Indie Friday: Wiggle Perfume and Sundries | Hello Pretty Bird! - A beauty and not-so-glamorous lifestyle blog

03 January, 2014

Indie Friday: Wiggle Perfume and Sundries

Bought It

Happy Indie Friday y'all! This week I thought I'd focus on a few scents by Wiggle Perfume and Sundries, a purveyor of delightful perfume oils. Since fragrance is a highly personal thing (what with subjectivity and different body chemistries and all) please bear in mind that what smells awesome to me may not smell awesome to you and vice-versa, but maybe this will give you a general idea of what some of these perfumes are like.


Wiggle Perfume and Sundries sample vials


Wiggle Perfume is based out of Washington state and their Etsy shop has a retro, feminine vibe (though they do have a few men's fragrances on offer). I heard about this shop when I asked around on the Indie Makeup subreddit about perfumers that do really good florals, so I picked up sample vials of a couple of their florals and some other stuff too. The samples are $3 apiece - here's a pic for size comparison:


Wiggle Perfume and Sundries sample vials - Odessa, Selene, Buxom, Anjali, Clementine Spice Tea, and Lila.


I ordered five samples and she threw in a sixth one for free - bonus. Here's what I got:


Odessa: "A blend of black tea, cinnamon, and blackberry jam, it's softened with touches of incense, peony and rose. I even included a boozy little kick to keep you warm on these short, cold days."

I think the description of the notes in this fragrance is pretty apt, though the dominant scent to my nose is definitely tea. I also get a whiff of the "boozy little kick" straight away. The other notes sort of blend together, but they're all still there... at first it smells a bit fruity, but then I think it smells more floral, yet there's a definitely an element of spiciness behind it all. I'm not sure if this fragrance suits me personally, but it's interesting, and if the idea of a cozy tea scent that isn't straight-up tea appeals to you then this may be worth a try.


Selene: "I've blended rich golden myrrh with red musk (the proper Indian stuff I used to get from the Gypsy Market in Atlanta) and blood orange essential oil. Heady lotus, night blooming jasmine, and olive blossom lend a narcotic femininity."

I'll be honest... this blend smells like soap to me. But like the world's fanciest soap, the kind of thing you'd find in a rich old lady's bathroom. I can really smell the jasmine in this, so if that's something that doesn't normally agree with your body chemistry I'd probably skip this one. In a less concrete sense, this smells sort of like a summer breeze on humid night to me, but like... in soap form. I honestly can't decide if I like it or not... it doesn't smell bad, but I don't think I'd want to smell it on my body all day. In a diffuser or something it would probably be awesome though, because it's fresh and summery and sort of elegant.


Buxom: "A blend of buttery rich bourbon vanilla and redolent English rose, this fragrance smells like a posh patisserie and florist smooshed together. I've grounded this fragrance with a lavish red musk, and embellished it with a flirty hint of powder."

This is EXACTLY the type of fragrance I was looking for when I first heard of Wiggle Perfume. Buxom is an old-fashioned (but very grand) floral fragrance with a sweet, vanilla-y edge. I smell a bit of a boozy note in the bottle, but it seems to dissipate once applied to my skin. This one is definitely on the strong side, and not for those who find rose scents distasteful or old-ladyish. I find this to be a bit more playful than some rose fragrances, but rose is unquestionably still the dominant note. A sexy scent with a bit of innocent sweetness behind it. Would purchase in full size.


Anjali: "I stumbled across this scent quite by accident. I was cleaning my fragrance bottles while moving them into my (fabulous!!) new workstation and both the coconut and amber bottles leaked at the same time. I sniffed it, thinking "this has got to be the most awful stench in the world!" and was stopped dead in my tracks. I dropped everything, added in just the right amounts of clove, jasmine, carnation, and sexy red musk and before I knew it I had my new favorite."

Anjali also has a bit of a soapy quality to me, but not as much as Selene. I'm thinking it might be the jasmine since it's in both of them? Anyway, I definitely smell the coconut and amber in there, with just a hint of jasmine... I can't quite pick up on the clove and carnation, but maybe they're just in there for support. Despite the slight soapiness on me I really like this fragrance. It's unusual but inviting. I may purchase this in full size... not 100% sure yet.


Clementine Spice Tea: "My Clementine Spice Tea scent combines a fresh sophisticated note of Earl Grey tea with neroli, tangerine, cinnamon, clove and patchouly. Hints of ginger and black pepper add an extra kick."


