Strings of Light in the Forest

I have finally found my perfect lavender-vanilla! The opening is pure, clear, photorealistic lavender essential oil. I grew up with my mom making her own organic soaps and lotions with essential oils; lavender was one of her favorites so this opening is very nostalgic to me. The vanilla is thick, creamy, and cold- I’ve never smelled such a realistic vanilla ice cream accord. This is eating lavender-honey gelato on a gray day at the beach, snuggled in a favorite sweater. Wearing shimmery lilac eyeshadow to take a walk during a light spring rain; sipping on a thermos of extra sweet London fog, more frothy lavender milk than tea to be honest. A forest fairy, draped in lavender silk flitting through the trees, framed against the golden light of sunset. 🤍💜💖 🧚🏽 9 months with this beauty has me yearning to upgrade my 15ml. There’s a creaminess and sweetness in the base reminiscent of MMIH minus the waffle cone. The dry down heads in the direction of a fluffy lavender marshmallow covered with vanilla powdered sugar. Strong longevity and projection. 🍯☁️🪻🍨🌾🌫️🫖

This is absolutely amazing and I’m surprised I haven’t seen any buzz about it online? To my nose, it is a perfect anywhere/anytime perfume but really fills the role of an uplifting spring/summer scent that isn’t beachy, skin, or overly sweet. I never saw myself as a lavender lover but the pairing with vanilla, beeswax, and vetiver transports me to rolling fields of flowers and that is something I need at the moment. I think my mind makes an association between lavender and sage because, despite sage not being listed, I sort of get a hint of it? Sillage and longevity are great on me—and I love pairing it with my sample of Sorce’s English Major perfume too. This is at the top of my list for a full bottle in the future.

My favorite of the Sorce samples that I've tried. It immediately passed the 'do I keep wanting to sniff my wrist' test. It's a deep, sweet scent and very well-blended, so much so that to my (somewhat new at this) nose, it's hard to discern the notes. Definitely vanilla, but there's something deeper behind it, strongly grounding it. A little herb-y, or incense-y maybe? I didn't get milkshake, but I could believe beeswax. I think it might be a little heavy for daily wear personally, but it's warm and cozy and delightful. I could see myself wearing this in the evenings when I want to stay in and curl up with a book.

This is my summer scent of the year, even though people seem to disagree on it being a summer scent. It just gives chilling among a fairy light-lit forest at night with refreshments and a breeze. The lavender is the most headstrong note in this fragrance--it's quite overpowering and strong at first spray, but balances out over time. You definitely get the beeswax from it, too, but it's not too strong. Once you let it sit on your skin for a bit, you get warm, sweet-smelling, lactonic vanilla (from the milkshake note). I also get the vetiver all the way at the end.

This scent took me on a JOURNEY. At first I was picking up straight lavender. The smell gave “Whole Foods” soap aisle. I admittedly didn’t love this, I don’t want to smell like homemade soap. Then it started to dry down and I started getting the forest notes, the grassy vetiver and almost a pine note. It smells like walking through a forest. Then eventually, the vanilla comes out and it’s so inviting and magical. I started out not liking this at all, to thinking maybe I’ll get a travel size, to ordering a full size in a matter of 2 hours.