glops

So I was at that witch store in the East Village over the weekend--I can't remember the name of it, but it's the one that has the civet that smelled just like the stuff at Symrise--and I thought I'd see what some of their other stuff smelled like. I ended up getting a heliotrope-type oil and a ylang ylang type. Both reconstructions. I don't know how close the heliotrope is to smelling like either heliotrope flower or heliotropin, but it does smell interesing: very cherry, creamy almondy and a bit plastic. And not unlike Play-Doh. This gels with what I expected to smell. Of course, it's also almost sickeningly sweet, but interesting. More interesting is the ylang ylang, which I got specifically because it's a synthetic reproduction. The fidelity to the natural flower is astounding. It has the creaminess and spiciness, and when you put it on your skin, it doesn't fall apart right away. I compared it to my bottle of natural ylang, and while the natural one seemed a bit softer, not quite as sweet, maybe "oilier," the reconstruction still smelled fantastic. A touch brighter and lighter. There was also a slight fishy tone in the synthy one, but I'm almost positive that was something else I was smelling, or maybe something I perceived after smelling something else. I definitely did not get a fishy odor in the store, and I doubt it would have gone from perfectly fine to rancid in one day. Even the crap on the street doesn't do that. So yeah. That's the buzz on the stuff from the witch store. I'm still surprised by how good their synth accords are--the tuberose was nice, the civet good, the ylang practically nature identical.... Their tonka is not a good likeness of the natural absolute; I'm curious about their plum.