Lovesick Witchery perfumes came up as suggestions on Etsy from favoriting a few scents from other houses and the ooky-spooky branding really caught my eye. I ended up ordering a 5-sample pack and a full-size from the LW website, though. I chose the scents based on the vibe and didn’t quite pay much attention to the scent notes while shopping. I guess I also didn’t know what to pick because I favorited so many but only wanted to commit to five samples for now. It took about two and a half weeks to get my order— which ended up being four samples and two-fulls-size rollers— full-sizing one of the samples was a very neat gesture from Rachel that should surely encourage one to make further purchases.

The carrier oil of this perfume is noticeably thicker than any other I’ve tried, so the rollerball doesn’t glide with as much ease nor leave as much a saturated stroke on the skin as I’m used to and the sample spray bottles take some effort to shoot what is essentially a thick drop of perfume oil. ,As for the projection and sillage of these samples, it was a pretty mixed bag— Angelic was pretty weak (as expected with a citrus-floral), only noticeable if you sniff it directly off the skin whereas the pumpkin perfumes were quite powerful and lasted a long time. I don’t know if I have found one that I like enough to full-size for now from this first round, but I am intrigued enough to sample more, try out a body mist and even in having a custom scent created.

Angelic

Sparkling yuzu soda, white tea leaves, mint, apple blossom, white sage, cedar wood, angelic musk Something between the bitter astringency of the yuzu and the sage creates a spiciness reminiscent of fresh serrano peppers. The mint isn’t noticeable, so if you’re wary of minty perfumes, it’s really just there to accentuate the freshness of the cedar and sage. This isn’t as effervescent as I expected it would be (or would have liked), actually, it feels quite like a fresh laundry detergent. On the drydown, it leaves skin smelling quite clean, perhaps a bit powdery but pleasant.

Sleepwalker

Lavender syrup, rice milk ,vanilla sugar, whipped cream, espresso This one was part of the sample set I ordered, although Rachel kindly full-sized it to a roller bottle. Now, this one was an oopsie when I ordered, as I completely read over the espresso note and coffee is usually a dead note for me. However, this was a very pleasant surprise— it’s very cozy, very soft, and very pleasant. The milky creaminess round out the sharpness of the espresso but are also restrained, as is the lavender syrup which only provided a pretty floral note at the beginning and melted into the creaminess quite quickly. These facets let the warm and toasted character really glow… it’s like you just pulled out some delicious and very crispy espresso and rice flour cookies out of the oven, perhaps you reduced the sugar by a lot so it’s all about the flavors. Sleepwalker isn’t complex, it doesn’t need to be, it’s just a very good and straightforward gourmand— and again, this is coming from someone who does not like coffee in perfume. I wouldn’t wear this right now, but I will save this and let it settle until late fall or winter when the nights are cold.

Dead of Night

Lavender, white pepper, dryer sheets, detergent, warm cotton, vanilla musk Glowing is how I would describe this scent. It’s exactly like burying your face in a pile of warm and clean laundry. On the drydown, the dryer sheets really shine. I don’t think this one projects very much but it lasts hours. This is a very simple scent so I don’t think I can say much more about it, although I think the name and the vibe of Lovesick Witchery pushes it into a perceived atmospheric, perhaps more than it actually invokes.

All Hallow’s Eve

Fall leaves, apple, cinnamon, vanilla, cedar wood, beeswax, sandalwood It’s a cedar potpourri recipe and I could have assumed that from the listed scent notes but somehow this did not occur to me while shopping. It is also the middle of summer so perhaps it is just not a complementary time to experiment with a scent like this…. If you’re into these mulled-apple-cider fall scents, I assure you that you will not be disappointed. The projection is quite impressive, as well. I put this on my wrists to walk the dog in the evening and I could get powerful wafts of it the whole time. With the evening ocean breeze from the canyons near my house, it felt very halloweeny in July. Oh! I just noticed that on the Lovesick Witchery Etsy page, this perfume does not include apple, but it does in the master scent list of the website. How odd.

Pumpkin Patch

Hay, dirt, grass, pumpkins Pumpkin Patch is probably the only sample that was a bit disappointing but not because it was displeasing, but rather because it was so different from what I would have liked based on previous experience with pumpkin perfumes. It’s spicy— more like roasted squash with cinnamon than the juicy herbaceousness I expected between pumpkins and the grass note. I also wish there was more hay— I think it could really use more of that crisp dryness which would really elevate this. With that said, it’s quite nice as it layers on top of hot skin musk… maybe that is a sign that this one could easily be layered on top of a creamy solinote perfume; perhaps a vanilla, marshmallow, or white amber.

Serene Queen

Orange blossom, chamomile tea, rice milk, vanilla, tonka bean This is a gorgeous orange blossom chamomile perfume. The other notes give it a complex, sweet, almost honeyed and musky layer— I want to underscore this part— in my impression, Serene Queen is not a fresh or bright floral (it’s chamomile tea, not fresh chamomile flowers). It feels like the color amber, and I think the creaminess of the vanilla and rice milk really deepen that facet. I think I might get this as a spray.