One Thousand and One Nights by Iris Handmade Soaps

Hello lovely falling crimson leaves! Last week was a pretty difficult week for me at work, so I was planning on crashing on the couch and watching Orange is the New Black on Netflix, but I started drafting this post instead. Blogger has been wonky lately, so unfortunately I couldn't finish this post until now. The reason I drafted this post last Friday is because I purchased a perfume from Amanda's new etsy story  two weeks ago, and it came in the mail last Friday! I was really surprised that it arrived in America just one week from when she shipped it! It was a really nice surprise after the week I had, and I am very happy to say that the perfume I ordered (A Thousand and One Nights) is absolutely stunning. So stunning that I am very sad I couldn't finish this post sooner. 

Here is the scent description for A Thousand and One Nights from Amanda's etsy:

This was named by my mother after she tried this on!

A perfume all about the warmth and abiance of telling a story:

ginger cookies,vanilla, oats and spiced milk.

This is buttery and foodie. Yum!  



  Above: A Thousand and One Nights. The labeling is really charming and pretty.

 

  Above: The packaging was really awesome. Amanda sent everything in a lovely (and reuseable) blue box. She included a very sweet (and incredibly cute) card adorned with a teddy bear. She even sent me some extra goodies- candy and a beautiful handmade soap with a starfish molded on top!

The perfume itself is absolutely stunning. Most of you probably know that I don't usually go for foodie scents, but I had a feeling this would be an exception (and it certainly is!). This is definitely a foodie perfume, but a very wearable foodie. I know some perfumes with spice notes can get a little overwhelming, but that is not the case for A Thousand and One Nights. The vanilla and oats balance everything out to make the spiced milk and ginger notes really warm and comforting. The notes are very well blended and they work together to create a very charming and incredibly beautiful scent that I greatly look forward to wearing for the colder weather and holiday season. The sillage is incredible. I did not need to sniff my wrists to be able to detect this perfume, I could definitely smell it on me! It also lasted for hours. I don't know the exact amount of time, but this perfume has really wowed me in all the areas that make great perfumes!

Amanda, thank you for the very sweet note and for the extra goodies in my package. You are truly talented and I really wish the best for your new store! *hugs*

Autumn Daze ~ OHWTO Halloween goodies!

Hello sweet little pumpkin pies! I hope you are all doing well. I greatly apologize for not posting and commenting on your blogs as much as I'd like. Work has been pretty crazy and I've also been sick for what seems like an eternity. Plus, I can't wear perfume to work, so I can't test scents unless I'm off or until I get home from work; so that makes getting posts up a little more difficult. But, enough with excuses! :)

 OHWTO has seemed to be really quiet on the social networking side of things, so I found out about their Halloween 2013 release by just checking their website and seeing the lovely "Halloween" link! I ordered two full size perfumes and some extra black magic soap (not pictured). The perfumes I ordered were Zalgo and Slenderman. 

Scent Descriptions from OHWTO:

Zalgo: The scent of those unnamed things which lurk and creep where we can't see them; say their names, and they will come. The Green scent of brush underfoot, murky grey Puddles, wilted, faded Flowers, ritual Herbs, sharp peppery Musk, tinged with Fear.

Slenderman: A modern-day urban legend, Slenderman is described as very tall and thin with unnaturally long arms which it can extend. He has a white, blank head and wears a dark suit. Slenderman is usually seen in and around the forest, where he can easily camouflage himself to better sneak up on unsuspecting victims. The cologne of a well-dressed man, hidden in plain sight among trees and ferns in a creepy copse, the creaking of a heavy mahogany door in an abandoned forest retreat nobody has entered in decades. 

Above: Zalgo, Slenderman

Above: Becca included an adorable blow-up eyeball, a spider ring, skull stamp, and candy in my package. I thought that was a really sweet of her!

The Verdict

Out of the two perfumes I purchased, my favorite one by far is Zalgo! I know it's a bit unconventional as far as the notes are concerned, but it is very creepy and it really just works. The perfume smells exactly as described. The cold sniff is both green and aquatic, though in a very eerie sort of way. Initial application is very similar to the cold sniff, though the florals spring to life among the other notes. The drydown is a beautiful combination of the notes listed. It is so well blended that it's very difficult to distinguish individual notes seperately. I've really been enjoying this perfume!

I can't say much about Slenderman because it really didn't work for me. I usually adore forest type of scents, but I almost scrubbed it off because I really didn't like it. I hope to find it a new home where it will be more loved! :)

This order included two solid Halloween perfume samples, so I'll include my thoughts on those in my next post. I hope you all have had a great weekend and enjoy this upcoming week!

Autumn Daze ~ Spooktacular Halloween Questions

Hello sweet little pumpkins! Sorry to be missing for so long. I've been super busy with work and doctor's appointments and getting blood work, andddd I have a cold, haha. So I thought today I'd share a fun Halloween survey that I'd love you guys to do if you so desire! So consider yourself tagged if you're reading this and feel like doing these questions :)

1. Favorite Halloween movie(s)? Nightmare Before Christmas. My favorite horror movie lately has been Cabin in the Woods though. 
2. Favorite Halloween song? “This is Halloween” cover by Marilyn Manson

3. Favorite candy? Reese's cups

4. Favorite fictional horror movie character? Ash from Evil Dead

5. A personal supernatural experience? Too many to count, but one of the scariest was seeing my mom's doppelgänger standing in my room door. "It" called my name to wake me up twice. When I turned around to face it, it looked at me and fucking disappeared. Though I knew it wasn't her for a couple reasons (main being my mother doesn't have a habit of disappearing out of thin air), I asked her if she woke me up the previous night. Of course, she didn't.

6. Favorite Halloween attraction? The Haunted Mansion and Tower of Terror
7. Favorite Tim Burton movie? The Nightmare Before Christmas. I cleaned my parents' patio to earn money for it as a kid, and I've never looked back!
8. Favorite Rocky Horror Picture Show song? I hate to say it, but I never saw RHPS.

9. Ideal Halloween costume? Ariel
10. Your biggest fear? Losing my loved ones.

11. Zombies or vampires? Vampires.

12. Favorite Nightmare Before Christmas character? Barrel! It always has been. I even got a bracelet at my elementary school's autumn fair with "Barrel" etched into it because he's awesome!
13. A Halloween tradition? Carving pumpkins

14. Favorite fall food? Anything pumpkin is good with me!

15. Plans for Halloween this year? Hopefully getting our zombies out and of course passing out candy.
16. Favorite family Halloween movie? Hocus Pocus
17. Your costume this year? None :(
18. Favorite things you like to do around Halloween time?
 I love holidays and anything theme-related, so I love decorating, carving pumpkins, reading scary stories on Nosleep... I guess that's all I can think of!
19. Would you spend the night in a haunted house (on Halloween)? All aboard the nope train!
20. Would you rather carve a pumpkin or eat pumpkin pie? Carve a pumpkin Then eat pumpkin pie for my efforts ;)

Lastly, I re-did my Frankenstein Halloween nails from last year! Here is a link to that post. It includes the video I used to recreate this manicure. :)

I hope you're all doing well and enjoy the rest of your weekends!