If you're familiar with COCOA PINK!! Please let me know your thoughts if you've tried any of these.. these are the ones I'm interested in but have never bought from them before.

Apricot Eyelet

Black Berry Sugar

Black Kittens

Blackberry Cotton Candy Bliss

Come Hither

Cotton Candy Dreams

Frosted Eyelet

Green Apple Noel

Ivory Eyelet

Marshmallow

Midnight Hay

Sigh

Signature White

Sugared Violets

The Un-Red

Violet Poundcake

Bobbing for Apples

Cranberry Noel

Full Moon

Harlequin Mask

Mansion

Mortal Tears, Fairy Laughter

Proud Queen

Sweet Potato Souffle

Thanks!!

What’s your favorite scent with the word sweater in the name?

Looking for something similar to Alphamusk Medusa:

Rose, mocha on a base of royal musk, bourbon, sparkling amber

Thank you!

Caveat: I do not like gourmands at all!!! Every campfire scent seems to also want to go for a s’mores thing and it’s frustrating.

I just want that smell that lingers in your clothes after you’ve been around a fire. I wouldn’t mind some herb, hay, grass, or booze notes either.

I am looking for some small brands that have memento mori motifs and are minimalistic.

Some examples of what I am looking for are Montestruque, Under the Pyramids, and BloodMilk!

I know they did a perfume called "Chelsea morning" but impossible to get it since it’s always out of stock… I tried xerjoff lira (too lemony) Akro Bake (not creamy enough, just lemony…) and D&G Devotion (too candied boozy and not creamy enough) for people who don’t know what super milk smells like: It’s a very creamy vanilla with a lemon pie hint and it’s quite warm and spicy like cinnamon (the hair product also has almond) The creamy vanilla and lemon is prominent, not only the lemon ! I don’t want to smell like a lemon candy but a creamy pie. So that’s why I’m wondering now if it actually exist !

Please bear with me as I am still brand new to the world of IMAM and to perfume in general! I am posting to share my experience but also in hopes that I will get some feedback to find the right scents for me, as I don't feel any of these are quite the one(s) just yet.

After my post searching for a starting point based on my nostalgia for Gap Grass and Gucci Rush, I ended up ordering samples from Ajevie and Alkemia. Thank you to those who commented and got me started with great suggestions! I have done a lot of research since and have a long wishlist, but ultimately I decided to just dive in and order based on availability and instinct. Also, trying to think outside my comfort zone a bit so I can start exposing my nose to new scents.

I was very pleased with TAT and the whole ordering experience, everything arrived within about 7-10 days from both companies. The little envelopes were so cute and fun to receive.

Here are my takeaways:

Alkemia

1. Big Sur (From Alkemia: A Pacific coast road trip of fresh ozone, sea salt, Jasmine tea, lime leaves, magnolia, green amber, saltspray rose, sweetgale, bay, and paperbark): I think I was drawn to it because of the name. I have always wanted to visit Big Sur, but I also liked the idea of "a Pacific coast road trip." However, as soon I smelled it, it was a no for me. Reminded me of boy's cologne from high school. The day I wore it I couldn't wait to wash it off. I think it might be the bay? Takeaway: I would like to find something that's inspired by the sea (I am cancer rising and love the ocean deeply) but perhaps with floral notes. I want something that smells like a seaside cottage in the fog with beach roses wafting in the salty air.
2. Moss Maiden (The wild seduction of a full moon night. A luxuriant bed of moss, crushed wet ferns, earthy calamus roots, piquant cedar tips, galbanum, balsam pine, lichen, disturbed autumnal leaves, and aromatic incense woods). I was drawn to this for the moss and wet ferns. I think the earthy and foresty notes are what I don't like about it personally. Again, I find myself craving some sort of floral or even sweet note to balance it out. I feel like layering it with rose or vanilla could be nice. Takeaway: I would like to find something that is mossy and foresty, without the scent of pine (it unfortunately smelled like Lysol on my skin).
3. Burning Roses (A hypnotic immolation of dark red roses and burning divinatory incenses - smouldering frankincense, champa, labdanum. Mesmerizing, deep, sensual). Actually my top pick of this particular bunch. I wore it to work and felt like it was way too strong for our small office, so I might have applied too much or it's just not the right setting. I could see myself wearing this for a date or just alone on a day out. It is almost what I am looking for, but I wish the rose was more forward, instead the incense is. I wish the burning was even a little stronger, too. This also feels like it would be good layered with something else, like vanilla or....Moss Maiden?! This is the only sample I put in my handbag to reapply. Takeaway: I like the smell of burning flowers. Also, while I love nagchampa and incense, I would like it to be more subtle/ in the background.
4. Nocturnes of the Honeysuckle (In the evening twilight, Night blooming honeysuckle, sweet galium, sweet fern, and soft mosses are gently embraced by delicate vanilla and fresh tea leaves): I have major nostalgia for the scent of honeysuckle. Like lilacs and lilies and roses, smelling these fresh flowers feels like heaven on earth to me. I decided to try this one because it also had vanilla and mosses/fern. When I smell it out of the bottle, the first note that hits me is what I am guessing is gallium. It's almost tannic and minty, which could be the tea, too. Either way, I don't really pick up much honeysuckle. I haven't worn this one yet, but I will give it a try and see how it smells on my skin. It has a lingering tea scent from the bottle which I do like. Takeaway: might be a good every day option, need to give it a try.
5. Come to Me: (Candied Rose Petals, Star Jasmine, Mexican Vanilla, Cashmeran, White Amber, Sugar Musk, Pheromones). This is powerful! I got this just for fun and to experiment with pheromones. I haven't tried it on yet, but from the bottle, it gives that really classic women's perfume scent that reminds me of how women smelled to me when I was a child. It's a bit too full bodied and classic for me (a gemini who prefers to keep things light and fairy like) but I feel like it's good to have on hand! Takeaway: keeping this as a sample but probably would never invest in FS.

