Stereoplasm Summer Release Review/Preview: 303, Flowers in the Rain, Sunday Morning, Poseur, Caesura, Grieve in Stereo

Stereoplasm was kind enough to send me some samples from their upcoming summer collection. It's a mix tape theme full of references to three decades of songs. Meaghan's been talking about this theme with me for a few weeks now and she had a Real Moment when Sixteen92 announced they were doing a similar theme. I can happily verify this is just a Great Minds Think Alike case. Meaghan even considered pulling the scents (I've had a few of these for a couple of weeks) but I'm glad she didn't because I definitely want to upsize some of these lol.

Anyway! Gonna shake things up and skip my usual intro - if you guys have seen my reviews before you know what's in there - and go right into the reviews/previews.

303

In the bottle: Watermelon candy, agave juice (I think I remember this having a ‘peyote’ note and while I have 0 clue what peyote actually smells like I do know what agave smells like and this smells like that - or a little like aloe vera). I also recall this having a lime note and while I’m not getting much in that direction I am getting a tiny edge of spiciness that reminds me of lime peel. It’s also kind of got a… wet smell to it (which might be from the watermelon candy accord?)

Wet on my skin: Something slightly green kind of … gasoline smelling is in there? Or turpentine? Is that part of the peyote accord? I feel too square for words right now. But that gasoline/turpentine kind of smell is the most forward in the scent with soft watermelon candy and agave edges… I got a tiny hit of lime when it went on my skin - a little shock of piquancy but I’m not really getting much of it now. The watermelon candy along with the agave smell reminds me of the sunblock note in Low Tide (but, that could just be me recalling how the watermelon candy and sunblock note meld in Low Tide).

Drydown: Getting more of the watermelon candy - and still getting the agave. The kind of ‘wet’ note is back. The turpentine type smell has died back to a faint, sorta green astringent smell. The more I sniff it the more it goes from watermelon candy to a kind of blended smell… so I think that might be my nose. There is a little bit of lime in there but it’s not at all a sharp lime - it’s just kind of an edge on the watermelon candy that adds a little fruitiness.

After 30 mins: This has faded pretty fast on me when sniffed close to the skin. What is there wears close to the skin - it’s mostly a kind of faint watermelon candy and aloe vera/agave smell with the aloe/agave smell being the most forward. But I am getting a good throw off of it - the midnotes of the smell (aloe/that kind of sunscreen smell) are throwing off of it over a foot away.

Official Notes: synthesized watermelon, hollow woods, neon lime and peyote

Okay, so I get the watermelon and a lil bit of the lime and I think I get the peyote accord … but hollow woods? I suppose I can see part of the body of the scent being a touch woody (I think it’s what my nose was reading as sunscreen) but there’s that kind of turpentine scent. I guess that turpentine scent is either a really initially acrid wood note or part of the peyote accord.

Verdict: A super tragic swap. In the bottle this was one of my favorites of the batch but the way it morphs on me is not for me. It’s a fine, well balanced scent that does still evoke some of the vaporwave electronica vibe in a kinda beachy way… but the bottle smell was even more on point in my opinion. I do wish the lime was even more piquant - the little whiff of it when it first went on wet was tart and sharp in a good way and I think this scent would be really improved by that remaining for the life of it.

Flowers in the Rain

In the bottle: Sweet rose-like and wildflower-like florals in the mist and an alcoholic smell that reminds me of wine.

Wet on my skin: Spicy florals! I can’t pick out the actual flowers - I think there is a hint of a rose, and there’s a note in here that reminds me of The Sky Is Falling. So there might be some tulip? But they’re a little spicy, and a little sweet and not indolic. What is kinda indolic is what I’m reading as a ‘white wine’ note. I suppose what I’m reading as white wine could also be a musk of some sort. Maybe the faintest hint of a mildew accord.

Drydown: White wine, florals (see prior guesses at which ones they are), mist and that tiny, tiny hint of mildew are all still there. This is wearing pretty stable.

After 30 mins: Still about the same! Very stable. It’s maybe a wee bit fainter than it was on fresh. Wears pretty close to the skin.

Official Notes: warm rain, carnation corsage, pink musk and passion fruit

Well, the rain is the mist/fog smell, carnation is that spicy ™ floral and I think the pink musk plus the passionfruit must be what I’m reading as white wine. I think what’s kind of faintly reminiscent of mildew is part of the muskiness of the er, musk.

