Indie Weekends: Black Violet Summer Collection Review

I've had the Black Violet Summer perfumes for quite a while, and finally got a chance to test them all! Like most Black Violet perfumes, these are mostly florals and fruity perfumes. The one thing I always like about getting "samples", is that they are dram vials, and much more convenient for me than 1 ml samples most other companies offer.

About - Black Violet is owned by Leilani, and they are an indie perfumery and bath and body shop based out of Maryland. Black Violet offers perfume oils in sample sizes and full size rollerballs, body butters, creme soap, detangling mists, facial cleansers, and a few other kinds of products. They also offer a quarterly subscription box, called the Blackbox.

June 2015 Favorites

I actually had a hard time this month narrowing down my favorites as there was a lot I really liked. I think the most difficult is picking one of my indie subscriptions, as they've all been really great lately. But there were a few new brands this month with some of my favorite products, and I think a good variety!

Indie Weekends: Blooddrop Spring Simplicities Perfume Review

I've been a bit behind on my review schedule, I needed to take a little break. But I'm hoping to have up my normal review schedule this weekend and next week. I once again hit up Ajevie's Circles, which is a perfume decant circle, for several of the Blooddrop Spring Simplicities perfumes. I only grabbed about half of them in sample form, with only one as a half bottle. This was my first time trying Blooddrop, but again, since I did order these from the decant circle, I won't have all of the information I normally have for my reviews.

About - Blooddrop is an indie perfumery, but they also carry corsets, jewelry, and a few other bath and body type products as well. But they don't offer perfume samples, so participating in a decant circle like Ajevie's Circles, makes it easy to try a few scents and see if you like them.

Indie Weekends: Darling Clandestine Summer Perfumes Review

This review is a bit late, but better late than never! I was finally able to test and review all of the summer Darling Clandestine perfumes. Not as many winners for this season's perfumes, but a few surprise favorites. I was even able to compare last year's version of Pyrotechnik to this year's version.

About - Darling Clandestine is an indie perfume company, located in Texas, owned by Evonne, and is known for some weirder perfume scents. There are seasonal releases, and a few that pop up out of their season every now and then. The entire perfume catalog is located here, and each scent has a "boss level" which is on a sliding scale of 1 being something that could totally pass as a mainstream perfume, to 10 being really weird smelling.

Indie Subscription: Kiss My Sass June 2015 Lip Addicts Anonymous Review

My Kiss My Sass Lip Addicts Anonymous subscription surprise arrived this month, as I never got an email with the tracking information. There was a bit of a unicorn theme, and quite a few awesome extras, including a bonus eyeshadow made by Glamour Doll Eyes exclusively for this subscription! This was a great second month of the subscription, it makes me really excited for how it will grow.

About - Kiss My Sass Cosmetics is owned by Elizabeth and based out of Pennsylvania. They make all kinds of products, from eyeshadow, to lip products, to perfume, to bath and body, to blushes and highlighters. She just recently introduced her new lip subscription, which is called Lip Addicts Anonymous.

Indie Weekends: Possets Georgetown Cocktail Party Collection Review

I have been wanting to try Possets perfumes for quite sometime, but was always turned off by the website design and how many perfumes they offer. And it always bothers me when a perfume shop offers samples, but you have to write in your selections, and there's no list of all scents. It can make it very hard for the first time shopper to actually purchase. And I never did. I always wanted to, but was too overwhelmed. There is a wonderful lady however, who makes decanted samples for purchase, and you can pick if you want a sample, a half bottle, or a full bottle. You just make your selection on the Google form, and she invoices you once she's taken all the orders. Ajevie's Circles is a great way to try perfumes from shops you may not otherwise purchase from because of the limitations of their offerings. I was able to grab samples of almost every scent from the Possets Georgetown Cocktail Party collection for Spring 2015. Because I purchased decants from a third party, I do not have some of my normal review info.

About - Possets is an indie perfumery shop, which offers a huge selection of scents. They are based in Ohio, and owned by Fabienne. Permanent collection scents can be purchased in sample form, but seasonal offerings are only available in full size bottles. Ajevie's Circles is a great resource to procure samples of seasonal scents.

Indie Subscription: Altitude Soap Co. Back To Bon Temps Summer Soap Box Review

I recently heard about Altitude Soap Co. and their Back To Bon Temps Summer Soap Box, which is inspired by True Blood. I have always been a pretty big True Blood fan, and a Sookie Stackhouse book fan, that this was the perfect first foray into this brand. I thought it might be a good way to get a feel for their products, and see how I liked their scents. And I think it ended up being a great deal, it was just over $26 for 2 full size products, and 6 sample products! I'm calling this an indie subscription, even though it's not technically, as you just purchase the box, and there's no subscription plan. But it's a box full of indie products, and that's close enough for me!

