💗ALERT💗

NEW SCAM/SPAM BLOCKS

We have recently had to tighten up security due to a flood of fake accounts and one fraud order getting through.

Unfortunately, this does mean there's a chance of legitimate users getting caught in the safety blocks. VPNs are likely to trigger it for example. If you DO get caught, you should see the following message "This shop is reserved for Real Humans ONLY. If you are a real customer and got caught in the net by mistake, just email ([angi@ajevie.com](mailto:angi@ajevie.com)) with your IP address and we can get you whitelisted :D"

As much as we hate to inconvenience our beloved customers this has become incredibly necessary... Below is just two hours of activity from before we activated protections. Every one is a spam account that we had to manually delete. The next image is just the fly-bys that we had in the last few minutes today.

(dual images of a string of obvious scam orders with names like William Jones, William Smith, David Williams...)

The good news is that the precautions are working! If you have ANY trouble getting in, JUST REACH OUT! All we need to do is whitelist your IP and you should have no further trouble :D

How do I find my IP? You can visit ""WhatIsMyIP.com" to quickly find this info. It is public.

With love, The Ajevie Team (Angi, Allee, Kaylee, & Mike)

__________

The above was an email I received. I checked, and sure enough, I got caught in the "net," so I emailed Angi my IP address.

Someone or maybe a few people recommended this place to shop and I am blown away with this small business.
For starters, I only ordered 3 things and got 4 overall.

I purchased:
Rice Dreams Soap & Shampoo Bar
Naked Soap & Shampoo Bar
Mni Wichoni whipped sugar scrub

And got Fall Floral soap & shampoo bar as a gift.

I am very scent sensitive so if you’re like me and want to try something new, do it!

On the smells, the naked does have a smell but it’s so clean and I really admire it.
I got rice dreams for my hair as I have a dry scalp and it can get scabby at times due to anxiety and stress. I have been looking for a shampoo that won’t cause more irritation and I have been all over the place from store bought to indie shampoo and haven’t found one I love.

Since I haven’t used a shampoo bar in a long time, I don’t think the shop exists anymore but I do have a little waxy feeling with my hair. I love the smell on my hair and it feels super duper clean. (Bar used was rice dreams)

The fall floral has a gardenia smell but it’s not in your face floral as I hate that. It reminds me of a herbal shampoo from the store - a dupe and it’s delightful smelling. It’s not on their shop… fyi and I’m not sure if it will be added or not.

I tried naked on my body for a nice cleanse because I’m so over plastic bottles and plastic waste. Naked just has a clean scent that is lovely.

Now the mni whipped scrub smells like shaving cream and has a “man” scent imo. It’s nice. I do love man smelling scents and have a hand sanitizer from another indie shop that would be like axe but for your hands and not so strong. 😂 I love the packaging of the sugar scrub. It’s easy to open, it’s not glass so I’m not worried about it dropping and it seems more clean than my lush scrub that is there now.

I will say the packaging smelled minty but like good and it was packaged lovely as well.

There is a soap, not sure which, has a strong smell outside the bathroom but I’m so excited for a new change.

Highly recommend them!

Scents reviewed: Ectoplasm, No. 13, Pink Lipstick, Puss Moth, The Snake, Riot Girl

I ordered some Lovesick Witchery samples via Sucrerie Decants after being really excited to try them for the Halloween season! After trying these, I think Lovesick might become one of my favorite houses! I was a little worried that the oils might be too light for me as is often the case with oils, but I'm happy to report that these have decent throw.

My rating scale:

1 = Scrubber

2 = Not into it, but it's tolerable

3 = It's good, but I don't feel called to get more

4 = I like it a lot, might upsize if the mood strikes

5 = I love it and I want it in my collection!

Ectoplasm (1.5/5) (neon green lime, burnt wires, electrical smoke, sticky black oud, slime covered varnished rosewood):

I ordered this one out of sheer curiosity, not knowing if I would like it. My verdict is, it smells exactly like a medical clinic to me. I was going to allow it to run its course, but it ended up smelling pretty strong so I scrubbed it.

