Escentric Molecules – Molecule 01 Perfume Review

Escentric Molecules - Molecule 01 Perfume
Escentric Molecules – Molecule 01 Perfume

Perfume reviews are something I’ve never touched on before, because, at their very core, they are exceedingly boring to me. Perfume is so subjective and so personal, that talking about them just don’t make a whole lot of sense to me. Having said that, I recently fell madly in love with a perfume and absolutely had to discuss it.

I’m talking about Molecule 01, which was created by the brand Escentric Molecules. I’m only somewhat familiar with the brand as I vaguely remember Estee Lalonde (aka EssieButton) mentioning them in a favourites video many, MANY years ago. I had some idea that they were an English brand and that the scent was unique, but that’s about it.

When I went on vacation to England last month, I ended up having lunch with one of my subscribers (and now friend!), and when I went I got up close to give her a hug the scent of her perfume absolutely intoxicated me. We sat down to chat over lunch, and I kept getting wafts of it. I was smitten – I demanded to know exactly what it was because it was unlike anything I had ever smelled before and it was WONDERFUL. She told me it was Molecule 01, and I went out and bought it immediately at Liberty London. I bought the largest bottle I could get my hands on – the scent was that intoxicating to me!

Escentric Molecules - Molecule 01 Perfume
Escentric Molecules – Molecule 01 Perfume

So what is Molecule 01, and why was I basically drunk off this perfume? Well, the basis of the formula is that it’s actually completely synthetic. It’s an aroma-molecule that doesn’t exist in nature called Iso E Super. It was created in a laboratory in 1973 and used in low doses in some perfumes. Geza Schoen (the creator of Escentric Molecules) decided to use Iso E Super in isolation – wearing it alone as their perfume of the day. The basis for the perfume that I’m obsessed with is basically that it’s a singular molecule – it’s Iso E Super in its purest form at 100% strength (there is also the Escentric 01 Fragrance – which is different. That version contains Iso E Super at 65%).

To me, the scent is  wildly intoxicating. That’s the best way I can think to describe how it makes me feel. I am very drawn to aquatic scents and I feel like this is one, although the scent profile for it makes no mention of water notes whatsoever. People tend to refer to this scent as being quite woodsy – and I do get that scent off it, but not quite as much as I still get a watery, aquatic, oceany scent. It’s fresh and clean, but somehow deep and enticing.

However… I need to point out that this perfume comes and goes on me. There’s some witchcraft voodoo going on with it because it’ll often disappear off my skin (to my nose), only to come back later on. On application to my inside wrists, the scent is absolutely gone within an hour. It’s the weirdest thing ever. If I spray it in areas where I’m more likely to get more heated skin (like the insides of my elbows) the scent lasts longer and wafts up to my nose in waves throughout the day. I found I also had good luck with it when I sprayed it on my clothing, but it was a bit all over the place – some days the scent lingered for hours on end, and other days it disappeared. It’s the weirdest thing – I’ve never encountered a perfume that’s behaved this way before. Apparently some people can’t even smell the Iso E Super molecule (which is a dang shame), I can – I just wish it had somewhat more consistent properties so I could sniff myself all day. (And this isn’t a matter of me getting used to the perfume – the scent really does come and go on me throughout the day!)

In short – Molecule 01 is my new favourite perfume to wear. I love everything about it – the fact that it’s manufactured synthetically (it just FEELS cool!), the oceany, woodsy scent, and even the binary design of the bottle. The whole thing is just absolutely, deliriously wonderful.

Molecule 01 perfume can be purchased at Liberty London for £72.00 or amazon.ca for ~$150 CAD.

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Happy Pride, Toronto!

As always, I’m excited to be celebrating Pride this year in Toronto! It’s wonderful to see my community come together (I’m bisexual, by the way, in case I haven’t made that clear before) to celebrate how far we’ve come, but I also realize how much further there still is to go. I’m rather fortunate to live in Canada, where gay marriage has been legal since 2005… But I honestly I hate even having to say “legal” gay marriage, because the idea that it was ever not legal is rather horrifying. So while I’m glad my country was amongst the first to legalize it (4th in the world!), my heart hurts for those who live in countries where gay marriage is not legal and they’re not allowed to marry whomever they want simply because of their sex.