About - Altitude Soap Co. is an indie bath and body company specializing in bath oil, foot butter, lip balm, perfume oil, and a few other products. They are based out of Alabama, and just introduced their first soap box, inspired by True Blood.

Fortune Cookie Soap May the 4th Be With You Mini Collection Review

Fortune Cookie Soap recently, or I guess not so recently since it's been a month, offered a Star Wars inspired mini collection. I thought all of the scents sounded pretty good, so I had to get the entire set! I won't pretend that I am a huge Star Wars fan, I didn't grow up with it, so it doesn't hold a special place in my heart like it does for others, but I can appreciate it for being so well loved by many. And I figured anything that didn't work for me would make a great gift. Unfortunately, this set is no longer available.

About - Fortune Cookie Soap is a bath and body shop, owned by Shannon and Justin, a wife and husband duo. They've done quite a bit of expanding in the past year, and have a quarterly subscription box, quarterly seasonal releases, quite a few limited edition collections, and they also have a Create Your Own, where you get to decide on the scent for products. They specialize in their namesake product, the fortune cookie soap, as well as, bath bombs, body butter, scrubs, hair oils, wax tarts, and all kinds of other bath and body products.

Indie Weekends: Haus of Gloi Summer 2015 Collection Review

My Haus of Gloi Summer Collection order arrived pretty early, and I went a little crazy with the whipped soaps. This was the last chance to get them before they return in the fall, so I wanted to stock up! Plus, they had the chance to get some rare coconut perfumes, and I had to try one. I already had a few of these perfumes from last year, and I  already reviewed those and some of the pumpkin butters here.

About - Haus of Gloi is an indie bath and body company based in Oregon, and owned by Matt and Britton. They sell perfumes, scrubs, soaps, pumpkin butters, hair oils, lip balms, and a few other various products. Everything is handmade and their scents are their own original creations. They have a main line of scents that are sold year round, and then they have quarterly seasonal limited edition collections.

Indie Subscription: Aromaleigh May 2015 Ephemera Review

May's Aromaleigh Ephemera arrived quite a while ago, but I just didn't have time to do my look I normally do. I probably should have gotten to this much earlier, but I have just not felt like doing my makeup much this month. Or really any time I am not leaving the house, or I'm in a rush, or it's early. Do you ever get that? Well anyways, it's finally here, my review for May's Ephemera, sans my usual look.

About - Aromaleigh opened back in 1998, and was one of the first indie cosmetic companies to be started. Kristen is the owner, and is based in South Carolina. They offer a few fandom related collections, including Hannibal, Sherlock, and the Hunger Games, but most of their collections are historically and mythologically inspired. The monthly Ephemera subscription began January 2015.

Indie Weekends: Alchemic Muse Summer Collection Review

Alchemic Muse always has their seasonal collections, and now that perfume samples are easily available, I couldn't wait to try the new Summer Collection. This is the first summer collection I have tried that is really reminiscent of the beach and fruity cocktails that if you're looking for something like that, this collection will be perfect for you!

About - Alchemic Muse is an indie bath and body company, located out of Florida. They specialize in perfume, creme soaps, body whip, scrubs, body gloss, shower gel, and hair mist. They feature a permanent catalog, as well as seasonal collections.

Indie Subscription: Hello Waffle May 2015 Visage Review

May's Hello Waffle Visage arrived earlier this month, and I was so excited to try everything! To make up for the fairly warm tones we received the last few months, there were plenty of cooler tones and a high overall value this month. And a guest indie from a brand I haven't had a chance to try before!

About - Hello Waffle is an indie cosmetics company specializing in beautiful eyeshadow collections, blushes, and lip products, made by Christine, the owner. Hello Waffle is based in Canada, and currently has collections inspired by Archer, Fringe, famous musical composers, cats/literature, and a collection celebrating reaching 1000 Facebook likes. She also offers seasonal fairytale inspired collections that can be purchased in the season they are inspired by.

Indie Subscription: Sixteen92 Summer 2015 Circle Review

When Sixteen92 announced the Circle subscription, I and I think everyone else was pretty hesitant. After all, it was $85 upfront for the entire year subscription, with shipments coming quarterly. But it's different from many other indie subscriptions, in that the products are only from Sixteen92, there are no guest products. And it's only a preview of the seasonal scents for each quarter, with one exclusive perfume. So if you missed out on this sub, you really only missed that one exclusive scent; everything else will be made available at a later time. I guess asking for $85 up front is better than trying to deal with notoriously awful subscription software, that tends to break for no known reason, but I had to soften the blow by splitting the sub with a friend.