Ajevie samples

1. Honeysuckle Vanille - Morari (Seasonal Vanille): Similar to Nocturnes of the Honeysuckle, I was disappointed to not pick up much honeysuckle. And come to think of it, not much vanilla either. It is more subtle and faint of a perfume overall. I haven't been inspired to wear it because I was underwhelmed, but I will give it a try and report back.
2. Meadow Nypmh - Morari (Wildflower Accord, Green Apple, Dew-Laden Grass, Lemon Peel). I chose this one because of the name and the wildflower. I posted originally that I don't like citrus, and I think this holds true. I find that the apple and the lemon start to smell like car air freshener to me. I just can't get past those associations, but when I wore it, the initial freshness of the grass was beautiful. It just started to turn more to apple/lemon throughout the day. Takeaway: this reminds me subtly of Lolita Lempicka's 90s perfume that my best friend wore. A bit too sweet for me, but I love the grass and wildflower notes. If I could remove the fruit, I'd love it.
3. Brightening the Daybreak - Hexennacht (grass, clover, hay, sun-warmed cornfields, muguet, honeysuckle, acacia, ozone, meadow air, tree moss, oakmoss, fir balsam). OK, this one is super interesting to me. As soon as I smell it, it takes me to a different place and time. Nostalgic, whimsical, but also something slightly dark (in a good way) and mysterious. It's the only sample that evoked emotion and stirred something within me. Wearing it, it is very grass forward, so it does come very close to Gap Grass. I have to give it some more time, but I enjoy it very much. I also noticed that it is just the right level of potency and throw for me. Some of the others were too subtle or too strong but this one feels just right. Of all the samples, if I had to choose one to go FS, this would be it! Takeaway: Hexennacht is a house I want to explore more. What makes it not a complete HG is just wanting to explore more as a newbie and maybe it's a little too ozoney for me. But I could so see this being my fresh signature scent. Yay!

Overall conclusions and realizations: I like fresh/atmospheric scents but not woodsy or piney. I crave more florals than I realized. I like complexity but not too much fullness or depth that distracts me while I am wearing it. I also realized practically I work in a small office and need to be conscious of scent for my coworkers. After all these samples, I find myself seeking something that can be an everyday scent that makes me feel like I am in a meadow or at the seaside engaging in magical, whimsical acts but from a distance, if that makes sense, lol. I also love rain and want to explore more atmospherics. Fresh/green dominant, with floral and very subtle incense/smoke and sweet.

Here are some scents on my list that I am considering sampling next:

After the Rain (SS)
Fallen Angel and Elemental (Hexennacht)
Tempestarii (AC)
Portland Rain (HOG)
Gemini (DE)
Nothing Rusts in the Desert the air is full of ghosts (Death+Floral)

Any thoughts or recommendations are so appreciated! This is so fun. Thanks for reading this long post!