This was the freebie vial. I probably wouldn't have chosen this myself, but it's actually quite good. The dominant note is tea, but there's a prominent citrus element straight out of the bottle. As it dries down the floral and spicy notes become more noticeable. This wasn't quite what I was looking for but it suits me surprisingly well, and generally speaking it just smells really cheerful and good. When my boyfriend came home from work yesterday he said "Ooh, it smells so good! Are you burning a scented candle?" Nope, just the perfume.


Lila:
"Lila combines a rich and retro-fabulous lilac note with an inky black musk, touches of vanilla and black tea, dusky black rose, and a healthy kick of black pepper."

Another really fabulous, old-fashioned floral. If you like Buxom I think there's a good chance you'd also like this one, though Lila feels like Buxom's darker, sultrier older sister. I came to Wiggle Perfume looking for something like Buxom, but I think I might like this one even better. Would purchase in full size.



General impressions:

This is sort of amazing, but I liked every single fragrance I sampled from Wiggle. The only one I'm certain I wouldn't buy for myself is Odessa, but not because I thought it smelled bad on me, rather because it's a bit more subtle on me than the others and I love to reek like the inside of a candle shop. I'm 100% sold on Buxom and Lila, and considering the others (especially Anjali) in full size. Plus there are a number of other scents in their catalog I want to try...

Most of these scents have a romantic, retro feel and a bit of a sexy vibe. I think they're sort of old-fashioned (in a good way), but if you're usually averse to really bold fragrances or "old lady" scents I would definitely order samples first.

In terms of the particularities of ordering from Wiggle, it was uneventful. I think the turnaround time from order to shipment was about 10 days, which isn't especially long compared to other indie sellers. Everything was packed securely in a bubble mailer, no errors, no leaking, no problems. I will order again. Or I will make someone else order for me as a birthday gift. :)


Where to buy: You can find Wiggle Perfume and Sundries on Etsy. They do ship outside of the United States, though the international shipping rates are a fair bit more expensive.


Which of these scents sounds most appealing to you? Are there any other indie perfumes you love?

16 comments:

  1. wow they sound lush , would love to try Odessa sounds lovely !

    melissa x

    http://somelikeitblonde.blogspot.co.uk/

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  2. I love taking a chance with shops like this :) Do you like black phoenix alchemy lab? It's funny because I can't stand to buy a popular perfume without smelling it, but half the fun of buying from BPAL is not knowing whether you're going to love it. :p

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  3. That's a good way to describe it! :)

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  4. I don't have much experience with BPAL - honestly, their catalog is so huge that it sort of overwhelms me! Do you have any favorites from them? Another indie fragrance company I like that does samples is Solstice Scents... I'll probably do a review of them at some point too. Some mainstream perfumes are expensive so it would be crazy to buy them without testing first! A lot of the indies are on the cheaper side, or at least they sell cheap minis and samples. Easier to take the risk. :)

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  5. My perfume tastes are similar to my makeup tastes; I always seem to want the stupid expensive things. I have decants of some of them coming to me as we speak (thank god for those web sites!). Though, Odessa, Buxom, and Lila really sound intriguing. I may have to order some samples. :)

    Shani x
    http://shedreamsinperfectfrench.com

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  6. I might actually try something like this. I don't wear perfumes very often, I think this might be a good introduction. I'm a fan of a lot of Indie products already too, and would love to try more. Thanks for the great review!

    http://mattekat.blogspot.ca/

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  7. Well you're certainly allowed to want to expensive ones - I may or may not have a little stash of mainstream "fancy" perfume minis myself. :) I really like indie perfume oils though... aside from (usually) being cheaper, they're often much bolder or more unusual than your typical fare. If you get samples I'd be curious to know what you think!

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  8. No prob! Samples are also awesome if you don't wear perfume very often, because you'll get a few applications out of each little vial. Good if you only want to wear them for a special occasion or something.

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  9. This is great! I'm glad you did a review on these. I've been on the lookout for a new perfume, and this might just be perfect. Lila sounds like the one I'd probably try first :)

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  10. Definitely worth a try! If you get a sample of Lila you should try Buxom too. They're different, but if you like florals I could see both being appealing. :)

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  11. I love perfume samples. They are fun to try <3

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  12. Never heard of these perfumes but they seem to be fun to try. I like the fact of them being old fashioned :)

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  13. I've never heard of this brand before, but I think that it's great to support independent shops. I'll check it out!

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  14. Totally agreed! Especially if you like to change up what scent you're wearing a lot. :)

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  15. Me too, I'm definitely a fan of the retro/romantic vibe!

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  16. Totally agreed Stephanie! I've been getting really into indie perfume makers this past year because it is nice to support smaller shops, AND they're often affordable too. :)

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