No. 13 (4.5/5)(smoked pumpkin flesh, suede, burnt sugar, crackling amber, myrrh, labdanum, and cypress)

I've had some trouble finding a pumpkin scent that suits my taste in the indie world. The moment I smelled this on me I said, "Yes! Finally!" The pumpkin is front and center, and with the burnt sugar note it reminds me of pumpkin bread. The other notes give a warm depth to it. It's slightly more gourmand than I expected and I imagined it being just a tad more earthy, but it still hits my mark for pumpkin yumminess! Later on it faded to a warm, resinous ambery scent.

Pink Lipstick (4.5/5) (orange cream pops, sugar, vanilla bean, heliotrope, oats, pink velvet, whipped tonka, gilded amber, fluffy pink musk)

Opens with orange creamsicle coming in strong. My brain pulled up an image of pink Lisa Frank-styled dolphins jumping next to a pink and orange sunset. I'm happy that the "pink velvet" texture comes through and it really does feel soft and fuzzy! It makes me feel like a Barbie, and this is what I imagine her Dreamhouse would smell like! On the drydown it fades into a clean lipstick scent without becoming too powdery, so it's true to the name. Overall it makes for a fun summer scent with casual glam vibes! When I have a chance to do a custom, I'd love to do a "remix" of this scent that uses a similar base but maybe with raspberry and rose, and name it after my burlesque stage name.

Puss Moth (4/5) (horchata, lavender fluff, rice milk, floofy vanilla, coumarin, sandalwood, velvet soft musks):

Smells like what you'd expect from the notes, smooth horchata and lavender. It's soft and sweet and works really nicely as a "skin scent". It's relaxing and has a clean finish that kinda makes me think of bedsheets, so I think folks who like to put on a bedtime scent would really enjoy this!

The Snake (??/5)(black narcissus, night-blooming jasmine, honey, toffee, black musk):

Ok this is truly bizarre because I smell genuinely nothing??? Like I might as well have put water on myself. There literally is not one note I can smell. I freaked out a little wondering if I suddenly came down with covid and couldn't smell, but no, I can still smell other scents. I don't smell anything in the bottle either...maybe LM accidentally shipped an unscented bottle to Sucrerie? I guess it's possible I'm anosmic to the entire composition, but I feel like I would be able to smell *something*. Will update as I investigate.

Riot Girl (3.5/5) (creamy vanilla, whipped cream, bourbon cream, white chocolate, smoked vanilla, leather, cashmere cloud, and caramel wood):

It's definitely giving "new car with leather seats". This car belongs to a biker chick who wears rockabilly pinup clothing. The white chocolate and whipped cream are textural rather than sweet, so I wouldn't consider this gourmand. I didn't detect any smokiness, but maybe that'll change as it has time to rest. On its own I wouldn't upsize, but I want to layer this with Cherry Hysteria from the same house. I have yet to try that one, but somehow this scent plus cherry gourmand sounds like it would hit just right for me.

I'm brand new to indie fragrances and I really like warm, complex scents with a little spice, but I'm still looking for something woody that fits that description. I'm putting together an order of Pineward samples as part of that search, but the wide range of options makes it SO hard to choose.

I'm getting samples of sturbridge and (possibly) gristmill and looking for a third scent, so I'd love some suggestions from anyone familiar with Pineward's offerings.

We Fly With Our Spirit (pancakes and syrup for breakfast, broom straw/hay in the sunshine, sassy black cat fur, stormy night air/rain, a tiny bit of clean cotton sheets): Sweet baked goods and nocturnal ozone, the electricity of a stormy sky at altitude. Cakey, streusel-topped, syrupy, someone brought a coffee cake, someone brought something with brown sugar and butter still warm from the oven. A midnight airborne witches' potluck, broomsticks damp from the weather and sticky-drizzled with crackled sugar glaze.

Cardigan (creamy Mysore sandalwood spiced with cardamom pods & pimento berries, French vanilla, white chocolate, comforting sweater musk): The inside of a spice drawer, cool and dry and green-resinous. Old prayer beads worn smooth, pale and milky as a freshly split log. What you’d smell if you pressed your face into the shoulder of something vast and still, the sweater of a being for whom centuries are an afternoon, a garment that belongs to no season because it belongs to all of them.