Edited to add my takeaway for Noctures of the Honeysuckle

I usually like all kinds of earthy and damp scents, decaying forests and grimy oceans and stormy skies, but this year as it’s gotten colder I’ve found myself wanting some perfumes that have a warmth to them.

When I think of warm scents I’m thinking maybe something spicy, like drinking mulled wine in front of a fire whilst it snows outside, or something more atmospheric that captures a desert of intense heat and dusty sand dunes and ancient history. Not into overly sweet/sugary/floral/incense scents but am happy to have notes of them within something more complex.

I have tried Fantome’s Coyoacán, Paimon, Vassago, The Fox Sisters and Firebird but I didn’t love any of them. My favourite scents are Before the Rain by Solstice Scents, Saint Louis Cemetery No. 1 by Alkemia, Frogs! by Death & Floral, and Midnight Market by Morari.

Look I have thoughts that are thoughtin' and I need to just get this out. Ok. Is it me or do the slender bottles have finicky lil lids that drive other people batty?!? Urrrgh. I am about to just order the 11ml of Crystalline just so I can get a normal bottle/lid. Also, are there other lids I can put on if I want to take off the domed lids? I know I could just decant these into other bottles but whyyyyyy when it's already so expensive can I just not choose whether or not I want a domed lid? That's all. Just that.

Also, is Anti-Venom gonna be a ginger KICK to my butt? And if not what will be? I want a spicy punch of ginger. And just FYI NA's "spice" scent just smells like lightly scented baby powder on me. Where is the spice? I can't find it. No cinnamon cause it will murder me like a Trader Joe's holiday scented broooom.

And finally do I need Amber Musk? I just can't with that lid y'all. But should I anyways?

The only European website I know( ecuacionnatural) doesn’t sell 100ml

I’ve been reading a lot about Amber White Oil and i’ve seen that a lot of people recommend the NAVA Eternal Ankh, but they don’t ship to the UK so if there are any similar recs that would be greatly appreciated. Also, I wear a mix (depending on the day) of YSL Libre (which i prefer) and Penhaligons Cairo - i was wondering if amber white will pair with these well and if there are other such things i could mix/pair with these perfumes! thanks

I keep seeing that Aroma Concepts Tiramisu Speculoos perfume all over my FYP but it's $44 and I saw a reddit thread that said it smells like "generic cinnamon candle". Which indie perfume comes closest to biscoff cookies?

Will also happily take recs for your other favorite winter gourmands. I spent all summer wearing Cocoapink, like blueberry skies and boo boo lemon noel. I also really like phlur's vanilla skin. I'm going to need all the hygge I can get this winter!

Hello IMAM! 🥰

Just like all of you, I like to support indie brands as much as possible. I have been searching for indie nail polish brands but as I am in Canada it has been difficult to find ones that will be able to get to me. Many places do not ship this sort of product to Canada. So my question is...

Does anyone know of any indie nail polish based on Canada or that will ship to Canada?

I looked through past posts for answers but all the posts are years old and thought I would ask.

Thank you for reading, have a good day! 🖤

Hey all! I'm looking for some new nail care products to try out, I'm open to cuticle oils, cuticle butters, hand creams, pretty much anything to prevent my hands/nails/cuticles from the cold and dryness this winter. Thanks! :)

What indies are you using today? And we mean everything! Examples of stuff we'd love to hear about:

• Makeup

• Clothes

• Jewelry

• Bath and Body (lotion, soap, shampoo, bath salts, etc.)

• Nail polish

• Perfume

Please feel free to leave mini-reviews and include photos of whatever you're using. We'd love to know your thoughts and see the products too!

This thread repeats daily.

does anyone know when it will return?

Recently tried out some high-end name brands and got quickly reminded as to why I shouldn’t cheat on my Indie brands! I tried out one that was $30 for a single pan and to put it bluntly, it sucked.

Who should I look at for some pretty glitter toppers? I shop at Clionadh and Terra Moons a lot for their duo and multichrome shadows, but besides that I haven’t tried many other brands. So other brands or specific shade recommendations from them are all welcome!

(Enjoy my macro shot of Twinkle Dust from Terra Moons (: )

Do you keep spreadsheets? Do you try each sample for a month before deciding whether to FS or not? How do you organize your perfume journey? I'm very haphazard with my trying of samples and don't really keep track of anything (but definitely want to do a spreadsheet at some point). In terms of full sizing though, I read somewhere on here that someone uses a "deserted island" method where if you only had one perfume on the deserted island and if you cannot imagine it to be the sample you're trying, not to full size it. I really like this method and it has been working!

