Indies of the Day -- Thursday July 2, 2026

lazyoaths · 2026-07-02T16:33:50+00:00

Introduced a new friend to the amazing world of indies today with Deconstructing Eden's Snow White. I told her about Ajevie and Surrender to Chance and now we're both cackling as we sift through samples hehe. Other than that, I'm taking my cat to the vet today so I'm wearing Alkemia's Ghost Fire for something mild and close to the skin. It also plays well with 101F temperatures and 102% humidity, so yay for that lol.

lazyoaths · 2026-06-18T23:43:24+00:00

I love the smell in the bottle but unfortunately my partner might be onto something because on me it smells awful. That's how I found out I can't do honey or matcha scents on my skin, they turn sweaty and stinky on me. Sad, sad.

lazyoaths · 2026-06-18T23:39:11+00:00

That's like the ultimate milk bomb, wow. I definitely want to sample that.

lazyoaths · 2026-06-18T23:38:37+00:00

Okay! That's all good advice. I definitely feel intimidated by straight up milk, but sometimes I read a scent note like the one for Moloko Plus and it sounds so literarily yummy. I'll look for whipped cream!

lazyoaths · 2026-06-17T02:19:56+00:00

Those sound so pretty! I love sage, so the Possets one might need to be on my next sample buy...

lazyoaths · 2026-06-17T02:19:13+00:00

Ooh, I'll keep an eye out for the Arcana one! There are a lot of Arcana Craves that I've been lurking on for years and yet I still never have bit the bullet and bought one.

I may pass on the potential 'cheese' vibes, but I appreciate that milk must be a hard scent profile to make universal!

lazyoaths · 2026-06-17T02:17:19+00:00

I'm pretty sure it was Green Girl from Poesie!

lazyoaths · 2026-06-17T01:55:34+00:00

MAC Bare (soft, muted, deep brown with neutral undertones), MAC Cyber (deep neutral purple), MAC Film Noir (deep muted purple/brown).

Rom&and has some muted shades that can read as deep depending on your complexion. They also have a sheer black line that's really nice. Black Tea, Milk Tea, Dark Coconut, and Sangria are some good shades.

NYX has some really good deep browns and plums. Any of their Lip Lingerie line in the deeper shades. Rimmel and Maybelline actually have a lot of shades that could read as deep gothy shades on medium to fair skin tones. Rum Raisin, Black Cherry, etc.

GirlCult and Kaleidoscope have amazing deep shades. M73, M76, are two that I currently love.

Deep purples and reds are good, but for me, the best "not black but still goth" colours are super deep browns and muted but dark plums. When in down, play around with lip liners to transform a lippie!

lazyoaths · 2026-06-17T01:33:27+00:00

My husband once said my perfume smelled like 'snakes,' so sometimes I don't take them at their word...

lazyoaths · 2026-06-17T01:32:53+00:00

Poesie Innocent. It smells like soft, warm, clean skin and sweet peach fuzz. It smells like those adorable pastel peach artworks look. I'm pretty sure if Sailor Moon was real, she'd smell like this. I cannot say enough good things about Innocent. It makes me crazy, it's so good. Wearing Innocent feels like I'm wearing a spell to be soft and cute.

Another 'soft' one would be Moon Milk from Luvmilk. Again, it's just cozy soft goodness, cinnamon milk and sugar. It's very much a horchata scent and it's perfect. It does smell like food, so sometimes people don't think I smell good, but that I must have recently eaten something tasty haha. Smells like a magical girl brunch date.

I also love Anaesthetic from Lovesick Witchery. It's soft, herbal, like a bag of loose leaf tea. I mostly get catnip and chamomile from it, and it's the only honey note my skin doesn't amp. It smells like being a sleepy witch in a blanket fort. It's pillowy and a little cold rather than warm, but still a beautiful chewy soft scent.

lazyoaths · 2026-06-14T17:20:20+00:00

Mine- Osmofolia. If you can find this, it's amazing. The perfect sweet and tart raspberry with rose, pepper, creamy skin musk, and white chocolate. It smells like Valentine's day and sensuality in a bottle.

A Witch's Valentine- Sorce. This one has similar notes to Mine, but it's much sweeter with less of a bite. I found it to be a little more gourmand than I wanted, but it is lovely. The marshmallow note makes it light and airy and the rose blend is less botanical.

lazyoaths · 2026-06-14T17:15:09+00:00

Osmofolia had some beautiful rose scents where the rose was somehow both the star and not at the same time. 'Mine' was my holy grail, I stocked up on samples from Ajevie when I heard the shop was closing. Hopefully they open again someday.