Verdict: Swap. It might not have an intentional wine note but what’s there is too strongly like wine for me (I’d be worried people would think I’d been drinking if they smelled it). I kept being like ‘I would have titled this perfume Wine Mom’ while I was sniffing it lol. I think for carnation fans who like the idea of sitting on a porch drinking a glass of white wine on a rainy day this would be a good fit.

Sunday Morning

In the bottle: Okay so I know this is probably a reference to the Velvet Underground song. But I take one sniff of this and go ‘There’s always money in the banana stand’. I recall this has a) bananas and b) luxurious furs as notes so it’s immediately, in my mind, an Arrested Development scent. Sorry, I don’t make the rules. Anyway this smells like banana candy with a touch of daiquiri. Like, that very tiny alcoholic edge that you know is a lie and will have you four sheets to the wind in no time in a mixed drink. Touch of pleasant, sweet musk.

Wet on my skin: Shimmering banana candy (or, a sort of… sparkling cherry-banana drink?), something that reminds me of birch cola a lil bit (or cherry cola), musk, and look I might be further living out my Arrested Development Perfume fantasy but I think I’m getting a kind of chocolate-y note? I can’t make up my mind if there’s still a hint of booze or if that’s just how I’m reading the sparkling note. There might be a hint of lemon in there or I might be imagining things.

Drydown: This kind of reminds me of Hexennacht’s Kakariko Village but a) more banana-y, b) with more distinct notes, and c) with a sparkling component. It’s a very sweet scent but more ‘ sugared fruity’ than gourmand in the ‘baked good’ sense. In this stage the kind of fur-musk is coming out more. There’s something pleasantly wax-like in there too, reminds me of candlewax or sealing wax. Tiny hint of cherry and maybe lemon. The banana is at the core though.

After 30 mins: Definitely getting a wax note with what smells like a little smoke - reminds me of birthday candles. Little bit of that furry muskiness. This broadly smells kind of like freshly blown out birthday candles atop a banana lemon birthday cake while somewhere nearby there’s a cherry soda … or like … a banana stand “accidentally” set on fire. (I will ride this Arrested Development train as far as it’ll take me.)

Official Notes: banana popsicle, vintage furs, edelweiss, and salted margarita

Okay so I think the marg is what I was reading as lemon/cherry (didn’t get much of a salt note), I can see banana popsicle and furs. I don’t know what edelweiss apart from a song from The Sound Of Music but I wonder if that’s what smells like freshly blown out candles to me. I’ll also be super frank: the margarita note isn’t helping my Arrested Development vision for this scent.

Verdict: Upsize! This is a really unique fruit scent, a lot of fun and well there’s always money in the banana stand.

Poseur

In the bottle: Suede, touch of hairspray, faint cologne, tobacco smoke?, something musky and sweet and almost nutty. It’s hard for me to describe the notes in this and the only one I recall from the official notes in the hairspray and the cologne so we’re really goin in pretty blind here.

Wet on my skin: Definitely getting tobacco/cigarette smoke along with the suede. I think the hairspray is what’s reading as sweet? Kind of a spiced note… does this have a clove cigarette accord. I’m pretty sure I’m getting clove. Something kind of woodsy - that might be the “cologne” accord. This smells kind of like that guy everyone who’s attracted to guys was a little too into when you were sixteen. “Wow, he’s deep” you think as you make sheep eyes at him. He asks you if you’ve seen Donnie Darko. It’s true love.

Drydown: The clove is definitely there and is definitely dominating the scent. Kinda woodsy still - but it’s a really pleasant, rounded wood. Nicely sweet too. Edge of that hairspray smell. Quite similar to how it was wet.

After 30 mins: A tiny bit fainter but very similar to how it dried down. I’m pretty stoked about this because this is a clove scent that works for me! It smells complex and nostalgic and a little sexy in that brooding I-Just-Saw-The-Crow-And-It-Changed-My-Life way.

Official Notes: pink sugar, vinyl, borrowed cologne, hairspray and clove cigarettes

Ah! So the pink sugar is what’s sweet about this. I will note it’s not overwhelmingly pink (in fact, this scent is on the masculine side). I can get the vinyl now that the word is in front of me (I am pretty sure I was reading that as suede - it smells a lot like their suede note), the hairspray is definitely there the whole time and the clove cigarettes are the core of the scent and instantly identifiable.

Verdict: Upsize! I’m feelin pretty stoked about this being a clove scent that works for me. It is not overwhelmingly spicy, resinous, or gourmand. It’s your youthful bad boy crush in a bottle.

