Demeter's fragrances have always lent themselves well to blending because of their signature "singular" quality. Their cologne sprays focus on a single recognizable scent, such as jasmine, patchouli, and even dirt, so you can keep it simple and straightforward or layer scents to create something new. At a very budget-friendly price tag ($20 for 1oz spray) and huge variety, you can afford to build a pretty extensive library/laboratory to experiment with. On top of that, the new Foolproof Blending kits make creating your own unique fragrance even easier (and cheaper!)
As part of a recent campaign with Demeter and the
Canadian Beauty Bloggers, I received two Foolproof Blending kits from Demeter: the Base Note Trio kit with Hawaiian Vanilla, Angel Food, and Gingerbread fragrances, and a Duo Custom Fragrance Kit with Clean Skin and Sunshine.
A handy "blending pyramid" on the side of each box breaks down the different types of notes in fragrance. As the name suggests, base notes such as musk and vanilla provide a foundation to build the rest of your custom fragrance upon. Top notes (citruses, etc) are usually the first thing you smell initially, but they can be somewhat fleeting and fade towards the end of the day. Demeter suggests combining one scent from each section of the pyramid, but they also insist there are no rules to blending, so run wild and blend away!
My Trio kit is centered around the base note of vanilla, and as you might expect, the scents are fairly sweet:
Hawaiian Vanilla: it has the sweet, vanilla base, but there's also something else in there--maybe a floral hint--that definitely reads tropical and takes me back to my trip to Hawaii last year. I think this would be really lovely layered with something fruity or a sweeter floral (
Frangipani, perhaps?)
Gingerbread: you can't mistake this scent for anything else! It has the spicy, warm notes of ginger and a sugary base. It is maybe a touch too sweet for my tastes, but that can be easily tempered by layering another fragrance on top.
Angel Food: this take on vanilla has a hint of coconut to it (full disclosure: I hate coconut anything.) My mom bakes angel food cake a lot, but unfortunately this scent doesn't remind me too much of digging into a fluffy slice. On my skin (remember, body chemistry plays a big part in fragrance!), the coconut note takes on a bizarre plastic-y, waxy quality, so it's not one of my favourites. The mild sweetness makes it the most versatile/easy to layer with other scents.
If sweet scents aren't your thing, there are a number of trios with other themes, such as
Wood or
Heavy Floral. Trio kits are $45 each, and 1oz bottles are $20 individually, so the kit is definitely the better deal if you like all three fragrances.
Foolproof Blending Duo kits contain two fragrances, as well as one empty spray bottle to fill with your own custom concoction. The included droppers and funnel also help you not make a giant mess while you play alchemist/perfumer. If I had to describe the theme of the Clean Skin/Sunshine duo kit, I suppose I'd say "innocent" or "pure"? Like, I imagine some doe-eyed ingénue sitting up in bed in the morning,
browsing Tumblr thinking deep thoughts.
Clean Skin: powdery, white floral vibe. I don't pick up the orange, lemon, or peach that Demeter describes, which is unfortunate since that all sounds rather nice. It's light and soapy, like maybe the scent that lingers on your skin after a bubble bath.
Sunshine: this one was a little harder for me to pin down. Unlike the smell of something like lavender, the smell of sunshine is a bit more subjective. It's a little sweet and comforting with vanilla notes, and there's a slight musk too; it's an easy, relaxing scent to wear. The creator of Sunshine was aiming for a "cotton t-shirt... warmed by the sun", in which case I think they succeeded. For me though, a fragrance that captures sunshine should be bright, fresh, and zesty--this fragrance isn't any of those things, but I do like it.
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Bonus: I also received Laundromat in a 0.10oz vial sampler. (Demeter fragrances are available in this size for $2.50. It's a pretty decent size for the price, and about twice the size of the standard little perfume sample vials that typically come in a card.) It's soapy and clean like powdered detergent, but on my skin, there's a chlorine-like edge that reminds me of a pool. I kept smelling myself because I wasn't sure if I liked it or not. I'm still not sure.
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How did my blending experiments go? I struggled a bit because the soapy/clean duo didn't mesh easily with sugary vanilla scents, for my nose anyway. My favourite combination was Gingerbread and Sunshine: they both have a warm, comforting feel, and Gingerbread's sweetness gets toned down while retaining the spiciness of the ginger that I love. Another easy pairing was Sunshine and Clean Skin, which make the chillest, rolling-around-in-bed-on-a-lazy-Sunday scent. Be sure the check out the link-up at the bottom of the post to see what unique fragrances other bloggers created!
It was
so fun smelling everything and trying to come up with a unique blend of my own. Demeter offers over 300 individual fragrances and many different Foolproof Blending Duos and Trios. These would be such cool gifts, whether it's for a perfumista friend or an inexperienced younger cousin/niece/nephew that you're trying to recruit to the dark side (hello, future beauty addicts!) You can also create your own trio by picking three fragrances from a
catalogue, still for the awesome-deal price of $45.
What kind of scent would you create with fragrances from Demeter? I spotted a Condensed Milk fragrance (I was seriously so excited) that I would love to pair with their Almond.
Available at
Demeter: Foolproof Blending Base Note Trio Vanilla ($45 USD); Foolproof Blending Duo Custom Fragrance Kit ($35 USD)