So while we’re out there celebrating Pride, and rejoicing in our rainbows and glitter (heaven knows I will!), just remember that Pride started as a revolution. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots and the rebellion of the LGBTQ+ community against the inequality they faced back then. We’ve come a long way… but there is still a lot of work to be done in regards to acceptance.

Happy Pride everyone! <3

If you’d like some inspiration for your makeup to celebrate Pride, here’s a few tutorials I’ve done over the years:

Pride 2019 – My most recent Pride look! A full matte rainbow with some added glitter effects.

Pride 2018 – Last year’s look was a full rainbow spanning both eyes!

Pride 2017 – Want something easy? Try doing rainbow freckles!

Pride 2016 – This is easily my most repeated rainbow eyeshadow look for Pride. I wear this at least once every Pride season!

This one wasn’t designed for Pride specifically, but if you’re looking to get a bit more use out of your Viseart Editorial Brights palette, you may like this wrap around your eye rainbow look!

Fenty Beauty Sun Stalk’r Bronzers (Review & Swatches)

Fenty Beauty Sun Stalk'r Instant Warmth Bronzers

I love bronzer. In particular, I love matte bronzers. So when I saw that Fenty Beauty was putting out a range of bronzers in a eight shades with a matte texture? I was fairly excited!

Fenty Beauty Sun Stalk'r Instant Warmth Bronzers
Fenty Beauty Sun Stalk’r Instant Warmth Bronzers

Encased in a reflective warm-bronze compact, the Fenty Beauty Sun Stalk’r Instant Warmth Bronzers feel quite luxurious in your hand.  Each slim compact contains 6.23 grams/0.22 ounces of product and a massive mirror. There’s no extra bulk with these bronzers, and I’m so appreciative for the slimmed down packaging.

Fenty Beauty Sun Stalk'r Instant Warmth Bronzers in Inda Sun and Shady Biz
Fenty Beauty Sun Stalk’r Instant Warmth Bronzers in Inda Sun and Shady Biz

Fenty promises a lasting bronzer with a blendable, buildable and transfer-resistant finish and texture.

Fenty Beauty Sun Stalk'r Instant Warmth Bronzers in Inda Sun and Shady Biz
Fenty Beauty Sun Stalk’r Instant Warmth Bronzers in Inda Sun and Shady Biz

I have the two lightest shades in the eight-shade launch: Inda Sun and Shady Biz. Inda Sun (on the left) is the lightest shade they make and has a neutral undertone. Shady Biz (right) is a step up and light with warm undertones.

Fenty Beauty Sun Stalk'r Instant Warmth Bronzers - swatched
Fenty Beauty Sun Stalk’r Instant Warmth Bronzers – swatched

I initially thought I would prefer Shady Biz, but I found it to be significantlywarmer and deeper than Inda Sun. Inda Sun seemed to hit that perfect line of neutral yet bronzey without being too strong in pigmentation on my skintone.

Wearing Inda Sun
Wearing Inda Sun

Inda Sun was easily my favourite shade between the two. I found it paired well with cool toned or warm toned looks, and was easy to apply. It’s the kind of easy bronzer I always want – I can apply a decent amount and not feel like I’m going overboard.

Wearing Shady Biz
Wearing Shady Biz

Shady Biz on the other hand, was a lot warmer and worked better for me with warm toned eyeshadow looks. Texture-wise, it’s lovely to apply, but the stronger pigmentation on this meant that I had to use a light hand otherwise it’d look like bronzer overkill. This one may work better for me throughout the warmer months as I deepen up, but for now my heart belongs with Inda Sun.

Final Thoughts

I’m quite enamoured by these! Heck, I even think the name “Sun Stalk’r” is a lot of fun! I definitely found I preferred the paler neutral bronzer because it worked best for my skin tone, but the application was identical between the two of them – smooth, blendable and buildable. The bronzers work equally well on top of foundation as well as on bare skin.

I’m also quite happy that the brand has eight different shades for people to choose from. Eight shades in a bronzer launch is unprecedented – at most I’ve seen 5-6 from brands before and they generally skew to the pale side of things. With eight shades that cater more towards the deeper spectrum, I really feel like Fenty has done something right with this launch of bronzers!

The Fenty Beauty Sun Stalk’r Instant Warmth Bronzers can be purchased on sephora.ca for  $40 CAD each and on sephora.com for $30 USD each.

The products featured in this post were sent to me for consideration. Post contains affiliate links.