As I Lay Stretched on My Floor, I can't help but contemplate the wonderfulness of Arcana Soaps

Look at the gorgeousness of that label art.

Lately I've been applying perfume before I go to bed.

And when I get up, naturally, but also before I go to bed. Is this normal? Do other people do this?

Or actually, does it even matter? Because the truth is, if other people had Arcana's Holy Terror, they probably would be doing this. And it's not just Holy Terror either--all of the scents I've chosen from Arcana are so good they are worthy of both morning and night application. And maybe mid-lunch. And pre-dinner.



In fact whenever I apply one of them I usually find myself sniffing my wrist periodically and smiling, and I don't even care if people look at me strangely in public.

Arcana is just too good to wear and allow to go unsniffed. And they should also come with a warning that just a few bottles is not enough. Their catalogue is so impressive that it's easy for your collection to grow, especially since their scents are unique, well-crafted, and have gorgeous labels and themes. They don't have their own storefront aside from their eBay shop, but can also be purchased from a few shops I'll link later at the bottom of the post, like Rhinestone Housewife.

Arcana Soaps Stretched on Your Grave perfume oil

Stretched on Your Grave is the first Arcana perfume I lusted after, largely for the label art. It reminded me of a certain someone and I was determined to have it. This particular scent is an old Halloween scent from years past. Arcana Limited Edition perfumes tend to hang around in stock for a while. When I emailed Julia, Arcana's owner and the one behind these lovely perfumes, to ask about Stretched,  she couldn't remember when she'd last made a batch of it. But in particular she no longer had any bottles of this in her workshop, so she told me if I was going to pick it up, I should do so now.

Stretched on Your Grave is "cold green apples, alabaster musk, and a scattering of cheerless white blossoms: calla lily, gardenia, tuberose, moonflower, and heart-leaf milkweed." 

On a cold sniff I get fresh apples, very much green ones, tart and sour. Under that there's something else that almost smells a little spicy, but I can't tell if it's actually there or if my nose associates apples with cinnamon so much that I'm imagining it a little. Upon drydown on my skin it turns into apples with soft white flowers in the background, and fades into a soft and slightly musky white floral scent with a hint of apple. I smell the lily too, it reminds me of sticking your face right into the white lily flowers at church. 

At first upon receiving this I thought it was a very simple scent, but after trying it for a while I think it has a lot of hidden depth. I'm not sure if this is still available anywhere, but it's a very nice scent for people who love white florals or want to try a perfume oil that doesn't venture too far out of the "typical" perfume realm.

Arcana Soaps Namaka perfume oil

Namaka was a perfume I picked up in my cart because I was yearning for something creamy and sweet. It's described as "Coconut, vanilla bean, rice milk, golden amber, watermelon, banana leaf, aged patchouli, and lemongrass." 

Upon cold sniff I get creamy coconut and watermelon, very fresh and sweet and bright. On the skin it dries down and the patchouli comes out, and mixing with the sweetness of the watermelon and the creaminess of the coconut the scent is both fruity-sweet and a bit bitter and herbal and reminds me a bit of bubblegum. After a little bit it heats up with the amber, and then after several hours fades down to a gorgeous sweet and creamy scent that I just cannot get enough of. It lasts for a long time, I can usually still smell it on my wrists faintly even after twelve or so hours. 

This is also a good "typical" type perfume scent for the cautious ones, it's complex and tropical and fruity but still very easily likable, unless you're not a patchouli person.

Arcana Soaps Dive

Dive was the final fullsize perfume I picked up. It is, "Island gardenia, effervescent grapefruit, seashells, and pearl musk." If that sounds a bit summery, it is. This is initially from one of Arcana's summer collections, but I am unsure of which year. I picked it up partially because I was so intrigued and enamored by the idea of seashells and pearl musk. My curiosity served me well, because this scent is a bit weird, but also amazing.

 In the vial it's grapefruit, but there's also something tangy and salty and a bit musky that sticks in the back of your throat when you inhale deeply. On the skin the saltiness fades a bit to grapefruit, which then gives way to a bloom of soft white flowers with just a hint of the grapefruit hovering in the background. It's a very nice summer floral, soft and gentle and a bit citrus-y and beach-y. 

Arcana Soaps Filthy Viking

I picked up a few other samples from Soap  Box Company, who still has some Arcana stock but will no longer be stocking them once their current stock runs out. Their stock of samples is also limited, so what they have left is what they have. Aside from them Arcana doesn't really do samples, since they are quite time-consuming, so it's go blind or go home!