Caesura

In the bottle: Fair warning: I remember this has a ‘snake melon’ note and a cannabis note. I know what the latter smells like but not the former (I figure it must smell like a melon?). Anyway on to what I actually get out of the perfume: Sweet, wet, honey dew melon/cantaloupe type smell. Edge of the pot - but it’s a really nice, herbal pot not skunky at all. Some sort of dream-like musk.Something a little piquant - like a citrus.

Wet on my skin: The sweet, wet honey dew melon and something peppery, subtle edge of herbal cannabis, the occasional whiff of something piquant and citrusy. It kinda reminds me of a fancy melon soda opened in a room where somebody has some (not yet smoked) pot. It’s green but lacks that acridness that comes with a cut-grass/crushed stems kinda smell. Gentle blue-green dreamy musk.

Drydown: Dries down very quickly. It reminds me of Bath and Body Works’ cucumber melon but with uh. Pot. lol. It’s oddly nostalgic because while my teen years didn’t involve marijuana they did involve cucumber melon. The cannabis is more apparent at this point, I think the pepperiness I was getting was part of the cannabis accord (tho, most of the pot I’ve smelled hasn’t been particularly peppery). I get a little less of the citrus at this stage, but still plenty of wet, sweet melon. And still a lil musky.

After 30 mins: About the same as the drydown - maybe a touch more pot to it.

Official Notes: Fresh mango, Grapefruit tea, cannabis, snake melon and myrrh

Okay so - I don’t get something overwhelmingly mango from this unless it’s what I was reading as honey dew melon. I suppose the snake melon might be what I was reading as a kind cucumber note or the musky note (again, no clue what snake melon smells like). The myrrh might be what I was reading as peppery. The cannabis smells like cannabis. The grapefruit tea must be what I was reading as citrusy/piquant - though it smells more like an herbal tea (mayybe a green tea) than a black tea.

Verdict: Not really my thing. It is a nice “greenish” scent but not really my vibe. Cucumber melon was always a second/third tier B&BW scent for me lol. Also, going out smelling like marijuana at all kinda sets off my anxiety.

Grieve in Stereo

In the bottle: Okay, I recall this one has a ‘doll hair’ and ‘graveyard flowers’ notes which, while both are evocative, aren’t what we would call precise smells. But I mention it because it might influence my perceptions. Okay so on to the sniff: Sweetness against darkness - this bad boy’s gonna be a challenge to describe but let’s head into it. First, there is a sweet slightly plastic note that smells just like a Barbie’s or a model horse’s hair. There’s definitely a floral - the tiniest bit indolic (in a good way). A kinda boozy coffee note - reminds me of Kahlua. It’s kinda spooky and misty and eerie smelling. I freaking love this in the bottle - it smells like how a horror movie poster looks.

Wet on my skin: Still getting doll hair, but also something like clean cotton but it’s not overwhelmingly detergent , those spooky slightly indolic florals, and an earthy, amber-ish kahlua type thing. There’s also a kick of spice/spicy resin. (30 min wear up at 9:20)

Drydown: Doll hair, I think the graveyard flowers might be roses and lilies, clean cotton, earthy amberlike kahlua. Very stable from how it was wet.

After 30 mins: Very stable and still hard to describe. The easiest way I can describe it beyond what I’ve written is okay there’s this game, Brutal Legend, which is all metal (as in the music) themed and they have a horror metal themed zone that’s all smoke and fog and grave stones and Tim Burton houses and people wearing far too much makeup. THIS is how that zone smells. I know this is supposed to be an MGMT reference to that video but, oh man, it’s hard to think of this as anything other than videogame horror metal zone.

Official Notes: Graveyard flower, Vanilla sugar, Doll hair, Empire apple, Antique wood

Okay - I think the antique wood, apple and sugar are what smell like resinous kahlua to me. I don’t know what was a little spicy in there for a bit. I can definitely pick out the apple when it’s put in front of me. And as I said, I’m pretty sure the ‘graveyard flower’ is either a lily, a rose, or a combination of the two. This scent is neither masculine or feminine so much as otherworldly and, well, fucking metal. \m/

Note: The longer you wear this the more the apple comes out. After 3-4 hours the apple was way more forward on me.

Verdict: Upsize. The four genres of music I keep finding myself returning to are punk (esp folk punk), folk (and also oldtime and bluegrass and I can’t honestly tell the difference most of the time), pop, and METAL. So, yeah, I’m wild about this scent.