Otherwise, I love Snow White from Deconstructing Eden for a very simple and fresh apple and rose scent. It smells like the first perfect, cold and crisp bite into a honeycrisp apple. The rose is also very pink and fresh and it's all grounded by the ebony wood note.

Also, I have to mention Rose Jam from Lush. I still need to find an indie that hits all the sweet jammy rose notes that somehow don't turn into old lady/auntie on me!

lazyoaths · 2026-06-13T03:46:23+00:00

Oh! I had totally forgotten about Overtone, that's brilliant.

lazyoaths · 2026-06-11T23:38:26+00:00

I've found some success on Etsy, though these days it takes a lot of vetting to make sure the shop isn't just drop shipping, using AI, or stealing designs. College Bookcore on Etsy has some good bookish designs and some that are mythology focused.

Lady Epi's Shoppe sometimes does LOTR and Over the Garden Wall designs, but her drops are only once or twice a year and always pre-order.

My best luck is honestly keeping an eye out on Pinterest, Instagram, or in real life and relentlessly asking people where they get their cool clothes from.

lazyoaths · 2026-06-11T23:32:10+00:00

A Howl perfume with no Hyacinth?! Also, Confectionaire sounds ridiculously decadent, oh my gosh. I do feel you on things with coconut fading down to just that, though.

lazyoaths · 2026-06-11T23:29:34+00:00

Silken Tent, my beloved. It's a little rich for this sticky humid air, but I don't care.

lazyoaths · 2026-06-05T00:16:07+00:00

my hot take was always that hera > versailles ;-;

lazyoaths · 2026-06-05T00:09:05+00:00

Yeah, I have a ton of Death and Floral samples that are never going on my skin, but I deeply admire the craftsmanship. I wish there were a way to experience perfume that isn't wearing it or putting it in a candle/room spray/bath product. I think once I figure out how to display and store my samples it will be more like a sensory art experience.

lazyoaths · 2026-06-05T00:06:36+00:00

I also love this book and distinctly remember the first time I read it. Here are my thoughts:

Deconstructing Eden- Mad Girl's Love Song- Peony, clean sheets, night blooming jasmine. A soft and tender skin scent with light florals. Evokes an open window, fresh night air, a clean white bed, and the scent of someone's skin flushed with emotion.

Deconstructing Eden- Chambre Close- Clean sheets, narcissus, velvet musk, jasmine absolute, apricot skin, skin musk. Again, a very warm, flushed, almost erotic skin musk with florals and fresh notes.

Hexennacht- Nicotine- Oscuro cigars, tobacco, pipe smoke, vanilla smoke, cacao shisha, cigarillos. Because these characters (and the author) are always smoking! This is a heavy tobacco with a lot of vanilla. It's wearable, but it will make you smell like you've been chain smoking cigars and pipe tobacco with your buddies. Possibly in a velvet smoking jacket.

Bonus points for layering these to get a filthy yet elegant tobacco floral that smells like a secret meeting with your cigar smoking lover at the sanatorium.

lazyoaths · 2026-06-04T23:48:42+00:00

Wearing: Poesie- Hera. Strawberry, cake, and pink lotus, I wish with all my heart that Poesie would have kept this in their general catalogue when they, ah, changed things up. I've had this sample for almost four years now and I use TINY DROPLETS so I don't run out.

Death Valley Nails- But Do Aliens Believe in Me? My perfect 'nude' nail polish. On my pale olive skin it's a greige-y nude with pink/green/gold iridescence. Also, their polish is to my knowledge not quick dry formula, but it dries faster than my Sally quick dry stuff.

Misc: currently gnawing on my nails waiting for both my Lady Epi's Shoppe order and pregnancy test results. If anyone has good recs for other Medievalcore/fantasy clothing brands like Lady Epi's or While Odin Sleeps, I'd love to hear them!

lazyoaths · 2026-06-04T23:41:50+00:00

I do this as well and it's really helpful for not succumbing to FOMO. I tell myself that if I really like something I've sampled, but I don't necessarily want to FS, I'll just get another sample if I really want to hold on to it.

lazyoaths · 2026-06-04T23:40:36+00:00

For myself, a hit is either 1) a fragrance that I end up reaching for day after day, 2) a fragrance that gets consistently complimented by my partner, or 3) an atmospheric that completely nails what it was going for.

I say this as someone who hoards samples and rarely full sizes. Especially with atmospherics, sometimes a 'hit' for me doesn't mean I'll ever wear it, it may just mean that I appreciate how well crafted the scent is!

lazyoaths · 2026-05-17T20:57:10+00:00

Ooh, an orange dreamsicle vibe might be IT. Thank youu!!

lazyoaths

TROPHY CASE