Stereoplasm Review

I've had my eye on Stereoplasm for a while now - they're the darling of r/Indiemakeupandmore, their marketing is adorable, and I've been feeling a pull towards brighter, sweeter scents, which Stereoplasm specialises in. So, in an unusually flush state of finances, I placed an order in February.

I placed my order on 12 February, and it was posted on 24 February. This was a turnaround time (TAT) of 8 working days. This is well within Stereoplasm's TAT on their website, and I'm happy with it given that they're an indie company. Stereoplasm is based in Canada and I live in New Zealand, so obviously shipping took a long time - the package arrived in my mailbox on 29 March, 33 days after it was posted - but it actually arrived earlier than the shipping company quoted, so I was actually left feeling pleasantly surprised at how quickly my order arrived.

L-R: Totally in Love; Bloom & Pucker; Sick of Love; Sun Blush; Kindling; Bos Taurus (Metal Ox)

I ordered Totally in Love, Bloom & Pucker, Sick of Love, Lovesick Lake, and Bos Taurus (Metal Ox). I received two freebies in my package, Sun Blush and Kindling. 

Unfortunately I didn't receive Lovesick Lake in my order, so I think one of those freebies may have been intended to replace it. I'm unsure why I didn't receive Lovesick Lake given that it's an active catalogue item and I didn't receive any emails from the brand about it, but given the unavoidable shipping time and because I did get a replacement of sorts, I'm not really inclined to question it to get another one sent to me - next time I place a Stereoplasm order I'll just buy another one. 

I didn't get a picture of how the order was packed, but it came with a cute card with a note on it, some Canadian lollies, and my perfumes wrapped in colourful wrapping paper. I love the personal touches that indie companies put into their orders!

I should note at the beginning that I'm not a very knowledgeable perfume person. I'm not great at picking out individual notes beyond "that smells sweet" or "I think that's rose" but I'll give it my best shot! 

Totally in Love

Active catalogue (as of April 2021).

Soft purple and glowing from within; raspberry cotton candy with a delicate bouquet of jasmine, rose, and heliotrope while shadows dance at sunset.

Bottle sniff: this smells very much like sugary raspberry, with what I think is the heliotrope in the background. There's something floral but I can't identify it, which makes me think it's heliotrope as I'm pretty familiar with jasmine and rose. It's very sweet but not cloying. "Purple" is a good descriptor!

Fresh on skin: the raspberry is a lot stronger than in the bottle, but it's more realistic. I'm getting a kind of linen scent, like freshly washed winter sheets. I can smell the same note in Sick of Love, and they share a cotton candy note. Maybe my nose is misidentifying the cotton candy and reading it as linen?

1 hour: the linen note is still there and the raspberry is almost gone. The florals are really coming to the front now. This is really nice but is giving off slight clothes softener vibes. 

3 hours: the jasmine note has entered the building! I haven't detected any rose yet. It's turned into quite a simple scent, just straight jasmine with maybe a hint of sweetness to it that stops it being too floral.

8 hours: there's not much left but a slightly sugary sweetness, maybe a hint of that linen note as well. 

Overall: this is a very pretty perfume but I wish it had more raspberry. By about 1 hour the raspberry is all but gone, which is a shame. 

Score: 3/5

Bloom & Pucker

Active catalogue (as of April 2021), "Valentines 2021: Strawberries & Peaches" collection.

Delicate strawberry blossoms, sour lemon candy, strawberry sugar, and frosted daiquiri. 

Bottle sniff: strawberry candy, which is probably my nose confusing the strawberry sugar and the sour lemon candy. Very very sweet. 

Fresh on skin: sour lemon candy, all the way. I can't really detect any strawberry. This is actually really nice on application, as it's not as sweet as it is in the bottle. 

1 hour: this has gone very green all of a sudden! Is this maybe the strawberry blossoms? It's all green, I can't smell anything else, it's basically like leaves! 

3 hours: still very green, but it's starting to smell a bit bitter and unpleasant. 

8 hours: there is the faintest trace of sweetness, but other than that it's gone. It really reached this stage by about 5 hours of wear.

Overall: I'm not a huge fan of this perfume, to be honest. On application and until about 3 hours it's nice, but from then on it's not that great and it doesn't last long. 

Score: 2/5

Sick of Love

Retired, "The Fall of Love" November 2020 mini collection.

Light blue and delightfully empowering; elderberry cotton candy melting into blue tansy and freshly popped champagne on a cool rainy night.

Bottle sniff: very champagne-y, with a sweetness that might be the elderberry.

