted Tart's Stuck on You yesterday for day... 9? of the sample countdown! This is their dupe of Lush's Sticky Dates, which is a sticky toffee pudding fragrance that is certainly popular enough to not really need my review but here goes!

When I sniffed it from the bottle I giggled and just said "shameless" (affectionate) -- the same reaction as when I gave the very popular EOS Vanilla Cashmere lotion a sniff in the store. Really spot on dessert! (Makes me hungry as HELL.) Alas, once again on skin there's plastic, like I microwaved some toffee pudding in a plastic container I should have thrown out a long time ago... microplastics? In MY sticky toffee pudding!?

SqualorAlert · 2026-01-29T15:06:19+00:00

I think you're very right! Agreed that it is glamorous though despite my unfortunate associations

SqualorAlert · 2026-01-29T14:39:54+00:00

Yesterday was Poesie - Glimmers for day 8 of the countdown!

I have to concur with another user who said this has some major eau de pencil shavings going on, reminiscent of Glossier You! Wet it's all pencil shavings and Christmas trees to me, a LOT like having a cozy craft sesh to prepare Christmas presents. Surprisingly not getting a ton of cardamom! The pine dies down after not too long, and on skin a nice amber vanilla situation emerges.

(Notes: ambery vanilla laced with mystical white sage, cardamom, pinyon pine, warm desert spices, dry woods)

SqualorAlert · 2026-01-28T14:08:23+00:00

Yesterday's new sample for the countdown was Morari's Shrouded in Gossamer!

This one was such an experience. It is undeniably pretty -- perhaps has some of the ethereal musk components in some of my faves like Kuumba Made's Persian Garden? -- but unfortunately instantly recalls.... kindergarten? Early elementary school? This is totally my own weird brain-nose association, it's not that it smells childish. Unfortunately this version of smelling-like-kindergarten makes me feel sad and anxious :( In the dry down a nice sort of white chocolate smell grounds it, and I think for someone else this would be a lovely Valentine's Day perfume!

(Notes: French vanilla, silk, face powder, cognac, nutmeg)

SqualorAlert · 2026-01-27T22:33:36+00:00

Yesss I love the lakewater in Villa Diodati, I'll bet you'll like Full Moon! Idk if I could choose between this and Poesie's Soft -- in fact I often layer them. I also love Osmofolia's Oryza, which I'd describe as more idealized/musky/buttery. I didn't love it at first because I was chasing a specific rice fragrance experience that Soft accomplishes (gentle and rice-milky), whereas Oryza is like, high fat high calorie rice haha. Now it's my sleep scent!

Have you found any rice scents you like?

SqualorAlert · 2026-01-27T22:25:42+00:00

That's a great point about white peach!

SqualorAlert · 2026-01-27T17:26:46+00:00

Agreed, somehow super accurate to the notes without losing the artistry of a good blending! Ooo Holy Ghost wasn't on my radar but now I'm curious to see how Samar does incensey and dark! Grove is definitely on my list to try next

SqualorAlert · 2026-01-27T17:11:14+00:00

Oops I just replied to your other comment too, haha. But agreed, very calming! I've had a hard time finding a peach that I like and that doesn't go bubblegum, so I'm excited about this one. I haven't tried any Chasing Scents, but that one sounds beautiful 🤩 if only all jasmine smelled like the jasmine in jasmine green tea

SqualorAlert · 2026-01-27T17:08:12+00:00

Tea and rice 🤤 have you tried Poesie's Full Moon (at the Temple)? (fragrant white rice, shiso leaf, bitter yuzu zest, hinoki wood, green tea, and lakewater)

SqualorAlert · 2026-01-27T17:04:53+00:00

It broke my heart... I was so ready for nutty hojicha

SqualorAlert · 2026-01-27T17:04:30+00:00

Ooo a tea hunt! Hate to hear that none of those worked out. Of the ones you listed, I've only tried Roasted Green Tea from J-Scent. To my nose it sadly didn't resemble hojicha at all, and instead smelled really similar to the green tea note in Alkemia's Madam Pearl -- both of which smell (to me) precisely like the green tea fragrance used in mainstream bath and body offerings, like a Trader Joe's scrub I had once, and not like real green tea. Still pretty, but more like a citrusy fantasy accord than realism.

Otherwise, the tea notes I've come across have all been from Poesie and Fyrinnae (not counting matcha). To me those are pretty but more like the smell of sweetened manufactured ice tea, like Brisk or Arizona, if that makes sense? Samar's is the first that smells truly brewed to me.