At work we commonly use a lubricant called LPS 2. My coworker and I were talking about how odd the smell is, and how much we like it. I've joked about wanting it as a candle but I'm wondering if it's actually possible. I'm also open to perfumes!

The smell is described by sellers as "Slight petroleum odor. Cherry" but it's a really sickeningly sweet cherry smell. Not a fresh fruit smell, but the most artificial candy cherry you can imagine. Plus a heavy industrial/oil smell, like an old garage.

I understand this is an odd request, but I'm curious about anything that mixes sweet scents with metallic/oil/industrial scents.

My mother told me today she's been scraping out the final remains of her favorite lipstick which is the bullet lipstick from bite in chai. Can anyone think of any indie dupes for this color with a similar formula (bullet lipstick)?

I had a list of scents to try on my phone but I seem to have lost it 😭 A couple years ago someone recommended a scent to me, I asking for the most unique and atmospheric scents people have tried, and it was described as a kind of burnt metal ozone-y smell and the theme of it was the Big Bang. I didn’t have any money at the time so just noted it down but I still really want to try it.

Does anyone know what perfume this might be?

Hey y’all, I’m glad that my post about Scout Dixon West is getting the traction it deserves. There is a stark difference between “having different political opinions” and just being a full blown bigot. The makeup, skincare, and perfume community is seen as a safe space for women, POC, and the LGTBQ+ community. As consumers, we need to do our due diligence and not support these brands/ creators who hold such hateful beliefs. We need to hold people accountable with the power of our dollar.

With that being said, what are some brands/creators that we need to avoid? And what are some brands that we should invest our money in? I personally am looking for POC and queer owned brands!

I have to fly home for a family emergency and am choosing my scents. So far I have Cinderella's Carriage by Cocoapink, Lattes at the Gilded Broom by Fable and Canon, Pumpkin Spice Latte and Kitchen by Solstice Scents, Lovecraft and Krumkake by Alchemic Muse, Tezcatlipoca by Arcana, samples by Kheimistrii, and Moonchild by Bath Sabbath. I am not bringing other liquids. I'm only gone for a week but I have to have options. It's my comfort. I forgot you can take up to 100ml so I thought I'd have to leave Cinderella's Carriage home, but I can bring my favorite comfort smell.

Decided to blind buy 2 rollerballs because I feel like burning money today. Please help me decide which ones!!

What I like: smoke, herbs, wood, dirt, grass, hay, atmospherics, pink peppercorn, animatic musks, sage, lavender, most florals

Dislike: VANILLA, violet, sweet gourmands, aquatics that smell like men’s cologne, cherry, pine

Past favorites: Gunslinger by Mr. Hex, Trashcan Man and Brightening the Daybreak by Hexennacht, Baba Yaga and Ruslan by Fantome

Scents I’m deciding between:

The Wicker Man, Loup-Garou, The Scenic Route, Desert Rain, Prehnite, Le Chat Noir, Kentucky Bourbon and Woodsmoke, Lucifer, Vice, Unbaptism, Tumbleweed Connection

Please let me know what you think of any of these and/or what else you think I should try!

Phytosurgence is running a 20 percent off sale right now. They've already sold out of a bunch, but I've been wanting to try their bronzer for a while, and picked up a blush as well. It's a Canadian LGBTQ business, so I'm doing what I can to support amazing businesses.

I’ve been vaguely planning to assemble and post these reviews for a long time, and another post recently asked for SAMAR reviews, so I figured I’d actually get this up. This is quickly becoming my favorite house. Price-wise they have 2mL samples of all of their perfumes for between $10-$12 apiece. They also have discovery sets for either their regular or premium scents.   

Grove is in the Heart**-** “Notes: Bergamot petitgrain, Mandarin, Linden blossom, Indonesian Sandalwood” (10/10)

This won the Institute of Art and Olfaction indie award for 2024, and it absolutely deserves it. I love citrus as a food ingredient, but I very seldom like it in perfume/body products. I find it usually either skews to sweet, artificial, and cloying or it goes to the really intensely perfume-y sort of bitter or acrid overly floral aspect of a poorly balanced neroli. 

