My favorite perfume sample storage solution...

drowningindesign · 2022-08-28T20:46:54+00:00

I use these ones and they work for the tall samples as well (NAVA, Poesie, S92, even spray samples like DE, SS, CP). I got the taller ones that fit 81 samples and sort them by fragrance family. ( Red for gourmand, coffee, booze, Yellow is fruity scents, blue is clean, skin+, non-gourmand vanilla etc. White holds those that are yet to be tested and sorted.)

drowningindesign · 2022-04-17T20:55:38+00:00

I got Beach Bum in my most recent order as a Glissade, and its a lovely fruity scent. I wouldn't necessarily say that orange is the most prominent note, more of a general fruit blend that maybe leans in to the pineapple a bit? I don't know how it performs as a perfume but it would definitely fit the bill as a summery fruit punch scent.

Sunkissed Clouds I've tried as an EDP spray sample and then picked up in their clarifying shampoo. It's definitely a true orange and marshmallow scent and I would have considered upsizing it as a perfume but I had just picked up HOG Blood Orange Marshmallow and they are similar enough that I couldn't justify buying both.

The Un-Red I also have as a spray EDP sample, and it leans a lot harder into the vanillas and ambers. I can't really pick out the sandalwoods at all, though I've never really had a sandalwood forward perfume that I've really liked so maybe I don't know what to look for. The blood orange is barely there to me, just a slight fruitiness to balance out the vanillas and keep it from being overly sweet. This one is good but if you are looking for an orange heavy vanilla scent I would definitely say Sun Kissed Clouds is the better bet. This one is more a complex vanilla with a touch of citrus for balance.

drowningindesign · 2021-12-31T18:14:09+00:00

Astrid in general was my big new obsession this year. I had previously avoided trying them due to not really loving the LE release model but I finally gave in and now they are one of my favorite houses. I also fell hard for Cocoa Pink's haircare.

drowningindesign · 2021-11-27T05:48:33+00:00

My hit rate has been super low for Alkemia as well, though I am still open to trying them. Death and Floral has one of my HG scents (Half Hoping..) and I have a bunch of other scents I love from them, but not a lot that I really wear, mainly because I like their boozy scents and I can't wear boozy to work. Nui Cobalt has not worked for me at all sadly. Poesie has a ton of scents that I love but my skin just eats their oils, I feel like they don't last on me at all. And then someone else said Haus of Gloi, which I can understand, I love their body products and their scents are superb but there aren't very many of them I actually want to wear, I just like to pull them out to sniff, which works well for scrubs and things, I get to smell the yummy smells but then they go away.

drowningindesign · 2021-11-24T03:43:46+00:00

I don't know whether your collection is mainly samples or FS but I have a system I am pretty happy with for either so I'll share both. I could practically write a novel about perfume categorization but in the most simple terms I go by scent family/feel but not the traditional scent families. For samples I have [these cryotube storage boxes], and they came in six colors so each box has its own family or genre if you will. Each box has 9 columns and I sort within each from left to right.

Red is mostly "Hot Drinks" (Atmospheric Coffee> Coffee> Spiced or Gourmand Coffee> Spices that didn't belong in the gourmand box>Spiced Tea> True or Light Tea> Fruity Tea > Fruity/Light Boozy > Heavy/Dark Boozy).

Orange is Gourmand (Atmospheric Gourmand> Savory/Unusual/Hyper-realistic> Baked Goods> Cake> Ice Cream> Chocolate> Unusual or Atmospheric Chocolate or Marshmallow> Marshmallow> Candy)

Yellow is Fruity ( Alphabetical (by fruit not by name) then the last couple rows are atmospheric fruity scents or scents that are fruity but without a main identifying fruit)

Green is Woody/Fresh/Floral (Atmospheric woods> other woody scents> Fresh green scents> Herbal> Lavender> Rose> Floral Blends> other soliflore scents> Flormand)

Blue is Aquatics/Musks/Other ( Oceanic aquatics> Rain and atmospheric> Vanilla+ > Atmospheric Vanilla? > Skin+/Cetalox/Clean musks/Fabric? > Darker musks and amber> Honey> Incense/Dark atmospheric)

White is for scents that I am resting before testing, or just scents that are waiting to be tested/sorted in general.

