Yesterday Angela shared a link (on FB) for a SS review on a blog called the Wishing Edge.
Solstice Scent Spring Review
Solstice Scents Summer Haul
Blueberry Muffin Batter/Black Mallow/Rosemilk Day Cream
based on what i read i couldn't tell for certain whether or not the reviewer had actually sampled the fragrance on her skin, there's an oddly backhanded (if honest) quality to these reviews that left me confused about whether or not she really liked any of these products or not. (i wasn't in agreement about several of her reviews, but had to address this one in particular.) so I couldn't resist making an attempt at setting the record straight for my maligned and soft-hearted scent lest it not get the future fans it deserves, having no greater qualification (not having any blogs or subscribers) than that I at least have some small experience in the area of scent, a professed love and addiction for SS in general, and many hundreds of "flight hours" in this scent in particular.
so feeling like i should respectfully contend for the honor of my beloved Inquisitor, i've fussed out a review of my own. i agree that scent is subjective and people smell what they smell, but i ardently disagree that my poised and gentle friend is in any way
- Quote :
- "dominating, aggressive and fiery."
(the words i would use are, sacramental, self-posessed, purifactory.) The reviewer also says Inquisitor
- Quote :
- "isn't a toasty, warm and comforting smell"
and
- Quote :
- "it's probably good that it doesn't have a great throw, might scare people away."
Actually, here's the full review;
- Quote :
- Inquisitor
A Dark Resinous Blend of Myrrh EO, Labdanum Absolute, Beeswax Absolute, Frankincense EO, Amber, Leather, Burning Woods
This is such a unique and powerful scent. When I first sniffed it, I just threw it aside. My sister sniffed and said EW! But I grabbed it last week and sniffed at it again. And I realized it truly does smell like burning woods, fire and incense (and also of the chinese 7th month where everyone is burning offerings). It isn't a toasty, warm and comforting smell. It's a dominating, aggressive and fiery scent, and it's probably good that it doesn't have a great throw, might scare people away. 
No, Inquisitor is not toasty warm, at least not to me, but it is most profoundly comforting. (subjective again.) But what it does, like all SS scents attempt to do is evoke a place, a feeling, in this case the chill of an antique hardwood church pew against the skin, soaked in generations of smoky incense, prayer, the press of humanity, and lacquer. they are always cold, no matter the month of the year or the time of day, they are cool and quiet places of sanctuary. The smell of those places always lingers faintly on the skin for a little while, hovering just below perception. Inquisitor can best be understood by comparing it to it's sister scent Basilica, for while Basilica attempts to describe the sum total of the sacred experience from roof to foundation, Inquisitor lightly sketches some of its visceral parts, and kindly leaves the rest to wandering memory and imagination.
It does wear close to the skin, hugging the body close in an almost private communion with the wearer, and then discreetly passes away. Among all the different birds in the menagerie of my large collection I've always considered this to be one of it's virtues. I've worn Inquisitor a long time, and after my lost Love Anubis it was among my first SS purchases. I wear it most often to bed and it's a BIG favorite of my husband, i can -promise- it has the opposite effect of driving him off!
i sleep very well in it's company. because it does have a shorter wear life than some others, and when i need it's calming influence to get me through the daytime, i always use a fixative balm to extend it. i like the one from ForStrangeWomen@etsy a lot. (at least until Angela decides to dabble one up.)
it's been my understanding from those who spend time with me, and anyone and everyone who's ever met me, that i -always- smell freaking fantastic, and "can they please stand very close to me and just breathe awhile without creeping me out?" actually i'm frequently stopped and sniffed by bemused and total strangers, so discussing what i'm wearing with people in public places is now rather normal and carrying SS business cards is a necessity. more than once Inquisitor has been the culprit causing a bank teller or a server at a Starbucks to lean in close, take a deep breath and sheepishly ask "what IS that?"
well, a lot of times, Inquisitor, by Solstice Scents.
Lye-