This is something completely different. It’s a very photorealistic fresh citrus. It sits somewhere between a meyer lemon or a mandarin orange for me. It’s juicy and ripe and inviting without ever getting cloying. It’s a great capture of the smell you get when you first sink your fingernails into a piece of ripe citrus to peel it. It starts with a burst of the more floral, volatile oils, but very quickly settles into something much more mellow, juicy, and refreshing. It’s a near perfect scent for a hot, humid, summer day. It has a surprisingly expansive scent bubble for an oil fragrance. It lasts for about 3-5 hours on me. 

The Tea House**- “Notes: Fresh peaches, Jasmine Tea, Oolong tea, Green tea, Osmanthus”** (9/10)

This is another definite win. It starts very peach forward, and again, they’ve nailed the lush, juicy, inviting fruit without tipping into artificial or candy territory. It moves fairly quickly into a soft, realistic, floral green or oolong tea. After a couple of hours, it settles into something creamy and a little bit woody that I think is the osmanthus with a faint jasmine tea aura. It’s not particularly long-lasting (although better than most green tea scents I’ve encountered), nor does it have much throw, but that does seem to fit with a perfume this delicate and ephemeral. 

Garden Heaux**- “Notes: tomato leaves, freshly mown grass, petitgrain bergamotier, wet earth, herbs, lisylang”** (1000/10)  

This is among my top 5 favorite perfumes ever. The words that always come to mind for me are “lush” and “alive” with this one. It’s rich and green and fresh without tipping into bitter. The tomato leaf is beautifully photorealistic. It’s a truly lovely evocation of  working in a garden tending to tomato plants early on a summer morning because it’s still fairly cool and humid, but it will get too hot to be comfortable later in the day. It’s got a pretty intimate scent bubble (which I prefer), but it lasts for a good 4-6 hours. I realize it’s not useful in terms of what it smells like, but this is 100% my go-to when I want help feeling happy, calm, and restored. It’s a vacation to a countryside cottage in a bottle. 

Happy Trails- “Notes: Fir, cedar, laurel, petrichor, moss, smoke” (5/10) 

This is basically the only miss I’ve encountered from this house. My skin tends to amp smoke notes, and I think that’s what happened here. On me, it wound up smelling like a sweatshirt that I wore sitting too close to a campfire the night before. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t really what I wanted out of it. I wound up giving it to my sibling, who absolutely loved it. 

Holy Ghost**- “Notes: frankincense, myrrh, incense, dark roses, red wine, white oud, smoke, cedar, ectoplasm”** (7/10)

Somehow, my skin doesn’t amp the smoke on this nearly as much as “Happy Trails”. I didn’t grow up religious, so I don’t have the same emotional associations with liturgical incense as a lot of people do. But, this does smell like walking into an ancient, long disused catholic or high anglican church. The myrrh, incense, and rose are the most prominent notes on me, and the profile stays pretty stable over time. IMO, it’s much stronger and longer-lasting than their other scents, but this isn’t super surprising to me, since most of their other scents are based on a lot of notes that are notoriously ephemeral and faint. This is well outside of my usual wheelhouse, but it’s so well-crafted and evocative, it’s making me rethink my tendency to avoid strong smokey incense scents.

Great Lei**- “Notes: jasmine, plumeria, Hawaiian chantilly, sandalwood, ginger, salty ocean breeze”** (8/10) 

This is a very tropical, salty, slightly funky floral. It definitely smells like a tropical beach adjacent to a rainforest or garden full of flowering trees and plants. The floral does tip into smelling like something painted by Georgia O’Keefe on me, but I like that in a floral, so it works for me. If you’re looking for a work-appropriate floral, this might not be the best option. It has a medium scent bubble for an oil, and it held pretty well on me for 4-6 hours or so. 

Beach Berry**- “Notes: marine accord, passionfruit, summer berries, cucumber, ozone, driftwood, peony”** (7/10) 

This is maybe the only scent from this house that I could ever think of calling generic. It’s a light, pleasant berry scent, but I didn’t find anything particularly specific about it. I couldn’t really tell you what berry it was supposed to be. It’s still lovely, and sweet, and fresh, and I liked wearing it, but it didn’t have quite the same specific and photorealistic qualities I’ve come to love from this house. 

Golden Hour**- “Notes: Spiced honey mead, roasted peaches, clotted cream, dried herbs, cedar, musk”** (8/10) 

This is much less sweet than I’d expected from a honey scent, but it works incredibly well. It starts off a deep, highly spiced, boozy honey. Over time it shifts on me to bring the cedar out. It starts to smell more like a cask or barrel that was used to store a mulled mead. It’s a great winter scent, IMO.