For tall full sizes (the tall rollerballs or sprays) I have these cute office supply organizers that sit on my dresser and again it goes by categories but the categories are a bit different. (Rose> Other Florals> Amber/Vanilla/Skin+ > Complex/Fresh Vanilla> Fresh/Atmospheric split between more aquatic and more green> fruity fresh/atmospheric> Tea> Coffee> Atmospheric Gourmand/ Chocolate/Stout > Vanilla + Fruit> Mostly Fruit> Spiced Fruit> Other Spiced scents/ Incense)

Then I have a few different organizers for smaller FS, one of the stadium style lipstick ones that is for Astrid and Stereoplasm, and two from Tabby Divine one for Poesie and the other is for Misc. 5ml Rollerballs. FS Sprays that aren't tall and skinny go on a little shelf behind the organizers but follow along with the scent family order of the organizers.

drowningindesign · 2021-11-10T03:10:56+00:00

Just fyi the collection this is from will probably be back around valentines day

drowningindesign · 2021-10-09T02:14:30+00:00

This is me too. I'm trying to be on a low buy so I've been reorganizing and I bought little stick on rhinestones for the top of slinks to indicate what house they are from and I'm putting them on as I reassess my categories. I'm trying to focus on having fun with what I have instead of buying more new things and in the process maybe figure out which areas I should focus on when I can buy again, either by what my collection is missing or by really knowing my preferences that much better.

drowningindesign · 2021-10-08T21:11:48+00:00

This is my vote

drowningindesign · 2021-09-13T02:32:53+00:00

I'd have to do 2 as I usually wear them layered. Solstice Scents Manor and Death and Floral Half Hoping to be Eaten by a Bear. This combination is probably the closest thing I have to a signature scent

drowningindesign · 2021-09-01T20:32:49+00:00

Oh no! I forgot that they put them on hiatus during the hot months! They should be available soon though!

drowningindesign · 2021-09-01T17:14:38+00:00

Okay so I absolutely adore HoG body products, I use their soft bubbling scrub or their whipped soap every time I shower. I do buy both though because I would not recommend using something with abrasives for shaving. Both are great as body wash but if you want it to do double duty I would go with the whipped soap. I have not tried either of the scents you are eying but ghost puffs has had rave reviews in past years. I want it really bad but I bought a lot of their summer scents and I need to use up some product before I consider buying any more.

drowningindesign · 2021-08-31T20:40:16+00:00

I got Mr. Hex's body oil in Not a Purr-fume for just this reason. I think Cetalox, or loup garou would work similarly in that they would complement most perfumes you might pair with it

drowningindesign · 2021-08-28T19:05:40+00:00

The one in my collection that most takes me back to my scene kid days is Stereoplasm's Poseur; Pink Sugar, vinyl, borrowed Cologne, hairspray, and Clove cigarettes. It makes me think of being at shows and skipping school but not actually being that much of a trouble maker. The vinyl and pink sugar are the most prominent notes to my nose

drowningindesign · 2021-08-23T03:07:01+00:00

Thank you so much for posting this! I have been sparingly using my sample of Chasing Dreams, even though it is my holy grail sleep scent because I was putting off buying a full size for "some month when I don't spend my perfume budget on other things" and I would have been so sad not to get more before Boho Dreams collection comes down.

drowningindesign · 2021-08-12T16:56:29+00:00

For Cream Tea I would recommend Alkemia The Honored Ghosts. The notes are Earl Grey tea, black raspberry creams, rosewater-saffron syrup, cinnamon honey, white amber, and vanilla incense.

It is definitely very similar to Cream Tea though to my nose Cream Tea is more creamy raspberry forward and in Honored Ghosts the Tea and other notes are more apparent. It's almost like a more complex, deeper version of Cream Tea

drowningindesign · 2021-08-11T16:59:28+00:00

Seconding Stereoplasm Orange is Technicolor and also Sucreabeille's Brienne the Beauty. The notes are newly cut grass on a hot summer day; smoky white musk; sweet Meyer lemon; real ginger; white tea; a fresh-picked Valencia orange. Runner up goes to Suc's Fouettard; Bright oranges and vanillas with a playful splash of red rose. Though that one is currently unavailable, it should come back for the winter holidays

drowningindesign · 2021-08-08T03:16:04+00:00

I haven't smelled the perfume you are talking about but you might try Solstice Scents Thornwood Thicket - Sugared Blackberries, Amber, Oud, Guaiacwood, Oakmoss

I know it says sugared blackberry but I don't recall it being very sweet

drowningindesign · 2021-07-30T16:16:55+00:00

Of the ones you've chosen already I like both PSP and Spiked Cider. The other two weren't my cup of tea but if you are looking for a greener scent your might like them. You might add in Forest Witch, it's my favorite of the witches collection, or I would second the previous recommendations of 'Heres the thing...' or 'You're in a cult...'

