Sleep Knot

Ah, ylang ylang. This curious yellow flower was one of my early "note fascinations" during my fragrance journey, and so I went on a short-lived expedition to smell some ylang-centric scents, including ostensibly ylang soliflores. Turns out, on its own, ylang ylang is fruity-sweet, but also custard-like and rubbery at the same time. The note itself can be a little grating due to its sweetness, which is why it still seems psychopathic to me to pair ylang ylang to vanilla in any scent... Most scents that use ylang-ylang successfully do so by burying it far from the heat of the critic's nose, particularly by smushing it into other florals as part of an abstract core. Sleep Knot, to my delight, takes the alternative approach of pairing ylang-ylang with black pepper, and the end result is spectacular. Here, the yellow floral can be enjoyed to its full extent as the contrasting dark spice from the pepper cuts through the sweetness of the floral and thus makes it visible, like giving a contrasting background to an otherwise floating image. There is also an appreciable jasmine lending the barest touch of indole, and sandalwood as a base. The overall experience is very garden-like, erotic and yes, soporific. Not too sweet. This is a great scent to go to sleep with, but when worn during the day does require occasional reapplication as it's a little bit coy on me (roughly 4 or 5 hours longevity).

I absolutely adore this one and my husband doe too, making it perfect for bedtime. the combination of notes is very sensual, but not harsh or overpowering. here's what Sarah says about it: "In February 2015 we were asked to create a perfume to spray on hotel pillows, for people planning a romantic weekend away. It was a tiny batch, just to send to the hotels and the press, then it was going to disappear forever. They wanted jasmine, sandalwood, ylang ylang and black pepper, some of the loveliest natural materials on the planet. We made it really quickly, and they were quite surprised that it smelled this good. It seemed a shame that it would be lost forever, so we had an idea. We'd been thinking about Carlos Powell's Peace Love Perfume project, bit hadn't quite cracked the idea - and this seemed just right. Here we have peace and love - in a perfume. We went back to the formula, worked on it a little and created a perfume with a purpose. We named it Sleep Knot, because first of all we wanted to say it was to help you sleep - not. All those lovely oils, traditionally used as aphrodisiacs for hundreds - maybe thousands - of years. Then we thought of the shapes that bodies make when you finally fall asleep with someone you're totally completely in love with, and we named it a sleep knot: arms and legs all tangled up because you don't want to let go." oh, yes please.

Ohhhhhhh this is an instant LOVE for me! I already adore ylang ylang, but this combination in Sleep Knot is heavenly. This was one of those cases where I’m annoyed that I only have a dabbing tester of this, because I want to spray it all over myself immediately and smell it every moment, not just when I smell my arm. Definitely getting a full bottle. In the first hour of wearing this, I smell mainly the ylang ylang, with pops of black pepper. The jasmine and sandalwood definitely give the ylang ylang a lovely creaminess. It’s such a beautiful smell to me. After a couple hours, the sandalwood is more notable, but the ylang ylang and pepper are still softly there in the background, so it isn’t just plain boring sandalwood alone in the dry down. Scent is gone after 4 hours on my skin. It smells gorgeous all the way through, I’m obsessed.

to me this smells like creamy mandarin.. a dessert like custard or pana cotta that’s infused with orange essence. but i think what i’m smelling is the ylang ylang. it’s so yummy. there’s a gentle black pepper twang and sandalwood present in the dry down which compliments the creamy ylang ylang so beautifully. only negative thing i have to say about this perfume is that it has poor longevity. it only lasts on my skin for a few hours, and has a really weak projection aswel.. which is a big shame. but for that reason this is a perfect fragrance to wear for intimate moments or just for yourself.

A gorgeous fragrance. Im first hit with the unmistakeable ylang ylang, pepper and sandalwood. The jasmine reveals itself over time on me. This combination of notes does remind me of frangipani a bit. There is definitely a tropical vibe going on with this creation. A fragrance perfect to wear at a summer evening event be it romantic or otherwise. My only reservation with this fragrance is the pepper note. Thankfully it doesn't get amped as is the usual case with my chemistry. Moderate sillage and longevity.