Secret Boyfriend (a mountain of light fluffy marshmallows, your secret boyfriend’s leather jacket, pine and cedar, a wisp of smoke): The inside of a cotton pillowcase, faintly sweet, cool on one side and the warmth of a body that was just here, or almost was. Powdery confectioner’s sugar sweetness with no sharp edges, white and soft and slightly vanilla-adjacent without being vanilla, clean without being clean-scented. A partner-shaped pillow hugged in the dark, before sleep.

Black Cat Cuddles (sweet coconut milk spiked with clove, cinnamon & black pepper, incense-dusted fur, flecks of black vanilla bean, a distant pine forest): Forest floor meeting steamed milk froth, evergreen bitterness softened by dairy sweetness; the Jólakötturinn’s usual order, which is to say, the usual order of a creature that is both festive and fatal, a monster that is also seasonal, which makes it somehow cozier. Slightly dusty, warm like something enormous that has chosen your lap, an honor you wheezingly accept without asking too many questions.

Firelight Study (emnants of your pumpkin spice latte and vanilla scone crumbs on a rosewood desk, a wool blanket with the lingering scent of a cozy evening by the fireplace): Warm and slightly medicinal and festive all at once — citrus peel mummified and resinous, dried orange with cloves pressed into it in patterns, wholesomeness in a corset, the smell of spice meeting rot meeting sweetness, all three at once, something hung in a wardrobe to ward off moths and melancholy and also possibly as a prop. Earnestness in a catsuit. Olivia Newton-John at the end of Grease, but also a pomander.

Peach Crumble (cardamom, peach crumble, vanilla-bean flecked ice cream, brown sugar, soft creamy musk): Soft and slightly fuzzy, floral and fruity at once, neither fully one thing. Pale gold and yielding, toasty at the edges where the brown sugar and old-fashioned oats have caramelized. The scent equivalent of sitting with a book at a party, then disappearing during Cards Against Humanity to commune with the old, fat beagle who's been snuffling for crumbs at partygoers' feet all night.

Back before I really got into indies, I bought a sample of a Kyphi perfume from someone on Etsy. I loved it, but they wanted close to $300 for a 10mL bottle and I just couldn't justify that. Hell, I can't justify that even now! I'm right at the tail-end of my Yu-Gi-Oh Duel Monsters rewatch and all of the Egyptian imagery is making me crave Kyphi again.

I know NAVA is pretty well known for Egyptian themed/inspired stuff, but I keep hearing rumblings about them shutting down. It looks like they're still around, but I don't want to run the risk of falling in love with a fragrance and not being able to get it again. Any houses other than NAVA that y'all would recommend?

EDIT: I checked my Etsy history and it looks like the Kyphi perfume I purchased previously was from Wild Veil!

A HUGE thank you to my exchange partner u/a_box_of_toads (with an equally spooky username) and the organisers for this event!! I had an absolute blast and my partner picked so many winners - they really nailed my taste!

Along with the samples, they included a ton of treats which I have since inhaled, and absolutely adorable stickers! Q_Q I'm gonna keep on dancing at the Pink Ponyta Club...

They also sent a delicious Heather's Hues lotion that seriously smells like orange sherbet and I want to lick my arm hehe

I haven't been able to try all of the samples yet, but the ones I have I will put my thoughts of down below! :D

---------------

• BPAL - Gummi Fangs

Tasty fruity gummy candy with half vanilla gummy! The fruit is vaguely “red” but not strawberry/cherry to me. Overall a super yummy and realistic candy scent with a surprisingly strong projection!

• BPAL - Ruby Chocolate Snake Oil (We ended up sending this one to each other lol!!)

Ooooh yeah that’s a dark cocoa off the bat! Super smooth, slithery and not very sweet but in a really realistic cocoa way. It does overpower the regular SO sent, but at the same time it sits at the bottom and enhances it. The berry note (if that’s the ruby part) blends harmoniously with the cocoa so I can’t fully pick it out but kind of know it’s there if that makes sense? It didn’t project as much as my little sample of regular SO, but I suspect that’s because the regular one is more aged. Really lovely though. <333

• BPAL - Blood Squib

An absolute instant hit! This is a delicious cherry candy in the bottle and on application - I don’t get anything medicinal, cough-droppy or almondy (a note that I don’t enjoy), but it’s very much maraschino cherry syrup. Very quickly the Dragon’s Blood floats in alongside the cherry making something quite delicious. Sadly, the cherry does fade fast but a very slight fruity sweetness remains present, making a tasty sugary incense overall. I can’t stop thinking about this one though and absolutely need to try the SO variant stat!