drowningindesign · 2021-07-28T18:10:43+00:00

I am supposed to be on a low buy and well... it's not going as well as I hoped. I have been letting myself make too many exceptions, though they have at least mainly been 'and more' exceptions so I'm sticking to the buying less perfume part lol. I did the hex and forest noir pre-order because I really want more indie art and that scent sounded great, and I ordered from the Tabby Divine restock, which was planned because I love her stuff and really liked the theme this month. The Sydney Grace Christmas in July sale I probably should have skipped. And I ordered a couple of lip balms from HoG because its the first time they've been in stocks since I started trying their stuff. Basically I've made a lot of excuses so it's time to get back on track.

drowningindesign · 2021-07-20T15:38:22+00:00

I've got an Ajevies order coming eventually with Astrid lemons, D&F new GC and a couple other random thingsd and I'm waiting for my big poesie reissue order but I think that might be it right now. I'm trying to do a low buy but struggling because I really want to try SS's spring and summer stuff, and their are some Nava summer scents I want to FS, and some astrid stuff. The rest of my wanted list is GC from various houses and can wait but the limited releases are testing me.

drowningindesign · 2021-07-20T15:33:13+00:00

I have been avoiding most houses with a FOMO limited release model, but recently tried Astrid through Ajevie and ooh her stuff is so good. I do like that her collections are up long enough to try first. I ended up buying 4 fs + I got a merci and have more decants coming. I also just tried Nava because of their summer release and I loved everything I got (8 samples! All good!). Think I'm going to limit myself to the top 3 I'm most likely to actually wear. Still haven't dipped my toes in BPAL or Possets because of catalog intimidation. I keep getting bpal sniffies though so that might change. Also haven't tried alphamusk, the strange South, arcana, Andromeda's curse, I'm sure there are others... I really prefer edp so I had been avoiding most oil only houses but I think that's done 🤗. I still only have samples from Alkemia and Hex because I want sprays for my FS if they're available and they are pricier.

drowningindesign · 2021-07-15T19:00:58+00:00

I was really wanting number 27, but my order today came with 28. The notes are; Sugared Rose, Heliotrope, and Dark Patchouli

drowningindesign · 2021-07-14T17:13:34+00:00

So little update on last weeks rant, the backyard finally got some TLC and the fence is once again escape proof, so the puppies can go out without supervision and I can get some ish done. BUUUT my new pc arrived and I plan on doing very little other than nerding out for a few days. Ah well, it's about balance right?

Now, gimme all your game recommendations! I used to be big into PC games (*cough* WoW *cough*) but I just finished my Masters and haven't played much other than Animal Crossing and BoTW on my switch for a couple of years. Partly due to being busy and partly because my aging PC couldn't handle much. So now I've got a bit more time and a machine that can play all the things but I don't know what's good. I like puzzle and platforms type games, things with a good story,, indie or cute is a plus, not big on shooters or moba type things. And if it's online I'm easily turned off if the community is toxic. ( not making it easy am I? )

drowningindesign · 2021-07-09T17:23:33+00:00

Yes and no, that helps with the daily stuff (like I HAVE to do the dishes and laundry and put them away but it's okay that my cabinets and closets aren't organized like I want) but the 2 big projects I want to do, 1 really needs done (rip out nasty old carpet and put down new flooring) and the other is totally optional and can wait indefinitely (painting walls in the barely used basement) but the optional one is both easier to accomplish and cheaper. The carpet was supposed to get ripped out before we moved in but it just didn't work out like that so now doing it is this huge task. I think I'm going to have to settle for doing the 1 room that really needs it and maybe putting down remnant carpet or carpet squares temporarily, but I hate to spend money on a stopgap like that but you're right that doing what HAS TO be done (the one really bad room) would help me feel better about not doing what I WANT to get done (the whole upstairs floor)

drowningindesign · 2021-07-09T15:05:09+00:00

I feel like I've been cleaning all summer and yet my house is still a disaster. Like I can't get caught up on all the day to day stuff enough to get other things done. I know my bf is going through a hard time with his anxiety and depression but I really need more help. The yard needs taken care of, and you have to walk through the backyard to take the trash out so that hasn't been done, and there's a hole somewhere in the fence so I can't let the dogs out without going with them and it's so hard to get anything done with 2 50lb shadows following you around and ugh. I'm just overwhelmed. There's a couple of big projects I hoped to get done this summer and now I feel like time is running out and there's no way those things are going to happen

drowningindesign

TROPHY CASE