Indie Friday: Haus of Gloi Pumpkin Butter & Perfume Oils Review | Hello Pretty Bird! - A beauty and not-so-glamorous lifestyle blog

13 December, 2013

Indie Friday: Haus of Gloi Pumpkin Butter & Perfume Oils Review

Bought It

Alrighty then, who wants to read about some delectable-smelling bath and body treats from an awesome indie company? Today I'll be writing about a few things I picked up from Haus of Gloi recently - more specifically, a couple of their body butters (aka "Pumpkin Butters") and perfume oils.


Haus of Gloi Pumpkin Butter


If you're into indie bath stuff there's a good chance you've heard of (or even ordered from) Haus of Gloi before as they're well-established and quite popular, but for those of you who haven't, here's the deal: Haus of Gloi is a small, two-person vegan company based out of Oregon that makes a variety of bath and body stuff, including soaps, body butters, scrubs etc. They also sell their fragrance blends as perfume oils - you can check out their regular fragrance catalog here.

I've read tons of good things about Haus of Gloi on various blogs and forums but this was my first time actually ordering from them, so I decided to be conservative and just get a couple of body butters and a perfume sample to try. They also threw in a second perfume sample as a freebie - can't complain about that. Let's take a look at the body butters first:


Haus of Gloi Pumpkin Butter Ye Olde Cake of Fruit Honeysuckle Lemon Curd


Haus of Gloi's body butters are called "Pumpkin Butter" because they're made with unrefined pumpkin seed oil. I got two to try: A 2oz mini jar of "Honeysuckle Lemon Curd" (from the regular catalog) and a 4oz jar of "Ye Olde Cake of Fruit" from the "Reverie" (limited edition) section.The full-size jars of their regular catalog scents are 6oz.


Ye Olde Cake of Fruit Pumkin Butter ($7 for 4oz)

Haus of Gloi Pumpkin Butter Ye Olde Cake of Fruit


Scent description from the website:
Rich brandy soaked spice cake filled with candied citron, pecans, candied cherries and pineapple.


This REALLY smells like fruitcake to me, heavy on the candied fruit. Which I guess means the description is spot-on. I don't find the fragrance on this one to be too overpowering or boozy - it's sweet and rich without making me want to sneeze. I've been applying it to my arms (which get very dry in the winter) and it makes me want to eat them. Do not eat your arms, R.

It seems that the Pumpkin Butter version of this scent is sold out, but you can still get it in whipped soap or perfume oil format.



Honeysuckle Lemon Curd Pumpkin Butter ($4.50 for 2oz, $10 for 6oz)

Haus of Gloi Pumpkin Butter Honeysuckle Lemon Curd


Scent description from the website:
Rich and lemony with a touch of fresh honeysuckle.

I don't get a strong honeysuckle note from this, but OMFG it smells good. Like deliciously tart lemon bars, heavier on the lemon curd than the pastry. I think this would make an especially good summer scent, but as a lemon lover I'd be happy to use it year-round. You can find this fragrance in some of their other bath stuff as well.


 General thoughts on the Pumpkin Butter formula:

Haus of Gloi Pumpkin Butter texture
Macro butter-cam. Remember, this is not a food.


The texture of Pumpkin Butter is super-duper thick, but it's not greasy-feeling and it actually absorbs into the skin quite easily. I have been using it all over my body with no adverse reactions - no rashes, breakouts, accidental gnawing of my arm because I think it's a food, etc. I've even been able to use it on my hands, which is cool because some body butters are too greasy for that.

Overall, I love *love* LOVE the two pumpkin butters I tried, and will absolutely be picking up more of Honeysuckle Lemon Curd in the future. If they bring back Ye Olde Cake of Fruit I'm down for that as well.


I also ordered a sample vial of perfume oil in "Rose City" and they threw in a free vial of "Fancy Bread" from their current Christmas ("Yule") collection as well. Let's have a look at those:


Haus of Gloi Perfume Oil sample vials Rose City Fancy Bread


(By the way, I love the little note - personal touches like that make me smile.)


