Indie Perfume Oils by Haus of Gloi! | review

When you're as bath and beauty obsessed as I am, there's something so refreshing about stumbling across a brand that you've never heard of. That's exactly how I felt when I discovered Haus of Gloi, a small vegan bath and beauty company. I'm not vegan myself, but I think vegan-anything is fascinating. While browsing through Haus of Gloi's website, I caught myself drooling over their luscious fragrances, intricate bars of soap, and other luxurious products (I'm looking at you, body emulsions!). 

Perfume oil samples! L-R: Zazz, Satyr, Beguiled, The Brier Path, and Elevenses. 

As I mentioned in my post about my favorite Etsy finds, I really like ordering from small businesses not only because of the new products to try, but also because of the personal connection. For this reason, I didn't hesitate--I ordered a handful of perfume oil samples in hopes that I could wrap my head around what kind of fragrances they made before I jumped into buying any of their more luxurious items. The  Satyr, Beguiled, The Brier Path, and Elevenses. The owners, Matt and Britton, also threw in a sample of Zazz, just because. (At least I hope it was just because... if it was a mistake, I'd feel bad about it.)

I had a really great experience with this company. I placed my order at around two in the morning (I know, I know) and my order was shipped later that afternoon! It only took a few days for my package to arrive also. The owners also included a handwritten note, which absolutely made my day. In addition, they included a piece of candy, though it's long gone now. 

Here are my opinions on the perfume oils: 

The Brier Path: "Sun drenched trail leading to a day dream of ripe berries and woods rose, rich forest loam, ozone, dark amber and cream."

I put this one aside at first when my order arrived: at first sniff, this overly-floral fragrance didn't seem too appealing straight out of the vial. However, applying it to the skin made all the difference. I just... wow. It smells sweetly sophisticated. It is definitely floral, but there's a lot of depth to it: I definitely pick up on the woodsiness of it as well as the sweetness from the berries and cream. I don't really notice the ozone or dark amber, but I love the overall fragrance that's achieved. If I had to summarize this in one sentence, it would have to be that this is what Snow White would smell like. It's sophisticated, clean, and slightly woodsy and floral. I can see myself wearing this to weddings or other daytime get-togethers that require a little more dressing up. 

Elevenses: "Elevenses - Not quite breakfast and not quite lunch, its the little sip and nibble in between! Bring out the old cracked china! Tiny, little, fluffy orange cakes, sugar coated toasty almonds and a wee steaming cup of black tea."

I can't lie to you: I was first attracted to this because of the name (it's from Lord of the Rings, if you needed a hint!). I was drawn to this scent not just because of the adorable name, but also because of the note of black tea blended into it. I'm a huge tea person and was curious as to how it would come across as a fragrance. The fluffy orange cakes and the sugar were a total bonus. When applied, I could definitely pick up on the orange scent and the smidgen of almond, but not so much the black tea. I was pleasantly surprised as the tea seemed to strengthen ("brew," if you will) as the day went on. It's actually really perfect. I can't get over how good this smells.

Satyr: "Absolutely fiendish creature! And quite frolicsome: Italian blood orange drizzled with blackened vanilla."

I'm really fond of fruity scents mixed with vanilla, and this perfume oil didn't disappoint in the slightest. It's sophisticated, but it's also fruity and sweet. The blood orange was not the same sweet orange as in Elevenses, but it seemed darker. The darker citrus combined with the warmth of the (blackened?) vanilla are so nice together. It reminds me of a delectable, almost sinful dessert. This is the one I enjoy wearing the most out of the bunch!

Beguiled. "Lemon cake made with the tang of fresh buttermilk and raspberry coulis - an otherwise innocent cake corrupted by cardamom and deceptive pink peppercorns."

Honestly, I was sold at lemon cake. I knew I had to have this scent because I'm a big fan of any dessert that is lemon scented. Whenever I get a whiff of this oil, I'm transported back to last summer when I went to camp with my boyfriend and his family---his grandmother made this delicious cake with lemon filling that I unabashedly fangirled over. The smell of the lemon is a bit aggressive at first, but it settled into a nice, lightly sweet lemon scent as time went on. If it hadn't been for the spicier scents of the cardamom and the peppercorn emerging and coming to the foreground as time went on, this fragrance would be far too much to handle. It adds a really nice dimension to an otherwise sweet yet boring scent. I love this!

Zazz. "When something feels a bit lackluster, dull and boring, it obviously is lacking, zazz. To fix this we recommend something definitely zazzy and not overly complicated: Tart cranberry, pink grapefruit, sparkling champagne all shook up with crushed ginger root." 

I didn't choose this one myself (it chose me it came as a sample), but Zazz was one of the other perfume oils that I had my eye on. The notes of the cranberry, grapefruit and champagne intrigued me because I love all of those things! However, upon applying this oil, I was not as impressed as I thought I would be. The scent itself is very clean, but it has a sickly sweet facet to it. It almost smells like a highly fragranced bathroom cleaner. I really liked how you could almost "smell" the sparkling carbonation of the champagne (which is why it smells clean), but it just wasn't for me.

Overall, I had a great experience shopping with Haus of Gloi, and I wouldn't hesitate to buy from them again. I'm definitely looking forward to trying out some of their gorgeous soaps and the body emulsions! 

I can't wait to get another one of these in the mail from them!