Fresh on skin: a linen scent like in Totally in Love, which I think might be the cotton candy because it's the only note the two perfumes share, with a tiny bit of the elderberry note hovering on the sides. 

1 hour: I don't know how, but this perfume is definitely "light blue". The tansy note is coming through quite strongly now, and it's less floral, more vegetal, if that makes sense. I don't really detect any elderberry anymore, unless I'm getting that confused with the tansy. 

3 hours: it's gotten sweeter at this point, and the elderberry has come back stronger than before. 

8 hours: by this point it's basically gone, with a lingering sweet note close to the skin, but I have to stick my nose right up to my wrist to smell it. 

Overall: this is such a lovely perfume that changes a lot during wear. It's very different to anything else I own. I just wish it lasted longer. 

Score: 4/5

Lunar New Year freebie: Bos Taurus (Metal Ox)

Retired, February 2021 Monthly Animal. 

Blue moon musk, frozen lichen, juniper, and tiny bells of lily. 

Bottle sniff: sweet in a mossy way but with a slightly sour note behind it. I think that might be the "metal" part of the perfume. 

Fresh on skin: moss and musk. This doesn't sound that great, but it's actually really nice. It's sweet but in a green way, not a floral way. 

1 hour: this has turned very sweet. The lily is coming through quite strongly now. I actually really like it as lily perfumes often turn out powdery and old-ladyish, but this smells really modern. 

3 hours: basically the same as the 1 hour mark, but it's starting to fade. 

8 hours: completely gone, and really it was gone from about 5 hours. 

Overall: this is a really pretty perfume without being too floral, but it doesn't last as long as I'd like.

Score: 3.5/5

I wanted to add that this has an added anti-leak feature by having a little plastic stopper inside! I really like this and wish it was a feature of all the bottles, as it's not only added protection but stops you from accidentally applying too much. 

Sun Blush

Active catalogue (as of April 2021), "Valentines 2021: Strawberries & Peaches" collection.

Nearly-naked (and perfectly ripe) fresh peach slices with a hint of ginger root, mulled Rosé wine, and fresh marshmallow crème. 

Bottle sniff: PEACHES!!!! A bit alcoholic. 

Fresh on skin: not the nicest smell I have to say, extremely boozy and a sort of dirty, fuzzy note behind it. Like really alcoholic peach skins, which is accurate to the description, but I don't know if I like it. 

1 hour: less boozy and much sweeter, as the marshmallow is coming through. I like this a lot more now that it's settled down. I think a bit of ginger is starting to peek through as well but I can't pin it down. 

3 hours: it smells much the same as it did at 1 hour, although I can't smell any ginger now.

8 hours: there's only a trace left by the 8 hour mark. I have to really sniff my wrist to find it. It's just the faint whiff of peach skin, but without the dirt note from when it's fresh. 

Overall: this changes a lot from application through the day. I'm not a huge fan of it freshly applied as it smells too alcoholic, but once it settles down it becomes a really lovely peach perfume without smelling artificial. 

Overall: 3.5/4

Kindling

Active catalogue (as of April 2021), "Valentines 2021: Strawberries & Peaches" collection.

Sweet jasmine incense, sunset musk, fresh sativa, and strawberry wine.

Bottle sniff: heavy on the strawberry, but a dark strawberry, which is probably the "wine" part.  

Fresh on skin: a strong jasmine note with a tiny bit of strawberry behind it. There is a musk note but it's quite unusual, not like the other musks I've smelt. It's kind of woody? I really like it. 

1 hour: the musk has gotten even woodier with a jasmine undertone. I'm unsure if I'm as much a fan of it as I was when it was freshly applied, but it's still nice. It's quite a wintery scent. 

3 hours: basically the same as in hour 1, just less strong. 

8 hours: from about 6 hours it's basically gone, at at the 8 hour mark I can't smell anything.

Overall: this doesn't change much over the wear time, but I do love that woody musk note so I'm not too upset about it! 

Score: 3/5

Final thoughts

Overall I'm pretty happy with my purchases. I think I got some really interesting perfumes, and can definitely see myself wearing all of them often (except for Bloom & Pucker). 

My only real gripe is that none of the perfumes have much throw, and they don't last very long. Other than my Firebird perfumes (which last like an hour and then they're completely gone), these have the shortest wear time out of any of the scents in my collection. I wish they lasted longer because they're really lovely. At least the bottles I got are quite dainty, so they'll be easy to take in my handbag and reapply during the day.