Rose City Perfume Oil ($2.50 for a sample vial, $12 for 5ml - also available in some bath products)

Scent description from the website:
Red roses and the earthy wet scent of aged patchouli.


I had high hopes for this one because I'm a big fan of rose scents, but sadly it didn't really work for me. I feel like the rose note was quickly overpowered by the patchouli, and it left me smelling like... moss. That may appeal to some, but I didn't really like it. Your mileage may vary, of course.


Fancy Bread Perfume Oil ($12 for 5ml - also available in some "Yule" bath products)

Scent description from the website:
Ripe banana, roasted nuts and brown sugar folded into a delicious quick bread.

I had actually debated getting this in Pumpkin Butter form but decided against it at the last minute, so I'm glad they sent a sample. I don't usually go for foodie scents in perfume, but as a novelty, sure, why not. This smells incredibly similar to banana bread when first applied, then dries down into a more general cake-type smell. In any case, it's delicious and I smelled like a bakery while I was wearing it - yum. This is part of their Winter collection, so if this scent sounds appealing better grab it while you can!



Overall Impressions:


I'm really impressed with the high quality of Haus of Gloi's body butters, even if I can't eat them. And even though Rose City didn't really work for me it still seemed to have a nice level of fragrance, so if a rose and patchouli combo appeals then perhaps you should try it for yourself. Based on my limited experiences with the brand it seems like they do foodie scents really well, so I'll likely be picking up some more sweet-smelling Pumpkin Butters (and perhaps other bath stuff?) from them in the future. Oh, and it's worth mentioning that I got a shipping confirmation the same day I ordered - highly professional. Overall, I give Haus of Gloi two thumbs up!


Where to buy: You can find all of Haus of Gloi's products on their website, plus a limited selection of soaps in their Etsy shop. It should be noted that they do ship internationally, and you can check the rates easily by adding things to your cart and selecting your country from a dropdown menu.


Have you ever tried anything by Haus of Gloi? What are your favorite bath and body companies?

13 comments:

  1. That's unfortunate about the rose oil.
    I love getting my mom rose-scented things for xmas. I do like patchouli though!
    Very intrigued by this indie brand. First heard of them from Gloss Goss back in the day. I always have to resist tasting delicious smelling beauty products lol
    x atelier zozo

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    1. Well, fragrances smell different on different people so you may have better luck with it! Anyway, I'd definitely recommend them - all of the other scents I tried were awesome.

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  2. I just went and looked at their site and the make your own perfume option is pretty cool! I'm not sure I'd trust myself to blend a good one though. I'd probably just end up caramel, chocolate, marshmallow, vanilla bean and not love it lol.

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  3. It is cool! But I would probably avoid it for exactly the same reasons, haha. I would assume they they have enough skill to prevent your scent blend from smelling like total ass, but if you pick four weird or overly sweet notes then two knows...

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  4. Oh Rebecca you don't need to tempt me hahahaha. I love buying indie bath products like this! That lemon curd one sounds sooo good. :D

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  5. What, you don't need more bath and beauty stuff? :P

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  6. Oh MAN. This is tempting beyond all get go. First of all, indie companies <3. Second of all, smelling like a bakery while moisturizing myself. You devious temptress, you.


    Shani x
    http://shedreamsinperfectfrench.com

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  7. I put some of the fruitcake body butter on before I went to bed last night and my boyfriend (in his sleep!) said "MMMMM YOU SMELL GOOOOOD". Now I have to watch out for him eating my arm too...

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  8. Heh, at least you have the boyfriend to eat your arm? Although, maybe not having a zombie for a boyfriend is a bit better...

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  9. Well I'd rather my arm remain uneaten, but if it's going to happen I guess it's better if it's someone I know...

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  10. The packaging is great. I love vinage style packaging like this.

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  11. Me too! I guess I didn't really mention it in the review, but their package design is top-notch as well. Very professional for a smaller company.

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