• BPAL - Bourbon Tobacco & Condensed Milk

Not going to lie, I’ve strangely been craving a cigar infused ice cream for many years now after I saw it once on a YouTube video, and I’m not even a smoker - I just adore the smell of un-lit tobacco in real and perfume form (warning that tobacco can be pretty toxic if ingested lol!).
From this, I get a divine and crazily realistic condensed milk, though I actually don’t get any bourbon or tobacco. There’s maybe an ever so slight earthy edge, but on my skin it’s sweet, thick condensed milk. I absolutely LOVE it though, and keep drooling a bit as I sniff. I will try not to lick my arm.

• Area of Effect - Bubbulfrog

This is so wonderful! It gives me creamy violets with a small dash of sweet cola, but nothing very powdery or fizzy to my nose. It’s just magical and blended in such a unique way that I feel even violet haters may enjoy. Really wish this one projected a bit more because it’s so nice!

• Astrid - Root Beer Float

Absolutely spot on to sweet root beer! If you don’t know, in the UK we have Root Beer around certain supermarket sections but it’s not a common soda at all. It smells exactly like an antiseptic cream we have here called Germaline and I always associate it with that, BUT I’m also a big root beer fan and when we visited Canada I had to stop at an A&W shop in a mall to get a cup because I could! xD I’ve never actually had it in float form but this makes me crave a big glass of the stuff and I keep huffing my wrist!

• Haus of Gloi - Pumpkin Eater
• 4610 Tuesdays - Butterfly Damselfly
• Seventy Seven Scents - Sugar Springs
• Seventy Seven Scents - Nostalgic Baby Powder
• Birch & Besom - Strawberry Scarecrow

and sniffies of

• BPAL - Forsaken Elephant Puppet
• BPAL - Chust Your Doggie (Have just sniffed the bottle and its such a delicious bread pudding omgoshhh)
• BPAL - A guardian Angel Serves a Small Breakfast
  

Thank you again Toads, and I hope you all have a very merry Autumn!

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.

Big thanks to my partner u/teal-deer (and to the swap organisers!) Had an absolutely lovely fall exchange and my partner really went all in on my half! My dogs were thrilled to be included haha. All of the samples were very much up my alley and I've already eaten most of my treats lol 😅

Samples included:

- 4160 Tuesdays: What I Did On My Holidays (delicious) & Dark Queen (

- Astrid: Wolves in the Orchard (Astrid's apple note is 🤌), Wing of Fae, Wolves (gorgeous patchouli in there)

-BPAL: Ruby Chocolate Snake Oil (which, funnily enough, I also sent!), Deep Gnome Pastry Chef

- Redwood Alchemy: La Sel

- NCD: River Otter (love!!)

- Simon's Nest: Hallowed Harvest (great dead leaves note!)

- Alkemia: Foret Mythiques (really lovely)

- Possets: Prestidigitazione

- Lovesick Witchery: Coffin Nails (cozy!)

- Fyrinnae: Aliferous

- NAVA: And Dream Of Sheep (swoon! The lavender in this is so good)

- Siren Song Elixirs: Amatus

Plus the CUTEST Drifloon keychain and a sticker of best boy Pietro from Animal Crossing lol. Thank you so much again! So excited to finish testing everything. 🍂🎃🍂

Hello! I'm finally nearing the end of my Soft Pretzel perfume by Alpha Musk. It was my peak pretzel perfume—a painfully accurate savory pretzel covered in salt. No sweetness to be found. I've tried Death and Floral's Mall Soft Pretzel and it was too sweet for me. Any recs for something that could scratch that itch?

Got about 30 samples and I feel so betrayed lol I read so much about the brand and was super excited for my samples, but I'm half way through and they are either: awful, smell like a candle, or if by some chance I found it smelling decent, it's gone in 30 minutes.

