You know, ultimately, it’s all about the scent. When it comes to perfumes. I know this. But I can’t help it. The visuals have a big say in the matter. They go a long way toward determining whether I’m going to like a fragrance. I just LOVE me a beautiful bottle! I love walking into my room and seeing my display of perfumes and all the pretty bottles sparkling in the morning sunlight.
Their bottles are what drew me to Pinrose. The Bay Area-based perfume brand was started by two friends in 2014 (GO, BAY AREA BEAUTY BRANDS!).
Right now it’s still a small niche brand, but you can find them at Sephora. I was at the Novato store a few weeks ago, and the display…oh, my gosh. When I saw all the bottles lined up together like a pretty perfume rainbow, I stopped in my tracks!
All of their fragrance bottles are eau de parfums, and they last a good, long while. I can still smell them after a full eight hours on my skin.
Pinrose also sells these fragrant pre-soaked towelettes called the Petals Packs.
So if you don’t wanna carry a bottle around (which I totally get), you can still touch-up your scent on the go. You can build your own Petal Pack of 25 towelettes for $30 on the Pinrose website, and they’re a good gift idea and a way to test drive the different aromas without committing to one of the $65 bottles, or you can get one of the pre-selected Petal Packs on the website, where you get 20 towelettes for $24. (FYI, but the Petals do smell strongly of alcohol when you first open them, but the alcohol scent dissipates after about 30 seconds.)
Oh, and Sephora has a set of nine little roller balls for $47, so that’s another way to try a bunch at once.
Lil’ Dipper
This dreamy floral is my favorite one. It’s eminently “there,” but it isn’t in your face. Light, refreshing and calming (because of the lavender note), it was created by perfumer extraordinaire Nathalie Benareau, who’s also created perfumes for Laura Mercier and Victoria’s Secret.
Official fragrance notes:
Peony, lavender and sandalwoodUnofficial fragrance notes:
Laying on the dock and watching the stars at the lake with your summer crush one August night…
Sun Saint
Take me back to Hawaii, please! Is there a vacation in that bottle? I think there may be. Prolific perfumer Patricia Choux (she’s crafted scents for Marc Jacobs, Jo Malone and Michael Kors, among others) summoned this beachy beauty sans sunscreen notes. This carefree concoction is perfect for summer!
Official fragrance notes:
Sea salt, coconut and limeUnofficial fragrance notes:
Sitting on the sand at a secluded beach on the Leeward side of Oahu as a reddish purple sunset dances on the horizon. NOTE: there’s sand between your toes and a Mai Tai in your hand.
Tambourine Dreamer
If you’ve ever wanted to walk around smelling like the most delicious brunch mimosa ever, this is the fragrance for you! I have plans to pick up a bottle of this ASAP.
I guess that isn’t surprising, seeing as how Nathalie Benareau, the olfactory awesome-sauce behind Lil’ Dipper, made this one, too.
Official fragrance notes:
Ylang ylang, lily of the valley and white muskUnofficial fragrance notes:
Sunday funday and stretchy pants
Pillowtalk Poet
Pillowtalk Poet is warm, spicy, comforting and one of the heartier scents in the fam. It reminds me more of a fall fragrance than a scent for summer (not that it matters, of course), and it’s so darned cozy. It’s by perfumer Vito Leoci.
Official fragrance notes:
Powder, amber and muskUnofficial fragrance notes:
Childhood memories of baking banana bread with my mom and having the scent of cinnamon and nutmeg on my skin…
Secret Genius
Secret Genius is another warm and spicy scent in the line, and it ALSO reminds me of food, but instead of getting banana bread cravings when I wear it, I crave dulce de leche. Perfumer Harry Fremont, who has created HELLA fragrances, including several for celebs, including Rihanna, Gwen and J. Lo, concocted this one.
Official fragrance notes:
Vanilla, caramel and sandalwoodUnofficial fragrance notes:
Sweaters, fireplaces, s’mores and books.
Wild Child
Wild Child is a playful, girly floral with bold plumeria notes and a warm-weather vacay vibe like Sun Saint. Created by Richard Herpin, the nose who also made one of my favorite scents by CLEAN, Citron Fig.
Official fragrance notes:
Gardenia, jasmine and plumeriaUnofficial fragrance notes:
Pink feather boas, rhinestone tiaras, and late nights and early mornings with the girls.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Looks are important to me as well hen it comes to perfume, I do have the bottles on display in the bathroom for easier access. But you unofficial fragrance notes are cracking me up. That is how I understand perfume!
Def looking to try these at Sephora. I’m having melancholy flashbacks now with your unofficial fragrance notes. Those got me better than the real notes! Have a great weekend Karen, Tabs, and Connor Claire.
I think these would be great for travel as well.
Loved this review! I’m going to check these out for sure!
Cute bottles!
carolinasmakeuplife.blogspot.pt
I have two bottles from Pinrose (I think website-only scents, Moonlight Gypsy and Campfire Rebel) and I love them both! I want to get Pillowtalk Poet. I love the idea of the scent sachets, they’re perfect for travel when you don’t want to worry about carrying a glass bottle around. It’s cool to see a smaller US perfume brand doing well and in Sephora- as a fragrance addict I love having so many indie/niche options readily available now!