Witch's Cottage

I was sorting through my box of sample sized goodies, forgetting that I'd got a good collection of Solstice Scents of varying sizes. I decided to use 4 of them on quarters of me; one on each wrist and each shoulder. Husband decided this one was delicious (and believe me, he's got a nose that's harder to please than the cast of VPR) and smells of 'gingerbread and nice kitchen stuff' which is as good enough a description than any? I'm a witch, and I live in a little English village, in a modern semi. This, however, evokes flagstone floors and natural wood cupboards, with gingerbread biscuits baking in an old and well used oven, while incense burns on the hearth. There's residual smoke after the fire was stoked to keep the embers of the oven alive, and on the stove sits a cauldron full of warm toffee apples coated in sugar, with a side of booze. YUMYUMYUM enough to make a mouth water!

haaa...mouthwatering :) initially it is a photorealistic or noserealistic (?) spicy bakery/kitchen smell. Kind of like ginger snaps from close up, the crunchy type, a bit burnt on the sides. With time the scent mellows out and turns into a more creamy, buttery scent. I have an aversion towards sugary scents but this one, stays decent, initially because of the spices and rough edges, later 'coz of the creaminess. Safe blind buy to any gourmmie lover or those who are just tipping their toes in the water. :)

On my skin, this almost has a salty note, which may be how I’m perceiving the “baked goods.” It is also very herbal on me, not gourmand. I get faint whiffs of apples in the top notes and warm, dry hay on the drydown . I like it a lot, though, and wear it frequently. It is strong on application, but mellows to a very wearable scent within 20 minutes.

beautifully earthy and sweet pastries, with a mild apple scent underlying and slight florals. The praline adds a warm nutty sweetness and blends together with green notes to create an aromatic dark gourmand reminiscent of its name, a witch's cottage.

I guess I’m one of the few who picks up the herbal notes over the sweet. I definitely smell chamomile and some rosemary, along with sweet annie and some apples in the drydown. I really like this and wear it often as I adore herbal scents. Mine has aged about a year and a half and I don’t notice too much of a difference between now and the first few weeks I had it. Longevity is fair, about four hours, and projection is soft but noticeable when up close. **Since mine seems to be so different from everyone else, I may order another bottle, just to see if it may have been accidentally mislabeled. Or maybe my nose is totally wrong 🤷🏻♀️

This scent really grew on me. The smokiness is the strongest notes on my skin but not in a bonfire way. There's an earthiness and coziness from the incense and herbal notes that softens the smoke. I get a good bit of the caramel as well for a sweetness that is surprisingly nice with all these other scents. It really does evoke more of a fire in a cottage scent. I enjoy it.

This one is just purely yummy to me! I have had my bottle for a long time so I am not sure if it's been reformulated or not, but it smells like a spiced comforting fall gourmand scent. It really reminds me of a homespun store I used to visit in a small town that smelled exactly like it! Very powerful and warm on my skin. I don't wear it often but its so lovely when I do!

I've grown to really enjoy this scent. On me the smoke really comes through most but not in a bonfire way. The incense and herbal notes give it a nice earthiness that tend to enjoy in perfume. The caramel is also clear but takes a back seat giving a nice warmth and sweetness without going full gourmand.

This is one of those 'scented candle/hookah' perfumes, very nice, kind of like Kitchen but more herbal, still very ahem... 'affordable', when it comes to ingredients.

Totally evocative of what we are to imagine. Herbs, smoke, sweet baked goods. Enticing.

Opens very green and herbal, reminiscent of weed. Becomes sweeter as it dries down but never reaches gourmand. Fresh, unusual, interesting. It's a strange and twisting fragrance that will keep you sniffing. The name is perfect. I love testing Solstice Scents! Review of official PERFUME EXTRAIT sample purchased directly from SolsticeScents.com

I do get the vibe of some old witchy lady from this, somebody who loves incense stick. Not so much of the gourmand notes though. Was expecting something else, also it is unisex, but more maculine than my expectations. Not bad but not that great. Performance is also on the average side.

I was surprised at how gourmand this was on me - opening was almost pure icing. Then the baked goods (more like bread or muffins) came out, along with incense-y and smoky undertones, and that was very welcome. However... in two hours, this was gone. :-(

I used to work at a store that sold Yankee candles, and there was one called "Kitchen Spice" which reminds me a lot of this, as it had a huge variety of sweet spice scents that somehow didn't clash. Witch's Cottage opens up with a big whiff of cinnamon, but it's got a lot of notes: caramel, butter, vanilla, brown sugar, a pinch of salt, and buttercream. Eventually these sweet/pastry notes give way a little to notes of baked apple and oatmeal. I don't get any herbal notes, but it's possible the food smells are clouding that. Overall, it's very warm and homey, but a little too sweet for me. This perfume isn't for me, it feels more like a candle and less like a perfume and the amount of food notes is kind of overwhelming to my nose, but if you like a detailed scent with a lot of tasty bakery smells, give this one a shot!

I love this house, but this one is just OK, then it goes south from there. Starts off smelling like a spiced candle, and then softens down into spices and baked goods, like light and fluffy ginger cake, with apples baked in. I didn’t get any incense. But it doesn’t last; the drydown is lackluster and just turns into potpourri or candle spices. Not that great. I’ve smelled much better from thie perfumer.

Cloth test smelled great, skin test turned into chemicals. I tried 6 samples from Solstice Scents and they all turned on my skin. I just will not be able to wear this maker's perfumes.

I get smooth spice cake...there is a hint of apple at first but it gives way to a very smooth and well blended gourmand. My nose might be interpreting the praline as part of this smoothness now that I peruse the notes. Perfect for autumn/winter wear without being too woody. For some reason oud has kind of become my cilantro. I actually like cilantro but some people can’t stand it. I used to be ok with oud but something happened and now I dislike it and some woods in fragrances border on being oud-y to my nose..almost like my nose and brain lump them into the oud bucket. Fear not...no oud in these exotic woods, friends. I also do not get herbal from this like Unearthly Apoth below.