About - Sixteen92 is a newer indie company, owned by Claire and based in Texas, that specializes in perfume. They also recently introduced their bath and body product line, including shower gel and hand & body lotion.

Indie Weekends: Solstice Scents Spring Collection Review

Solstice Scents just recently released their Spring Collection and I was out and about when it went live, came back and almost everything was sold out! I couldn't believe it went so fast, but luckily I was only planning on purchasing the sample set. I'd also like to note that they changed pens that they use for writing the names on the labels, so they are more smudge-proof. Much nicer, because I was always smudging the old ones.

About - Solstice Scents is an indie bath and body and perfumery, that sells perfumes, whipped soap, body ganache creams, bath soaks, and their burnishing glace sprays, which are kind of like body mists or can be used as bath oils. They are based out of Florida, and offer a main collection scent line, as well as seasonal collections that can mostly be ordered all year in sample form.

Indie Subscription: Glamour Doll Eyes May 2015 OTM Review

May's Glamour Doll Eyes OTM has always been a bit extra special, because it's Vanessa's birthday month! She likes to spoil us for her birthday, how awesome is that? I couldn't wait to get mine after seeing the spoilers, especially all the great looking extras we got!

About - Glamour Doll Eyes is an indie cosmetics company specializing in eyeshadow, blush, lip glazes, gel eyeliner, and will be soon venturing into pressed shadows. Vanessa, the owner, is based in Nevada, and has been doing a monthly subscription for three years.

Indie Weekends: Darling Clandestine Spring Perfumes Review

I ordered a few things recently from the Darling Clandestine spring perfumes list, and wanted to do a review. I realized I actually have almost every single spring perfume, with the exception of two, and Blue Valentine isn't here either because I already reviewed that here. It's by far my most complete seasonal collection, so let's get to the smell babies!

About - Darling Clandestine is an indie perfume company, located in Texas, owned by Evonne, and is known for some weirder perfume scents. There are seasonal releases, and a few that pop up out of their season every now and then. The entire perfume catalog is located here, and each scent has a "boss level" which is on a sliding scale of 1 being something that could totally pass as a mainstream perfume, to 10 being really weird smelling.

Indie Weekends: Alchemic Muse Spring Collection Review

It's been a while since my last Alchemic Muse review, so I had to try the new Spring Collection in perfume form for review! Alchemic Muse used to only be available on their Etsy shop, but they now have a standalone website, where you can finally get perfume samples. Which is great for me, since I don't need any more soap!

About - Alchemic Muse is an indie bath and body company, located out of Florida. They specialize in perfume, creme soaps, body whip, scrubs, body gloss, shower gel, and hair mist. They feature a permanent catalog, as well as seasonal collections.

Indies of the Week: Sixteen92 Supercell Review

So the indies of this week is actually only one indie, and it's Sixteen92's Supercell perfume. This perfume was highly sought after, and I had to sort of last minute insert it into my Indies of the Week schedule, and here it is! I've been letting this perfume sit for a while to mingle and meld before officially testing it. I did throw it on right when it arrived just to see how it was. Let's get to the review portion!

About - Sixteen92 is a newer indie company, owned by Claire and based in Texas, that specializes in perfume. They also recently introduced their bath and body product line, including shower gel and hand & body lotion.

Indies of the Week: Sixteen92 Black Sugar Lotion + Perfume Review

Sixteen92 is a company I've been enjoying more and more recently, so for today's Indies of the Week I wanted to review the scent Black Sugar. Both as a lotion, and a perfume! I received the perfume as a free sample with one of my orders, and the lotion was given to me as a gift. I'm not typically into really sugary scents, so testing this scent was a bit of an adventure for me!

About - Sixteen92 is a newer indie company, owned by Claire and based in Texas, that specializes in perfume. They also recently introduced their bath and body product line, including shower gel and hand & body lotion.

Fortune Cookie Soap Wonderland Collection Review

I ordered a few things from the Fortune Cookie Soap Wonderland Collection release, and wanted to do a quick review of them! I was trying to be good, so I only ordered most of the scents as perfumes, and a couple shower steamers. But it was a great chance to really get a feel for the notes in the scents!

About - Fortune Cookie Soap is a bath and body shop, owned by Shannon and Justin, a wife and husband duo. They've done quite a bit of expanding in the past year, and have a quarterly subscription box, quarterly seasonal releases, quite a few limited edition collections, and they also have a Create Your Own, where you get to decide on the scent for products. They specialize in their namesake product, the fortune cookie soap, as well as, bath bombs, body butter, scrubs, hair oils, wax tarts, and all kinds of other bath and body products.