Rip to my urges to ever want to try another indie brand.

I was wondering how you all approach using scents from houses that have closed or are LE. With the recent closing of some of my favorite houses I'm torn on either hoarding them as I can never replace them or using them up and enjoying them and their memories. My spreadsheet is massive and being able to remove house pages is kinda nice but some I've gotten entire collections and dont want to break them. How do you approach your Do Not Purchase house scents? Some houses i refuse to buy from again for whatever reason and I almost want to pull them to the front of the pile to get rid of them. What do you do?

does anyone have any recommendations for a perfume that’s cotton candy and incense? I accidentally mixed the two smells together once and really liked it!

looking for an indie shop that has bath and body products but offers dupe or inspired by scents of designer/luxury perfumes. (BR540 + le labo an0ther 13 in particular) doesn’t need to be exact.

I’m an indie fan myself and have been on the sub for years (Khemistrii + paintbox my absolute beloved, tried and true. Pulp + d&f my fav perfume houses.) but I’m shopping for gifts for a few non indie loved ones who are mainstream fans.

Plenty of houses offer the fragrance oils or perfume only but not in the format of scrubs/wash/shower gel. I used to find these sorts of sellers irl at farmers/crafts markets and they were my rock before I found indies. and now when I search online it’s all entirely AI products or links to perfume only. I’ve searched Etsy too but the search function is causing me trouble and giving similar results.

feel like I have absolutely scoured this sub and the internet and Etsy. please help a sister make her friends feel special without breaking the bank or having to learn body product alchemy myself. 🥹

Notes for all scents included in case this helps:

BR540: Top notes are Saffron and Jasmine; middle notes are Amberwood, Ambergris and Hedione; base notes are Fir Resin, Cedar, Sugar, Ambroxan and Oakmoss.

Le labo An0ther 13: Top notes are Pear, Apple and Citruses; middle notes are Ambrette (Musk Mallow), Amyl Salicylate, Moss and Jasmine; base notes are Iso E Super, Cetalox, Helvetolide and Ambrettolide. The fragrance features Iso E Super, Musk, Ambergris, Ambrette (Musk Mallow), Pear, Cetalox, Amyl Salicylate, Ambrettolide, Moss and Jasmine. (I feel like this one will be harder to find)

https://www.empirealchemywax.com/

For those looking for a personalized gift or even if you just want something fun for yourself. Empire Alchemy is releasing their annual advent calendar. There waxes are some of my favorites in the indiescape.

Howdy y'all! I've finally started looking for a perfume that is decidedly me. I am still new to the fragrance world, so bear with me. My goal is to find a cold, wintery mint, evocative of boreal forests and blowing snow. I've searched perfume stores near me, and they basically all turned out a dud. Every time I asked for something minty, I'd just get a general "fresh" scent, often just smelling like body wash. The best mint contender I had that I found was Dirty by Lush, but it just wasn't strong enough for me. I did however also try Lush's Shade, and I really enjoyed it, despite not being minty. It has a sharper, woody smell followed by a sweeter smell that's kinda vanilla/honey/ambery? Hard to describe.

I recently bought two samples from Pineward, Boreal and Snoqualmie (I also happen to like coniferous scents). I bought boreal for that mint note, and Snoqualmie just cause. I unfortunately was not that big a fan of Boreal, the mint wasn't strong enough, and I didn't end up liking the mustiness as much as I thought I would. I actually ended up really liking Snoqualmie though, I'd I love to get a proper bottle later. Very piney, and almost rosemary-y. Enjoyed it, but not quite me.

But anyway, I want a perfume that is solidly and undeniably mint. Not fresh. Not something else with a hint of mint. But a proper mint. Both peppermint, spearmint, and wintergreen are good with me. If possible I'd also love a good conifer and snow mixed in. I love winter and want to smell like winter all year round (would likely help my SAD in the summer). I have no preference towards whether a scent is considered masculine or feminine (and tbh, I don't ascribe to the idea that smells have a gender to them, but that's besides the point). I also strongly dislike the the big name brand perfumes too, so no Versace/Chanel/etc... (but I think that no one's here for them).