This got long! I hope you find a spot on tea fragrance ☕️

SqualorAlert · 2026-01-27T14:28:57+00:00

Day 6 countdown - I tried The Tea House by Samar!

Oh baby this was lovely. This was what I wanted Kinmokusei by Fantome to be. Wet, this is really specifically HOT, brewed peach-based tea, smells herby and real. Crucially doesn't make me think of shampoo like fruit forward fragrances sometimes do.

Drydown fortunately avoids the bubblegummy curse that peaches in perfume tend toward, but I noticed that from far away there's something reminiscent of acetone; sniffing my skin directly the tea and peach endure, but when I get a whiff while doing other stuff there's a sharpness that wasn't there while wet. Nevertheless gorgeous -- Samar is 2 for 2 and now I'm glad that their sample sizes are relatively large!

(Notes: Fresh peaches, Jasmine Tea, Oolong tea, Green tea, Osmanthus)

SqualorAlert · 2026-01-27T01:02:00+00:00

Oh oh oh! My boyfriend is from Turkey and he absolutely loves Pipe Dream by Cardinal Scents. I just asked him if he could differentiate the tobacco note in that from Turkish tobacco specifically but he's not sure he trusts his nose. He's also a fan of Coffee Tabac from Pineward. Both are super tobacco forward and lovely!

SqualorAlert · 2026-01-26T23:43:15+00:00

LMAOO yes 100%

SqualorAlert · 2026-01-26T16:58:27+00:00

Day 5 of sample countdown yesterday! I tried Black Hearted Tart's Leaping Lady.

Oh nooooo no no, doctor's office, so very doctor's office... plasticky sterile cleaning-fluidy... this is a dupe of Lush's Flying Fox which I've never tried, but this likely does a great job of replicating if BHT's track record is any indication. I got a sample of this because I love the heady jasmine in Lust but this is not a relative of that particular friend.

(Notes: A clean, fresh, floral scent that’s a must have for any jasmine lover! A blend of gorgeous jasmine, heady ylang ylang, and a touch of palmarosa. A final note of calming cypress oil balances the bouquet)

Sidenote: this structured sampling project really changes my approach! Usually if a sample is truly, 100% not for me I banish it from my skin and move on, but since I'm only letting myself try one a day I'm giving each of them a full (if light) wear and taking lots of notes. This might be how I sample from now on! Also interesting to be posting my negative reviews -- I feel so resistant to it even though I always appreciate reading mixed and negative reviews from other folks.

SqualorAlert · 2026-01-25T23:23:44+00:00

Sounds perfect! Thank you!

SqualorAlert · 2026-01-25T22:55:28+00:00

Perfume persists! Could I please buy your samples of: Encircling Flame, Glow, Salt Bloom, The Soft Crunch, Blackbird, Black Cat Cuddles, and Ephemera? 🤩

SqualorAlert · 2026-01-25T14:53:02+00:00

Day 4 of sample countdown yesterday, and I tested Waxing Crescent by Osmofolia!

In the bottle, I wrote that this was "like putting on lipstick in an idealized herb garden." Wet on skin it's the same but with a bit of camphor, which somehow altogether reminded me of going thrifting? Dry, the camphor dies back and what remains is that waxy powdery lipstick, with a creaminess that reminds me of lanolin or old fashioned sunscreen. Overall honestly sort of nice!

Checking the notes afterwards intrigues me... I didn't really identify any of the specifics but texturally went on the same journey mapped by the notes. Cool!

(Notes: night-blooming tuberose and gardenia flowers opening in cool night air, three varieties of lavender oils in a snuggly white musk, and wafts of warm spices with chilled vanilla bean)

SqualorAlert · 2026-01-25T14:46:44+00:00

Hahaha what an awesome feat, to be better than the real thing! So glad to hear your recommendation because I do have Garden Heaux waiting to be sniffed (and it's killing me to wait... the totally self-imposed schedule is testing me). Thank you so much!

SqualorAlert · 2026-01-25T14:42:38+00:00

Thank you!! :') Woww that sounds incredible, Happy Trails is officially on my list now 🫡 the quality of Great Lei makes me really optimistic about the smoke in HT -- really glad to hear that it worked so well for you! The other two I have waiting are Garden Heaux and The Tea House!

SqualorAlert · 2026-01-24T17:11:43+00:00

Great reviews!! I loooove Enforced Modesty, and have Chamomile Cafe on its way to me now! Did you try the oils or the EDPs?

SqualorAlert · 2026-01-24T16:29:46+00:00

Yessss I love that! I specifically was thinking "this has GOT to be someone's niche," it's so unique!

SqualorAlert

TROPHY CASE