However, I have to say so far I have no scents I picked that I would really regret having a fullsize bottle of, as they're all fantastic.

Filthy Viking is one I picked up partially for the name. This is one of Arcana's general catalogue scents, a blend of "bracing Norwegian juniper, frigid Icelandic mint and the hardy wood of a longship." Right out of the wood I get cedar and a woodiness topped off with astringent mint. I had my girlfriend smell it and she said, "It smells like what we put on the rocks in the sauna!" She was talking about the eucalyptus oil that is in some Finnish sauna oil blends. With the cedar and the wood scents I get something that's frigid and minty but dries down to remind me of a barn, with hay and cedar chips and that hint of something astringent and herbal. After a while on my skin the wood goes quite bitter in a way I don't really like on myself, but it doesn't really smell bad objectively, it's just now how I personally want to smell, haha. 

I like wearing this for short periods of time, it's just not an all-day perfume for me with how it fades so bitterly.

Arcana Soaps Holy Terror and Filthy Viking

And lastly we come to the queen of this haul. I also got this sample from Soap Box Co, mostly because I'd heard this mentioned as a rather popular Arcana scent and I really wanted to try it for myself. My vial doesn't have the label art, which makes me a little bummed, because the label is gorgeous, you can see it here.

Holy Terror is "an unsettling, austere blend of burning frankincense, sandalwood, deep myrrh, and dusty beeswax candles" that I find incredible. I was raised Catholic and went to Catholic elementary school, so I am quite familiar with the scent of incense, since my family is an "Every Sunday" type. I don't find myself much connected to religion as I once was but I still hold a reverence and awe for churches in my heart. 

This smells very much like after Christmas Eve mass in a cathedral. It's the scent of frankincense and myrrh incense that's burning and smoking softly, but it's not overly heady and headache-inducing like the real thing. It's rich but not too potent, and subdued by a soft dusty and musty scent, like old books or candles. It's not prominent, but the overtones are there if you search them out. Once it dries down it wears for a long time, and the smokiness fades fairly quickly. You're left with a rich incense scent that fades to soft, warm sandalwood. It's so comforting to me with its rich smoky warmth that I've been applying this before bed and just inhaling while I melt into a sleepy puddle of goo.

I need a full bottle of this when I have a chance to acquire it. I have Pumpkins Crave Terror on the way, which I am also very excited for, but I'm going to need this original too. It is smoky wonderfulness and might just be one of my favorite perfume oils I've ever had the pleasure of wearing. I cannot inhale it enough. I love it so much I am actually considering buying unscented lotions to add it to so I may smell like Holy Terror whenever I need to. Arcana also makes Holy Terror soap, and I am debating how badly and how soon I need it, and if I need more than one bar, because I just might.

Arcana Soaps Yurt soap

And while we're on the subject of soaps, I also purchased Arcana's soap in Yurt during my fullsize bottle haul from Rhinestone Housewife (who's shipping times are fast and Hottie is just the sweetest, I cannot rave enough about her shop). 

Yurt is "Glowing dragonsblood resin and cedarwood with hemlock, fir needle, juniper, and bonfire smoke." I mostly just get dragonsblood out of it, which, I have learned, smells like a headshop and hippies to me. Lately I've gotten a little more of the juniper and smoke, but it's not much. I tend to have skin that's easily dried out in winter but I love the creamy lather of this. My skin is still a little thirsty afterwards and needs lotion, naturally, but it's not itchy-level lizard skin dryness like I've had with some body washes and soaps before. It doesn't perfume the skin very heavily, it's a light scent that fades easily, but the bar will perfume the room it's in. My whole bathroom smells like a headshop now, but a very nice one, and it's very pleasant compared to the smell of just "bathroom". I am very eager to pick up more of Arcana's soaps in the future, though probably in a different scent, like my aforementioned Holy Terror.

Also you know how above I wrote that it's really easy for your Arcana collection to grow fast? As I write this I have six more fullsize bottles on the way, and I have no doubt I will be quite easily tempted in the future. 

Where to buy: Arcana Soaps can be purchased from their eBay store, Rhinestone Housewife, or Pretty Indulgent for a Canadian option! Stock can vary. Arcana eBay does ship internationally, you can contact their email for pricing inquiries!