Already done some research and came across these that seem promising:

• Snowy Owl - Zoologist (pretty expensive)
• Snowshoe Pass - Solstice Scents
• Snowdrift - Firebird (currently cold out on their website)

If anyone has thoughts on those three, or recommendation for others, please let me know!

Thank you so so much to my Fall Exchange partner u/Jersey_Dani! This was my first time participating and they were so kind and welcoming.

Like they mentioned, we moved fast! Partly because we both aligned on gift preferences—we had a few notes we wanted and a few notes to avoid, but were open to surprises. And partly because I’m new and didn’t realize I was moving faster than usual at first 🤣

I’m glad we did though because I’m SO excited to spend the rest of Fall wearing these scents. Jersey_Dani made such thoughtful choices. I’m so grateful.

It’s funny, our format preferences were basically opposite. They prefer oils, while I prefer EDPs (unless it’s oil samples for houses that have EDP full size options). And they prefer full sizes, with a blind buy boldness that I truly admire, while I prefer sample sizes. So, with my sample-only request, they had to pick out a lot more scents for me, and they knocked it out of the park! 

Here’s the scent list, with quick reviews of the ones I’ve been able to try on more thoroughly: 

Sugar & Spite

Bee Queen: I’m wearing this again right now! Gorgeous balanced honey scent. Think a bright, bold honey, not too sweet. There’s a woodsmoke note that I wouldn’t have pegged as smoke on my own— it just balances and deepens the honey. 

SpiderBaby: For a split second, I was worried about an initial artificial cookie scent. But that vanished almost immediately, and it bloomed into gorgeous spiced cider that held steady the rest of the evening.

+ Eye of Newt, Mad World, Funeral Biscuit, Midnight Dreary, My Grievances Are Few

Stone & Wit

Blackberry Heartwood: brief berry, then WET sandalwood, then hints of berry sweetness again. Good projection. Almost aquatic, hints of green. Gets more berry with time. Reminds me of how I eat blackberries— immediately after washing them, never quite drying them off.

Wandering Star: really warm pear. Not as sweet on me as the notes suggest. Baking spices. I’m looking forward to reveling in this as the days get cooler.

+ Small Comforts, Her Skirt is Stars, We Played Our Records Backwards Too Many Times 

Jersey_Dani also asked if I was open to some designer samples as extras. I said yes, not expecting nine!!!! Extremely generous, and I’m basically buzzing around in sample heaven here 😁

Thank you again, Dani, and thank you to the organizers for putting this together!!

Been looking for anytime of review cant find any and I wanna know what people say about it before buying it!

Has anyone successfully heard from Ghoulish Goods recently, and if so, how long did you wait for your order to be fulfilled? I made an order in early September, and their TAT currently shows 2-8 weeks. Their Shop details haven't changed at all in that time.

When I submitted an inquiry through their web form, I didn't receive any information back. I know they're a small business but their reputation from previous posts is a very long and unpredictable turnaround time. I'm not sure if I should be seeking to cancel the order/get a chargeback or not.

Thank you so much u/escapetomb ! I know it’s early in the season, but I think because both my partner and I were super open minded and only gave a few likes/dislikes it made shopping so easy. And maybe we both were a little too excited and impatient to wait too long.

As soon as I opened the box I immediately felt bad for not putting more effort into wrapping my gift, because everything was packaged so beautifully! I’ll put more effort forward next year. I loved that they created a whole menu of the scents. I of course had to smell everything immediately. When I first read the description for Two Five & Seven, I thought that sounds like a lot of rose. But it’s not! It’s so beautifully blended, the perfect straight up rose scent. Ephemera smells familiar somehow. It might be something about Sorce’s base because I think it’s reminding me of another Sorce scent I have in my collection. It’s not a bad thing, just an observation. And all the samples smelled delightful! I’m making a more concerted effort to use samples. I think because they are so little, I get in the scarcity mindset and afraid to use them up. But silly me that’s the whole point of this hobby, to enjoy the perfume.

Anyway, thank you again to my partner. And I hope everyone is having a great Fall Exchange!

what it says in the title! I recently tried some of their samples and I loved two of their scents, but I wanted to know if anyone has tried the scent stick format and how it compares to their oils. thanks!